An operational methodology for applying dynamic Life Cycle Assessment to buildings

Abstract While the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method is a powerful tool for environmental performance evaluation, the current LCA methodology faces some limitations in evaluating environmental performances of systems with a long time scales, such as buildings. Building systems have particularly long lifetimes as compared to other products or services. They are composed of elements that evolve over time and are characterized by time-dependent parameters. A literature review was performed in the aim of identifying the time-dependent characteristics of a building system at different levels: building technology level (e.g. technical performance degradations and technological innovations), end-user level (e.g. occupant behaviour) and external system level (e.g. infrastructures, energy mix, regulations). A new LCA framework including the time dimension, applied to a building system, is proposed. It involves operational and reproducible tools (computational software and databases) to perform effective temporal evaluations and incorporates dynamic Life Cycle Inventory (LCI, including the temporal evolution of a building system and of the related environment interventions, i.e. emissions and resource consumption) and dynamic Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA, climate change and toxicity). To integrate the specificities of buildings in dynamic LCI modelling, different existing assets (at national and international level) in the field of LCA are analysed. This work proposes an original methodology for performing a dynamic LCA of buildings using new tools still under development.

[1]  Patrick Schalbart,et al.  Accounting for temporal variation of electricity production and consumption in the LCA of an energy-efficient house , 2016 .

[2]  Bruno Peuportier,et al.  Life cycle assessment applied to the comparative evaluation of single family houses in the French context , 2001 .

[3]  Subhrajit Guhathakurta,et al.  Functional unit, technological dynamics, and scaling properties for the life cycle energy of residences. , 2012, Environmental science & technology.

[4]  Gloria P. Gerilla,et al.  An environmental assessment of wood and steel reinforced concrete housing construction , 2007 .

[5]  K. Adalberth,et al.  Energy use during the life cycle of single-unit dwellings: Examples , 1997 .

[6]  Alex K. Jones,et al.  Dynamic life cycle assessment: framework and application to an institutional building , 2012, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[7]  M. Margni,et al.  Considering time in LCA: dynamic LCA and its application to global warming impact assessments. , 2010, Environmental science & technology.

[8]  Giovanni Andrea Blengini,et al.  Life cycle of buildings, demolition and recycling potential: A case study in Turin, Italy , 2009 .

[9]  Reinout Heijungs,et al.  The computational structure of life cycle assessment , 2002 .

[10]  Yimin Zhu,et al.  Dynamic LCA framework for environmental impact assessment of buildings , 2017 .

[11]  Ligia Tiruta-Barna,et al.  Operational integration of time dependent toxicity impact category in dynamic LCA. , 2017, The Science of the total environment.

[12]  Hamed Babaizadeh,et al.  Life cycle assessment of exterior window shadings in residential buildings in different climate zones , 2015 .

[13]  Cordella Mauro,et al.  Level(s) – A common EU framework of core sustainability indicators for office and residential buildings: Parts 1 and 2: Introduction to Level(s) and how it works (Beta v1.0) , 2017 .

[14]  Gregory A. Keoleian,et al.  Life cycle energy and environmental performance of a new university building: modeling challenges and design implications , 2003 .

[15]  H. L. Miller,et al.  Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis , 2007 .

[16]  Francesca Stazi,et al.  Durability of 20-year-old external insulation and assessment of various types of retrofitting to meet new energy regulations , 2009 .

[17]  Annie Levasseur,et al.  HOW CAN TEMPORAL CONSIDERATIONS OPEN NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR LCA INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS , 2013 .

[18]  Bruno Peuportier,et al.  Evaluation of electricity related impacts using a dynamic LCA model , 2012 .

[19]  Cordella Mauro,et al.  Level(s) – A common EU framework of core sustainability indicators for office and residential buildings:Part 3: How to make performance assessments using Level(s) (Beta v1.0) , 2017 .

[20]  Ligia Tiruta-Barna,et al.  Sensitivity analysis of temporal parameters in a dynamic LCA framework. , 2018, The Science of the total environment.

[21]  Ligia Tiruta-Barna,et al.  Framework and computational tool for the consideration of time dependency in Life Cycle Inventory: proof of concept , 2016 .

[22]  M. Margni,et al.  Implementing a Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment Methodology with a Case Study on Domestic Hot Water Production , 2017 .

[23]  S. Lasvaux.  Étude d'un modèle simplifié pour l'analyse de cycle de vie des bâtiments , 2010 .

[24]  Patrick Schalbart,et al.  Integrating climate change and energy mix scenarios in LCA of buildings and districts , 2016 .

[25]  Marine Fouquet,et al.  Methodological challenges and developments in LCA of low energy buildings: Application to biogenic carbon and global warming assessment , 2015 .

[26]  Francis Gerard Collins,et al.  Inclusion of carbonation during the life cycle of built and recycled concrete: influence on their carbon footprint , 2010 .

[27]  M. Fesanghary,et al.  Design of low-emission and energy-efficient residential buildings using a multi-objective optimization algorithm , 2012 .

[28]  Raymond J. Cole,et al.  Life-cycle energy use in office buildings , 1996 .

[29]  Alberto Moro,et al.  Electricity carbon intensity in European Member States: Impacts on GHG emissions of electric vehicles , 2017, Transportation research. Part D, Transport and environment.

[30]  Olivier Jolliet,et al.  Building a model based on scientific consensus for Life Cycle Impact Assessment of chemicals: the search for harmony and parsimony. , 2008, Environmental science & technology.

[31]  Jung-Ho Huh,et al.  A Study on Variation of Thermal Characteristics of Insulation Materials for Buildings According to Actual Long-Term Annual Aging Variation , 2017 .

[32]  Alena Vimmrová,et al.  Long-term on-site assessment of hygrothermal performance of interior thermal insulation system without water vapour barrier , 2009 .

[33]  Francesca Stazi,et al.  Assessment of the actual hygrothermal performance of glass mineral wool insulation applied 25 years ago in masonry cavity walls , 2014 .

[34]  R. Ries,et al.  A characterization model with spatial and temporal resolution for life cycle impact assessment of photochemical precursors in the United States , 2009 .

[35]  Pascal Lesage,et al.  Temporal differentiation of background systems in LCA: relevance of adding temporal information in LCI databases , 2014, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[36]  Arnaud Hélias,et al.  How to take time into account in the inventory step: a selective introduction based on sensitivity analysis , 2014, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[37]  Alissa Kendall,et al.  Time-adjusted global warming potentials for LCA and carbon footprints , 2012, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[38]  André De Herde,et al.  Impacts of occupant behaviours on residential heating consumption for detached houses in a temperate climate in the northern part of Europe , 2013 .

[39]  Rolf Frischknecht,et al.  Environmental assessment of future technologies: how to trim LCA to fit this goal? , 2009 .

[40]  Ligia Tiruta-Barna,et al.  Environmental assessment of bioenergy production from microalgae based systems , 2016 .

[41]  Mark A. J. Huijbregts,et al.  USEtox—the UNEP-SETAC toxicity model: recommended characterisation factors for human toxicity and freshwater ecotoxicity in life cycle impact assessment , 2008 .