| 1. |
- Femenias, Paula, 1966, et al.
(författare)
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Om-renovering: Möjligheter för energieffektivisering och återskapande av kulturvärden när flerbostadshus renoveras på nytt
- 2020
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Projektet har undersökt möjligheterna att återskapa estetiska och historiska karaktärsdrag av flerbostadshus som blivit förändrade i samband med tidigare energisparprogram samtidigt som nya energieffektiviseringar kan genomföras, en process som vi valt att kalla för om-renovering. En om-renovering skapar möjligheter för energieffektivisering men också att uppnå mål om en god bebyggd och gestaltad livsmiljö. Projektet har studerat om-renovering ur ett helhetsperspektiv vilket inkluderat energibesparingar, arkitektur och kulturvärden, genomförbarhet samt sociala värden. Studien har fokuserat på flerbostadshus uppförda före 1946 i Göteborg. Flera metoder och angreppsätt har använts i fyra delstudier. En första delstudie var en inventering av ungefär en tredjedel av flerbostadshusen uppförda före 1946 i Göteborg. Målet var att undersöka hur husen har renoverats och deras status idag, med fokus på yttre synliga ändringar. Till inventeringen lades information från energideklarationer om energiprestanda vilket gjort det möjligt att undersöka samband mellan energiprestanda och renoveringar. Inventeringen visar att det är svårt att fastställa generella samband mellan tidigare renoveringar och energiprestanda med de sammanställda data. Slutsatsen är att inventeringar på fastighets- eller byggnadsnivå är nödvändiga för att ta rätt beslut vid nya energieffektiviseringar. I en andra delstudie gjordes fallstudier av fyra fastigheter med landshövdingehus, tre som omrenoverats och en som genomgått en första större renovering. Fallstudierna beskriver motiv för återställande av träfasader och ambitioner för energibesparingar. Det finns inga krav på återställande vid bygglov. De motiv som framkommer pekar istället på ekonomiska och estetiska drivkrafter för om-renoveringar. Energieffektivisering var bara ett uttalat mål i ett fall och energibesparingarna blev lägre än vad som krävs för att uppnå våra svenska energimål. Om-renoveringarna är en kompromiss mellan vad som uppfattats som estetiskt tilltalande och vad som varit ekonomiskt eller tekniskt genomförbart. Översyn från myndighetshåll av energieffektiviseringar och kulturvärden framstår som bristfällig. En tredje delstudie har studerat de boendes syn på kulturvärden i boendemiljön i tre av de ovan nämnda fallen. Studien visar ett statistiskt samband mellan trivsel och uppskattning av kulturvärden. De boende känner till sitt hus’ historia och uppskattar den. En del boende, särskilt de som bott länge på samma ställe, har en egen relation till husets och områdets historia. För andra, här representerat av flera yngre som bor i en äldre fastighet, är äktheten inte lika viktig vid ett återskapande som atmosfären. Slutligen, i en fjärde delstudie undersöktes energi- och klimatpåverkan från om-renoveringen i en av fallstudierna. Studien pekar på att återbetalningstiden för den inbyggda energi- och klimatpåverkan är strax under 25 år och därmed kortare än livslängden för material och komponenter som använts (om renoveringen antas ha en livslängd på 50 år). En jämförelse mellan en återställd träfasad och en fasad med moderna fibercementplattor är till träfasadens fördel ur ett klimatperspektiv men inte vad gäller inbyggd energi. Rapporten avslutas med rekommendationer för konsulter, fastighetsägare och handläggare på kommuner och andra myndigheter som arbetar med frågor kring om-renovering.
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| 2. |
- Helander, Harald, 1991, et al.
(författare)
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What do product-level circular economy indicators measure?
- 2021
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Ingår i: 4th Conference on Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) proceedings.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recently, the concept of circular economy (CE) has become more popular amongst researchers and practitioners as a solution to current unsustainable production and consumption practices. Several indicators meant to quantitatively assess the CE have been suggested in both the academic and grey literature. For companies, indicators are crucial for monitoring progress and to support decision making towards improved circularity. However, no consensus regarding the definition of the CE exists and as a result there is a significant divergence of what CE indicators in fact measure. Taking a product-system perspective and focusing on resources, we review existing CE indicators at the product-level and map the physical resource flows they quantify over the life cycle on a novel, generic system model in the form of a flowchart. The analysis highlights the difference between the indicators and shows that most only address parts of the life cycle with a focus on recycling-related flows. Existing gaps identified primarily relate to the use phase, e.g. lifetime extension measures like repair, maintenance, or repurposing, but also include other relevant aspects in the use phase like energy auxiliaries. The constructed flowcharts can guide the future development of indicators or point to ways of combining several indicators to capture larger parts of the product system.
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| 3. |
- Jerome, Adeline, 1994, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental sustainability of high voltage motors: do better efficiency and repair lead to improved environmental impact?
- 2022
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Various circular economy (CE) strategies, for instance lifetime extension by repair or reuse, have been suggested to improve products’ environmental performance. The literature emphasises the need to better understand the consequences of those CE strategies with assessment tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA). From previous assessments, Böckin et al. (2020) identifies energy use reduction and use extension by maintenance, repair or remanufacturing as relevant CE strategies for durable and active products. However, this conclusion is based on assessments of small- and medium-size electronic products, leaving out more durable and more energy consuming bigger products. In this study, the implementation of two CE strategies, energy use reduction and use extension by repair, is explored for high voltage (HV) motors delivering 135GWh per year over at least 20 years. Electric motors are prominent active products, representing 50% of the electricity consumption in Europe. Even in small numbers, HV motors represent a significant share of this consumption due to their more intensive use and high output power. Two main HV motor technologies exist: induction motors (IM) and synchronous motors (SM), which are more energy efficient. Both are often used until failure, which frequently occurs in stator windings but could be repaired by rewinding at the expense of a slight decrease in efficiency. This study aims to compare the life-cycle environmental impact of the two motor technologies and to explore their lifetime extension by repair in comparison to their replacement. For each motor technology, a cradle-to-grave LCA is performed for global warming and mineral and metal resource depletion impact categories. The IM has an efficiency of 97.3%, the SM an efficiency of 98.3% and both are run 20 years. Results show that the impact of electricity consumption during use is dominant. Besides, the SM has a lower environmental impact than the IM. In term of resource depletion, SM manufacturing is more impactful but lower energy losses during use compensate for the difference. Repair is modelled with the production of a new stator winding and a decrease in efficiency of 0.7%. Three scenarios are compared. The IM is initially used for 20 years, and an additional 10 years of use is provided by either 1) replacing with an IM with the same efficiency, 2) replacing with the SM, or 3) repair by rewinding. LCA results show that the additional energy losses after repair in scenario 3 offset the gain from avoiding the production of a new motor compared to scenarios 1 and 2. This study shows that the long lifetime and high energy requirements of HV motors lead the energy efficiency to be an essential factor for the life-cycle environmental performance. Choosing and maintaining high energy efficiency is key in this situation, especially for lifetime extension strategies to be beneficial for the product environmental performance. Reference: Böckin et al. (2020), How product characteristics can guide measures for resource efficiency. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 154, 104582.
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| 4. |
- Jerome, Adeline, 1994, et al.
(författare)
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Exploring the Relationship between Environmental and Economic Payback Times, and Heritage Values in an Energy Renovation of a Multi-Residential Pre-War Building
- 2021
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Ingår i: Heritage. - : MDPI AG. - 2571-9408. ; 4:4, s. 3652-3675
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cultural value and heritage have been identified as necessary for a sustainable living environment, alongside environmental concern and energy efficiency. In this study, multiple methods, i.e., life cycle assessment, payback, and questionnaires and interviews with tenants, and empirical data from a recent energy renovation of a multi-residential pre-war building with wooden construction were used to analyse the impact of the renovation on cultural and aesthetic values, environmental impact, financial payback time, and user satisfaction. In the energy renovation, the façade, which had been disfigured in an earlier renovation, was recreated to resemble the original architecture. The main questions are: What impact has the recreation of the façade on the environmental payback time in comparison to a more conventional renovation? What are the consequences for the user satisfaction and financial return on investment? The results show that the recreated façade has improved the building’s aesthetics without compromising the environmental benefits. It also resulted in better thermal comfort, which is highly valued by the tenants. The improved aesthetics are also appreciated by the tenants, but to a lesser extent. Financially, the renovation is estimated to be not viable. Results of this study can be applied in the decision-making of similar renovation projects
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| 5. |
- Jerome, Adeline, 1994, et al.
(författare)
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Is repair of energy using products environmentally beneficial? The case of high voltage electric motors
- 2023
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Ingår i: Resources, Conservation and Recycling. - 0921-3449 .- 1879-0658. ; 196
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Repair is advocated as a circular strategy to improve the environmental performance of products. Whether this holds for very long-lived and energy intensive products has not been addressed. This study compares environmental impacts of two high voltage motors of different energy efficiency and assesses their use extension by repair with life cycle assessment (LCA). Due to high energy use, long lifetime and intensive use, the use phase dominates all environmental impacts, even resource depletion. Therefore, a higher energy efficiency is more beneficial than extending the use by repair, and if the energy efficiency is slightly reduced, the repair is not beneficial. Therefore, product requirements and users and manufacturers of such products should ensure designs with high energy efficiency rather than making the product repairable. Finally, the results highlight the importance of including resource use from electricity production and transmission in LCA of the use extension of energy using products.
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| 6. |
- Jerome, Adeline, 1994, et al.
(författare)
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Mapping and testing circular economy product-level indicators: A critical review
- 2022
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Ingår i: Resources, Conservation and Recycling. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-3449 .- 1879-0658. ; 178
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Numerous indicators have been suggested as tools for assessing progress towards the circular economy (CE). However, it is unclear what specifically is captured by CE indicators and few studies have tested them on real cases. This review addresses this gap by describing and comparing the resource-related effects captured by existing resource-based product-level indicators and suggesting recommendations for their use and further development. First, the flows and processes quantified by product-level indicators are mapped on a novel flowchart model, which can also be used to select and develop indicators. Second, the indicators are tested on seven real cases. Third, indicator and life cycle assessment (LCA) results are compared. A significant divergence of indicators’ scope is found, where most capture a limited part of the product system. Moreover, important aspects of the CE are not captured: no indicator accounts for resource use in the use phase and there is limited attention to lifetime extension strategies. Additional limitations are the difficulties to assess multiple use-cycles and that most indicators cannot capture absolute mass variations, thus neglecting mass reduction strategies. The testing reveals that using a set of single-focus indicators may be necessary to outline trade-offs. Multi-focus indicators are sometimes harder to analyse but provide a more comprehensive assessment. The testing also illustrates that indicator and LCA results are not necessarily aligned. The latter provides information on environmental impacts and can point to trade-offs between impact categories such as climate change, resource use and land use, indicating that CE indicators cannot easily replace LCA.
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| 7. |
- Jerome, Adeline, 1994, et al.
(författare)
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Repair for high-voltage electric motors energy efficiency vs resource use?
- 2022
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Electric motors in the industry represent 69% of the industrial electricity consumption in Europe. Even if few in number, high voltage (HV) motors represent a significant share of this consumption due to their more intensive use and high output power. Two main HV motor technologies exist: induction motors (IM) and synchronous motors (SM), of which the latter are more energy efficient. Improving energy efficiency as well as use extension by maintenance, repair or remanufacturing have been identified as relevant circular economy strategies for improving the environmental performance of such active and durable products. However, the assessments performed focus on small- and medium-size electronic products, leaving out bigger products that are more durable and more energy consuming such as HV motors. Those motors are often used until failure, which frequently occurs in stator windings, and which could be repaired by rewinding at the expense of a slight decrease in efficiency. However, other use extension strategies such as reuse and remanufacturing are hindered by the customization of HV motors to their specific use. Finding an appropriate set-up for a second use is difficult for such motors and it is therefore performed seldom. The aim of this study is to compare the life-cycle environmental impact of lifetime extension by repair for the two motor technologies in comparison to their replacement.
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| 8. |
- Jerome, Adeline, 1994
(författare)
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Repair or replace? Guidance from indicators and life cycle assessment on circular economy strategies for energy-using products
- 2022
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Various circular economy (CE) strategies, such as use extension with repair or reuse, have been suggested as a means for addressing the increasing resource and environmental footprint of society. To identify effective CE strategies, companies or policy makers seek guidance from the evaluation of resource use and environmental impact of alternatives that introduce different CE strategies to product systems. CE indicators and life cycle assessment (LCA) have been used for that purpose. However, a clear description of the differences between these two assessment methods as well as of the aspects accounted for by CE indicators is still missing. Therefore, the aim of this licentiate thesis is to advance the description of CE indicators and LCA in order to provide recommendations for practitioners to select the appropriate assessment method for their specific assessment goal. To this end, LCA and CE indicators are compared by considering the type of results generated and the modelling specifications. Specific attention is given to the assessment of use extension of energy using products (EuP). This comparison builds on two studies: a review and analysis of CE indicators which identify the flows and processes that indicators account for and how indicators’ and LCA results differ, and an LCA of the repair of a long-lived and energy intensive product which identifies what aspects are important to consider in the assessment of this overlooked product category. The comparison shows that the two assessment methods provide different types of results. CE indicators inform on variations of resource use and especially on variations that are relative to other flows in the product system. LCA provides information on the environmental impacts and thus makes it possible to identify trade-offs between different types of environmental impacts. Besides, LCA allows a greater flexibility than CE indicators in capturing flows and processes but requires an extensive data collection. In comparison, CE indicators, and especially indicators focusing on one CE strategy at a time, have the advantage of being more time-efficient and of providing a detailed description of variations in resource use. For assessing the reuse or repair of EuP, CE indicators are more limited than LCA with regards to ensuring that important changes in resource use are not missed. No indicator accounts for resource use in the use phase, and thus for changes in energy efficiency by design or with repair and for resources in energy production and transmission. These have however been found to be key aspects in the environmental performance of the repair of an energy intensive EuP. Therefore, to decide on a repair or replacement, the selection of CE indicators and LCA as assessment methods depends on the type of impacts that a practitioner wants to base its decision on (e.g., environmental impact and/or resource use) and on the important modelling specifications for the product system (e.g., resources in energy production and transmission for the repair of an energy intensive EuP). Further research could focus on understanding the needs from practitioners in specific contexts to develop the practicability of these recommendations and on exploring other central modelling aspects for use extension such as the product’s lifetime.
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| 9. |
- Jerome, Adeline, 1994, et al.
(författare)
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Testing product-level indicators for a more circular economy
- 2021
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Ingår i: 4th Conference on Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) proceedings.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Product level indicators can be essential for companies to guide and monitor the transition towards a more circular economy (CE). In particular, CE indicators focusing on physical resource flows are needed for informing businesses on the environmental performance of their product portfolio. Many of those indicators have been suggested but a robust assessment framework has yet to be developed. Previous reviews highlighted the limited range of CE strategies covered by one indicator at a time and recommended the use of a set of indicators to ensure comprehensive assessments. Furthermore, many existing indicators have only been tested individually on few and simple products. The aim of this study is to examine the extent to which existing product-level circularity indicators are applicable to real case studies with different combinations of CE strategies. Starting from a review of the literature to identify resource-flow based indicators suitable for product-level assessment, 36 indicators are applied to three real case studies. Challenges linked to a high level of detail in product systems implementing CE strategies were encountered when applying communicated methodologies and analysing the quantitative results from the 31 indicators that were successfully applied. This paper suggests selecting both comprehensive indicators and a range of single-focus indicators to ensure an understanding of the systemic consequences of implementing CE strategies. The results also demonstrate the importance of a clear understanding of what is measured and what is missed by a given selection of CE indicators for informed decision-making.
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| 10. |
- Jerome, Adeline, 1994, et al.
(författare)
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When is repair environmentally beneficial? The case of high-voltage electric motors
- 2023
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Use extension by repair is a circular economy (CE) strategy that has been advocated to improve products’ environmental performance and resource efficiency. Previous studies have shown that this does not necessarily hold for energy-using products, for instance, when a more energy-efficient product is available for replacement. The requirements for use extension to be beneficial have been found to vary with the product and its use conditions. However, resource depletion is seldom discussed, and the case of very long-lived and energy-intensive products has not been addressed yet. An example of such an energy-intensive product is high-voltage (HV) electric motors, typically used for more than 20 years and in operation for 50 weeks a year full time. Electric motors represent 50% of the electricity consumption in Europe and despite being few, HV motors represent a significant share of this consumption. The two HV motor designs, induction motors (IM) and synchronous motors (SM), are often used until failure, commonly occurring in stator windings which could be repaired but with the risk of affecting energy efficiency. This work aims to provide recommendations on important aspects for use extension to be environmentally beneficial for long-lived and energy-intensive products. Cradle-to-grave LCAs are performed for global warming and mineral resource depletion to compare (1) the two motor designs and (2) each motor with and without use extension through repair. The motors are chosen to deliver the same output of 16 MW and the functional unit is set to one year of operation. The IM has an energy efficiency of 97.3%, the SM has an efficiency of 98.3% and both are run for 20 years. The additional use time and the efficiency reduction after the repair are left as varying parameters between 1 and 20 years and between 0 and 1% respectively. Results show that, due to high energy use and long lifetime, the impact of electricity use during motor use is dominant for both global warming and resource depletion. This dominance remains with different electricity mixes, including in a scenario with hydroelectricity only. For resource depletion, it is due to copper in transmission lines and resources for electricity production (e.g., uranium from nuclear energy production). The dominance of the use phase results in energy efficiency being key to the environmental performance of HV motors. The more efficient design, the SM, results in lower impacts than the IM in both impact categories. In terms of resource depletion, SM manufacturing is more impactful but lower energy losses during use compensate for the difference. Besides, additional energy losses from a small energy efficiency reduction offset the gain from the repair for both global warming and resource depletion. The gain from the use extension by repair is small compared to the benefit of choosing the more efficient design. Choosing and maintaining high energy efficiency is key for long-lived and energy-intensive products’ environmental performance due to their high energy requirements and long lifetime. Thus, efforts should be channelled on ensuring high energy efficiency by design and after repair. This is relevant for both policy-making and manufacturers or users when prioritising strategies for improving products’ environmental performance. Finally, as conclusions are similar for global warming and resource depletion, this work demonstrates the importance of including resource use from electricity production and transmission when exploring the use extension of energy-using products.
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