| 1. |
- Adl-Zarrabi, Bijan, 1959, et al.
(author)
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Sustainability Assessment of Infrastructure Elements with Integrated Energy Harvesting Technologies
- 2016
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In: Energy and Environment. - : Wiley. - 9781119307761 ; , s. 221-234
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The possibility of integrating energy harvesting devices into the bridge/tunnel structures along Coastal Highway Route E39 has been investigated in a feasibility study by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA). The main advantage of integrating energy conversion devices in a structural element is the reduction of costs compared to stand-alone devices. The construction could be used as a foundation, a mooring point and provide a dry environment for electrical devices. Easy access to the production site could also reduce the cost for installation, operation and maintenance. Two important challenges related to harvesting renewable energy by infrastructure elements, without concerning about the energy source, are to store it or feed the energy to the grid. In the second case, tailoring generation to demand is of critical importance. Tasks such as supply and demand management, for instance, peak hour management, what kind of storage should be used - electrical or thermal - need be solved. Furthermore, integrating energy production devices in a structure might cause negative environmental impacts and affect the life expectancy and maintenance costs of such structures. The potential environmental impacts associated with renewable technologies are the consequences for bird life or marine fauna at the fjord crossing locations, as well as noise and visual impact. Thus, a sustainability assessment should be performed in order to quantify the ecological, economical and societal impacts of the suggested alternatives.
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| 2. |
- Ebrahimi, Babak, 1987, et al.
(author)
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Regionalized environmental impacts of construction machinery
- 2020
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In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 25:8, s. 1472-1485
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: This study aims to establish a regionalized environmental impact assessment of construction machinery equipped with diesel engines certified by the European emission standard Stage V, and operated in cold climatic zones in Europe. Method: The study quantifies potential environmental impacts associated with construction machinery over the entire lifecycle, from extraction of materials to the end-of-life. For the operation phase, a meso-level emission accounting method is applied to quantify tailpipe emissions for certain subcategories of construction machinery. This is achieved by determining the operational efficiency of each machine in terms of effective hours. The quantified emission data are then adjusted based on engine deterioration models to estimate the rate of increase in emissions throughout the lifetime of each machine. Finally, the CML impact assessment method is applied to inventory data to quantify potential environmental impacts. Results: The study shows that tailpipe emissions, which largely depend on an engine’s fuel consumption, had the largest contribution to environmental impacts in most impact categories. At the same time, there was a positive correlation between the operation weight and the impacts of the machinery. Also, machinery with similar operation weight had relatively similar impact patterns due to similar driving factors and dependencies. In addition, network, sensitivity, and uncertainty analyses were performed to quantify the source of impacts and validate the robustness of the study. Results of the sensitivity analysis showed that the responsiveness of the studied systems is very sensitive to changes in the amount of fuel consumption. In addition, the uncertainty results showed that the domain of uncertainty increased as the operation weight subcategory of machinery increased. Conclusion: This study extends previous work on the life cycle assessment (LCA) of construction machinery, and the methodology developed provides a basis for future extension and improvement in this field. The use of effective hours as the unit of operational efficiency helps to resolve uncertainties linked to lifetime and annual operation hours. Also, the obtained results can be of use for decision support and for assessing the impacts of transition from fossil fuels to alternative fuel types.
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| 3. |
- Heeren, Niko, et al.
(author)
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Towards a 2000 Watt society assessing building-specific saving potentials of the Swiss residential building stock
- 2011
-
In: World Sustainable Building Conference 2011, October 18-21, 2011, Helsinki, Finland.
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Switzerland declared the notion of the 2000 Watt society as their leitmotif towards a sustainable development in terms of energy. This implies that worldwide, no more than 17520 kWh of total primary energy and 1 ton CO2-eq. are to be consumed per capita and year for all services. Thus, in order to meet the targets of the 2000-Watt society, it is necessary to reduce primary energy demand by 44% and greenhouse gas emissions by 77%. The building stock model, described in this paper, assisted the government of Zurich to identify the necessary steps in order to achieve the goals with regard to the city‟s residential, school, and office buildings. The objective of this paper is to investigate the role of energy demand reduction in residential buildings on the way towards the goals of a 2000-Watt society.In order to illustrate the mechanisms within the building stock and to identify the effects of construction activity, the model works with different scenarios. Specific measures were isolated and analysed individually. All three measures act directly on the building stock; each have comparable reduction potential in terms of primary energy demand (ca. 15%) and greenhouse gas emissions (ca. 40%). In order to further cut back greenhouse gas emissions, measures to reduce carbon intensity of fuels and electricity need to be considered.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Mosteiro-Romero, Martín, et al.
(author)
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Relative importance of electricity sources and construction practices in residential buildings: A Swiss-US comparison of energy related life-cycle impacts
- 2014
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In: Energy and Buildings. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-7788. ; 68:PARTA, s. 620-631
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Comparisons of buildings in similar climates built in accordance with different regional constructionpractices and building rating systems can provide useful insights in sustainable design practices. Theobjectives of this study were: (1) to perform energy related life cycle assessments of a typical LEED-H(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Homes) single-family home in New Jersey (US), and atypical Minergie-P single-family home in Chur, Switzerland; and (2) to assess the effect of rating systemsand construction practices on the buildings’ environmental impacts. Inventory data was obtained fromthe Ecoinvent 2.2 database with a replacement of the Western European electricity mix with the US orNew Jersey electricity mix for the New Jersey home. The Swiss building performed better regarding nonrenewableenergy consumption, Global Warming Potential and Acidification Potential mainly due to thegeothermal heat pump and the Swiss electricity mix while there was less of a difference regarding OzoneLayer Depletion Potential and Eutrophication Potential. The influence of electricity sources exceeded theeffects of longer building life time or the removal of the Swiss basement. Regional building practices, localcodes and environmental policies should take the electricity mix into account because it is so important.
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| 6. |
- Andersen, Sarah Cecilie, et al.
(author)
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Environmental impacts of circularity in the built environment: How do system boundaries affect decision support?
- 2024
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In: Developments in the Built Environment. - 2666-1659. ; 18
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Life-Cycle Assessments (LCA) have become a common tool of decision support in the built environment regarding environmental impacts. The goal of this study is to investigate the influence of different LCA approaches and system boundaries on decision support regarding circular design strategies. Three different ways of applying attributional LCA (ALCA) and one consequential LCA (CLCA) are assessed using a case study of a wooden beam with either virgin or reclaimed timber. While the conclusions are not readily scalable, the case study's results indicate that using reclaimed material is environmentally beneficial when applying ALCA. However, when applying CLCA the reclaimed material performs worse than the virgin material. This highlights the potential pitfalls of scaling up solutions based on LCA results without considering the broader consequences. While the current ALCA approach is useful for declarations, it may not provide comprehensive decision support for driving a transition in the built environment.
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| 7. |
- Frischknecht, Rolf, et al.
(author)
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Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Geosyhnthetics versus Conventional filter layer
- 2013
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In: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. - 9782859784744 ; 4, s. 3203-3206
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Geosynthetics made from plastics can replace filter layers made of gravel. In this article goal and scope, basic data and the results of a comparative life cycle assessment of gravel and geosynthetics based filter layers are described. The filter layers of a road made of 30 cm gravel and a filter geosynthetic, respectively, form the basis for the comparison. The filter layers have the same technical performance and the same life time of 30 years. The product system includes the supply of the raw materials, the manufacture of the geotextiles and the extraction of mineral resources, the construction of the road filter, its use and its end of life phase. The life cycle assessment reveals that the geosynthetics based filter layer causes lower environmental impacts per square metre. The cumulative greenhouse gas emissions amount to 7.8 kg CO2-eq (mineral filter) and to 0.81 kg CO2-eq (geosynthetic filter). The variation of the thickness of the gravel based filter layer confirms the lower environmental impacts of a geosynthetics based filter layer. Environmental impacts of the geosynthetic production are dominated by the raw material provision (plastic granulate) and electricity consumption during manufacturing.
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| 8. |
- Frischknecht, Rolf, et al.
(author)
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Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Geosynthetics versus Concrete Retaining Wall
- 2013
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In: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. - 9782859784744 ; 3, s. 1979-1982
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Geogrids made of geosynthetics can replace conventional building materials like concrete. In this article, goal andscope, basic data and the results of a comparative life cycle assessment of concrete reinforced retaining walls (CRRW) and geosynthetics reinforced retaining walls (GRRW) are described. One running meter of a three meters high retaining wall forms the basis for comparison. The two walls have the same technical performance and an equal life time of 100 years. The GRRW has a lower demand of steel and concrete compared to the CRRW. The product system includes the supply of the raw materials, the manufacture of the geotextiles and the concrete, the construction of the wall, its use and its end of life. The life cycle assessment reveals that the GRRW causes lower environmental impacts. The cumulative greenhouse gas emissions of 300 m CRRW are 400 t and 70 t in case of GRRW. The use of an environmentally friendlier lorry in a sensitivity analysis and monte carlo simulation confirm the lower environmental impacts caused by the construction of a GRRW compared to a CRRW. More than 70 % of the environmental impacts of the geogrids production are caused by the raw material provision (plastic granulate) and the electricity demand in manufacturing.
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| 9. |
- Heeren, Niko, et al.
(author)
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A component based bottom-up building stock model for comprehensive environmental impact assessment and target control
- 2013
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In: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 1879-0690 .- 1364-0321. ; 20:April 2013, s. 45-56
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The building stock is one of the most important energy consumers worldwide. Therefore, a number of energy reduction targets and regulations exist for the construction sector. Different building stock models have been developed in order to investigate the potentials of energy-efficiency and changes in energy source in the building stock. However,these models often have important shortcomings, since they are single-issued and do not include the life cycle of buildings. Thus,we propose an innovative assessment methodology in the form of a life cycle-based building stock model(LC-Build). The building stock is clustered in building cohorts of similar construction and equipment characteristics in terms oftype, construction period and building technology systems. The most important building components are assigned specific thermal transmittance values. Figures for diffusion and retrofit rate describe the development of the building stock fabric. Additionally,environmental impact from the energy supply side is taken into account. This approach facilitates the evaluation of the effectiveness of measures and their dynamics on the building stock, such as newer and more efficient technologies and practicesrelated to energy policies and prices.Furthermore, the model has a direct relationship to the construction activity(energy-efficiency measures, substitution of fossil energy based heating systems) and fosters the comprehension of material flows, related environmental impact,and costs.The practicality of this approach is demonstrated by means of a case study in the city of Zurich in Switzerland. The results suggest that Zurich has are markable potential to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector: 85% by 2050. The case study highlights the advantages of the proposed modeling approach. The LC-Build is a valuable tool to identify and test sustainable energy targets for building stocks, such as the European 20–20–20 target.
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| 10. |
- Jakob, Martin, et al.
(author)
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CREATE: A toolbox to develop, implement and monitor advanced energy and climate goals and strategies
- 2019
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In: Eceee Summer Study Proceedings. - 2001-7960 .- 1653-7025. ; 2019-June, s. 785-792
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Various environmental and regulatory changes, such as climate change mitigation strategies and market regulation, have increased the complexity of the challenges which cities, utilities, and real estate owners face. Thus, cities and their utilities are confronted with various problems: How, and at which costs can ambitious climate change mitigation goals be reached? How can urban planning be developed while simultaneously tackling climate change? How can the long-term economic and environmental performance of the building stock be optimized? How to plan electricity, gas, and thermal networks to suit future energy demand and the existing urban topology? These problems are usually addressed individually and independently from each other using instruments that lack an interdisciplinary approach. Data collections are often done “ad hoc” and not from a systemic point of view, resulting in datasets that are often incomplete, incoherent, and with different structures that make them difficult to merge. The paper describes the Carbon Resource Energy and Adaption Toolbox Europe (CREATE), a comprehensive modelling and data toolbox that can overcome these shortcomings. This toolbox has been developed to include elements that are specially conceived for various use cases of different decision makers (and their service providers): urban planners, energy utilities, network operators, building portfolio owners, building code designers, construction authorities, energy and climate policy makers. CREATE has three main elements: • Expert BSM: GIS-based scenario analysis tool for urban and utility energy planners, providing evaluation and management of energy demand, emissions, renewable energy resources, and other parameters. • Basic Web BSM: Simplified web-based spatial data information, monitoring and visualization tool for smaller municipalities and utilities. • Portfolio BSM: A portfolio assessment tool for real estate portfolio owners and manager to analyse the status quo of their portfolio and the possibility to develop short- and long-term strategies in terms of economic, energy and carbon performance. As such CREATE enables engagement between the various decision-making levels and bodies of cities and municipalities as well as (energy) utilities and building portfolio owners or real estate site developers.
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| 11. |
- John, Viola, et al.
(author)
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Comperative ecological Life Cycle Assessment for residential buildings
- 2011
-
In: World Sustainable Building Conference 2011, October 18-21, 2011, Helsinki, Finland.
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) offers a viable way of evaluating a buildings environmental impact throughout all life phases (construction, use/occupation and deconstruction). However, LCAs of buildings still need to be well-established so that in the future, architects and planners will already be able to conduct them at early design stages. The evaluation of residential buildings, which for instance in Switzerland contribute about 88% to the overall Swiss building stock [1], will be especially important in the future in order to minimize environmental impacts. The Chair of Sustainable Construction at ETH Zurich is conducting a major research study on how to assure comparability, reliability and simplification of LCAs on residential buildings in the future. In a representative study, up to 100 residential apartment buildings are analyzed. The aim of this study is to integrate complexity in LCA by means of identifying those building parameters (e.g. construction materials and components, heating energy, etc.) most relevant for LCAs in typical apartment buildings in terms of their environmental impacts, while also considering economic aspects. In this instance, only Swiss buildings are examined, however, the methodology is generally applicable. Based on this analysis, a concept for a light standardized LCA tool for Swiss residential apartment buildings will be developed which enables architects and planners to easily evaluate the environmental impacts of a building right from the beginning of the design process. This paper introduces the methodological approach applied in the ETH research project Life Cycle Assessment of Infrastructure - Buildings.
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| 12. |
- Krank, Sabrina, et al.
(author)
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The neglected dimension: Socio-cultural indicators in the assessment of sustainable development in megacities
- 2008
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In: Proceedings of the 2008 World Sustainable Building Conference, 21-25 September 2008, Melbourne, Australia. - 9780646503721 ; , s. 1315-1322
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In the case of fast developing megacities of emerging countries, an integrated concept for the assessment of SUD, including the social and cultural dimensions comprehensively, is of particular need: Megacities are locations of polarization of people. Different cultural, social and income groups live closely together, thus opening an area of conflict. However, for the aspect of social sustainability, a theoretically stringent, systematic and comprehensive rationale which is translated into practical application does not yet exist.The aim of the paper is to shed light on theories within the social and cultural dimensions of the sustainability assessment, on the specific socio-cultural challenges in megacities and on existing indicator systems possibly applicable in those megacities. Based on existing studies and expert interviews of local stakeholders, specific requirements for the assessment of the social and cultural dimensions are formulated for the emerging megacity Hyderabad (India). Following this analysis, both the gaps in research and practice as well as challenges and responses are pointed out.
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| 13. |
- Meins, Erika, et al.
(author)
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Sustainability and property valuation: a risk-based approach
- 2010
-
In: Building Research and Information. - 1466-4321 .- 0961-3218. ; 38:3, s. 280-300
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The proportion of sustainable property in the total building stock remains small. One reason is that the financial added value resulting from sustainability is not sufficiently taken into account in property valuation due to the tendency of valuations to lag behind market trends. Quantitative information is provided to integrate those aspects of sustainability relating to value into valuations and thereby contribute to the reduction of valuation lag. The Centre for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CCRS) Economic Sustainability Indicator (ESI) measures the risk of property to lose value and the opportunity to gain value due to future developments (e.g. climate change or rising energy prices). Five groups of value-related sustainability features were identified: flexibility and polyvalence; energy and water dependency; accessibility and mobility; security; and health and comfort. By minimizing the risk of loss in value through future developments, those sustainability features contribute to the property value. Their effects on property value were quantified by risk modelling. As an indicator for future-oriented property risk, the ESI is integrated into the discount rate of discounted cash flow valuations. The approach was tested for plausibility and practicability on more than 200 properties.
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| 14. |
- Sousanabadi Farahani, Abolfazl, 1983, et al.
(author)
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The importance of life-cycle based planning in maintenance and energy renovation of multifamily buildings
- 2019
-
In: Sustainable Cities and Society. - : Elsevier BV. - 2210-6707. ; 44, s. 715-725
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Improving the energy performance in the real estate sector has become increasingly important and drawn a lot of attention during the past few decades. Despite all the technological developments, the energy efficiency measures are yet expensive and when implemented only to improve the energy performance, are rarely economically justified. To lower the costs of energy performance improvements, an alternative is to combine energy efficiency measures with already required renovation measures. The problem with renovation on the other hand, is that its planning is not strategic; it is mainly opportunistic, short-term and with the focus on the capitalization of newly-discovered opportunities, meaning that renovation measures are coupled when one or more of the rather costly building components have reached failure. The take on an opportunistic approach, however convenient, results in loss of value which is most often neglected in the economic evaluation of renovation projects. The lack of strategic planning and the subsequent loss of value become more important in less-attractive markets, where there are both budget constraints and socio-economic issues. Energy performance and/or living standard are often sacrificed through improper distribution of resources as the choice of renovation measures are often influenced by the return of investment. Therefore, a proper evaluation of renovation alternatives not only can satisfy the technical and financial requirements but also help maintain proper living standard and improve the energy performance in multifamily buildings. In a prior study, authors have proposed a systematic approach to cost-optimal maintenance and renovation planning by combining the deterioration function of building components with respective service-life cycle costing. This paper presents an extension of that methodology to include the energy efficiency option pricing as an optimization criterion. The extended methodology is meant to provide support for housing owners in building management in forms of technical and economic evaluation of possible energy-renovation scenarios under time/budget constraints. To demonstrate the application of the methodology, maintenance/renovation plans are devised for three building components with sharing fixed costs (windows, faöade and roof) in both new and existing multifamily buildings.
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| 15. |
- Vignisdottir, H., et al.
(author)
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A review of environmental impacts of winter road maintenance
- 2019
-
In: Cold Regions Science and Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0165-232X. ; 158, s. 143-153
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The need for winter road maintenance (WRM) is changing in cold regions due to climate change. How the different modes of WRM will contribute to future overall emissions from infrastructure is therefore of great interest to road owners with a view to a more sustainable, low-carbon future. In the quest for near-zero-emissions transport, all aspects of the transport sector need to be accounted for in the search for possible mitigation of emissions. This study used 35 peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2018 to map available information on the environmental impacts and effect of WRM and reveal any research gaps. The articles were categorized according to their research theme and focus. They were found to focus mainly on the local effects of WRM with emphasis on effects on water. Of the reviewed works, 27 contain information related to the environmental effects of deicers on a local level while five focused on global impact, which was mainly caused by fuel consumption. Only two articles took a holistic look at the system to identify emission sources and the effectiveness of possible changes in operations methods or material selection. In conclusion, WRM would benefit from further research to understand how it affects the natural environment in regions with a cold climate. Furthermore, a life-cycle approach could reveal ways to mitigate emissions through effectively comparing possible changes in the system without shifting the problem to other aspects of road transport.
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| 16. |
- Wallbaum, Holger, 1967, et al.
(author)
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Annex 65, Long-Term Performance of Super-Insulating-Materials in Building Components and Systems. Report of Subtask IV: Sustainability
- 2020
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This report of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Annex 65 subtask 4 considers a few selected but relevant means of assessing the current sustainability performance of Super-Insulating Materials (SIMs) namely the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), the Life Cycle Cost calculation (LCC), and the Embodied Energy (EE). Subtask 4 of IEA Annex 65 investigated the existing studies on LCA on super insulation materials (SIMs), according to the product categorization agreed by the Annex. After mapping the current state, the subtask constructed a life cycle inventory (LCI) of SIMs to make a transparent assessment of the environmental performance of a range of SIMs. Based on this LCI, a life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) of SIMs was also conducted. Contribution analysis was conducted to highlight the hotspots of the environmental performance of SIMs and a comparison between the conventional thermal insulation materials is shown. The SIMs examined in IEA Annex 65 are advanced porous materials (APMs) and vacuum insulation panels (VIPs). The original approach of this subtask was to construct this transparent LCI through cooperation with the manufacturers. However, this approach was unable to be implemented due to various challenges including resolving concerns over confidentiality issues. This led the subtask to develop the LCI based on the existing literature. The LCIA of VIP showed a good level of coherency with the published Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), which normally does not contain transparent LCI information. The result creates a solid basis for the comparison with conventional insulation materials for other LCIA studies. Meanwhile, the LCIA result of aerogel (the APM examined) showed a large difference between published EPDs. This was due to the fact that the available LCI information only represented the pilot scale. Although EPDs represent product-specific LCIA results, the level of information described in the document may not always be sufficient to allow a fair comparison. This lack of transparency remains a challenge for new advanced materials. A hypothetical case of renovation which looked into the economic and the environmental payback time showed that SIMs have very long simple payback times in most northern European cities. However, places with high land price or high heating demand can affect the competitiveness of the SIMs, both economically and environmentally. In reality, there are various limitations that may affect the decision of insulation material selection. Cases where space limitations are given, or preservation of the architectural design were seen as reasons for implementing the SIMs in the existing building renovation projects.
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| 17. |
- Wallbaum, Holger, 1967, et al.
(author)
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Cost-effective and high performance renovation of existing residential multi-family buildings in three European countries
- 2013
-
In: Sustainable Building Conference 2013, 23.-28.09.2013, TU Graz, Austria. ; , s. 360-361
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The built environment is a central aspect of daily human life. Building processes are also among the most cost intensive processes that we come into contact with. As for residential buildings, many people take 20 or 30 years, or even more, to pay back their home loans. Refurbishment of buildings is seen as a possible major contribution to lowering the impact of buildings on the environment [1] while being, ideally, economically promising and keeping the social identity of our built environment. On the other hand, regulations are often centered on the sustainability of new buildings [2], and there is a lack of regulations tailored to refurbishment [3]. At the same time existing buildings are seen as a key factor in local identity, and as a hub of socio-ecological development [4].The EU funded BEEM-UP project (Building Energy Efficiency for Massive market UPtake) [5] has the goal to demonstrate the economic, social and technical feasibility of retrofitting initiatives for a 75 percent reduction in energy consumption in existing buildings, and lay the ground for massive market uptake. BEEM-UP involves key expertise to implement and demonstrate innovative building and energy management approaches with the overall aim to improve energy efficiency in existing buildings and obtain better indoor comfort conditions in three ambitious retrofitting projects. The main emphasis is placed on the economic and ecological life cycle assessment and comparison of the different projects and applied measurements in Sweden, the Netherlands and France. All projects are large-scale residential buildings with a focus on social housing, apartments and flats. All three sites are representative examples in the respective countries of building cohorts that are due for refurbishment.One of the main goals of the BEEM-UP project is to compare the refurbishment approaches of the different countries, and to provide an exchange regarding related problems and solutions. For this purpose an ecological as well as life cycle cost assessment has been carried out for all three sites. For each site six refurbishment scenarios have been defined through intensive consultations with the building owners and other stakeholders, for instance tenants or tenant representatives. First preliminary results indicate that it is economically and technologically feasible to achieve 75 percent reductions in energy consumption for the existing building stock.However, these preliminary findings point to institutional and social impediments that may not lead to massive market uptake in the social housing real estate community. Social housing institutions face distinct regulations and economic constraints, which can inhibit their uptake of energy retrofit policies [6]. On the one hand, national and EU wide policies nudge building owners towards basic energy-efficiency measures. On the other hand, institutional factors historically embedded into the social housing framework like rent controls and governmental rent subsidies inhibit a more equitable distribution of refurbishment costs between tenants and building owners. Moreover, discounted third-party capital is limited and subsidies at the national and local levels cannot support the level of refurbishments needed across the housing stock.However, there is economic value in energy-efficiency refurbishments of the building stock. An increasing number of studies document increased transaction values for buildings that are relatively more energy-efficient [7,8]. However, BEEM-Up has shed light on other sources of value at the property level. Namely, firms that have developed the product, process and organizational innovations associated with energy-efficiency retrofits could be financially more nimble and efficient in their housing portfolio relative to their non-innovative peers. In addition, there are more ways than transaction value and rental income to see the financial benefits of energy-efficiency. Alternate sources of income from renewable energy and even less explored financial benefits from taxation and depreciation that are currently linked to energy-efficiency investments are another source of savings for energy-efficiency that is far less explored. Thus, political and economic capital is required to shift institutions and firms towards an innovation mind-set to meet the needs of an ecologically improved building stock.
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| 18. |
- Wallbaum, Holger, 1967, et al.
(author)
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Environmental benefits by using construction methods with geosynthetics
- 2014
-
In: 10th International Conference on Geosynthetics, ICG 2014. - 9783981395396
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Geosynthetic materials are used in many different applications in the civil and underground engineering. In most cases, the use of geosynthetic material replaces the use of other materials. On behalf of the European Association for Geosynthetic Manufacturers (EAGM) the authors quantified the environmental performance of commonly applied construction materials (such as concrete, cement, lime or gravel) versus geosynthetics. To this end a set of comparative life cycle assessment studies are carried out, according to the ISO 14040 and 14044 standards, concentrating on various application cases, namely filtration, foundation stabilised road, landfill construction and slope retention. The environmental performance of geosynthetics is compared to the performance of competing construction materials used. The environmental impacts of the full life cycle of the four cases show overall the following results:• A filter using a geosynthetic layer causes lower impacts compared to a conventional gravel based filter layer with regard to all impact category indicators investigated.• A conventional road causes higher impacts compared to a road reinforced with geosynthetics with regard to all impact category indicators.• A geosynthetic drainage layer causes lower environmental impacts compared to a gravel based drainage layer in all impact categories considered except land competition which is about the same in both cases.• A geosynthetic reinforced wall causes lower environmental impacts compared to a reinforced concrete wall in all impact categories considered.
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| 19. |
- Wallbaum, Holger, 1967
(author)
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Sustainability indicators for the built environment - the challenges ahead
- 2008
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In: Proceedings of the 2008 World Sustainable Building Conference, 21-25 September 2008, Melbourne, Australia. - 9780646503721 ; 2, s. 1292-1298
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Methods and tools including sustainable development indicators (SDIs) are important aids to the implementation of sustainable development in the construction industry. Through a qualitative analysis, a variety of methods which are widely used internationally can be assessed to establish their compliance with the general requirements of sustainable development. This paper looks at five fundamental criteria: holism, lifecycle assessment, directional certainty, traceability/transparency and local suitability. Most methods more or less meet these requirements, in which users play a central role in compliance. This paper identifies a number of remaining knowledge deficits: the recording and analysis of sociocultural indicators, additional environmental indicators such as land use, resource intensity, interior quality and usability, and a more detailed understanding of building usage and decommissioning costs. In addition to these knowledge deficits, and for a variety of reasons, there is also an implementation deficit: the practice of sustainable construction is lagging far behind the theory.
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| 20. |
- Wallbaum, Holger, 1967, et al.
(author)
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Wirtschaftlichkeit, Qualität und Ressourcenschutz in der Bauwirtschaft durch ganzheitliches Planen
- 2005
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In: Materialeffizienz. Potenziale bewerten, Innovationen fördern, Beschäftigung sichern, Liedtke, Christa, Busch, Timo, oekom Verlag, München, Deutschland. - 3936581819 ; , s. 161-173
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)
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| 21. |
- Österbring, Magnus, 1986, et al.
(author)
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Stakeholder Specific Multi-Scale Spatial Representation of Urban Building-Stocks
- 2018
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In: ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information. - : MDPI AG. - 2220-9964. ; 7:5, s. 173-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Urban building-stocks use a significant amount of resources and energy. At the same time, theyhave a large potential for energy efficiency measures (EEM). To support decision-making and planning, spatial building-stock models are used to examine the current state and future development of urbanbuilding-stocks. While these models normally focus on specific cities, generic and broad stakeholder groups such as planners and policy makers are often targeted. Consequently, the visualization and communication of results are not tailored to these stakeholders. The aim of this paper is to explore the possibilities of mapping and representing energy use of urban building-stocks at different levels of aggregation and spatial distributions, to communicate with specific stakeholders involved in the urban development process. This paper uses a differentiated building-stock description based on building-specific data andmeasured energy use fromenergy performance certificates formulti-family buildings (MFB) in the city of Gothenburg. The building-stock description treats every building as unique, allowing results to be provided at any level of aggregation to suit the needs of the specific stakeholders involved. Calculated energy use of the existing stock is within 10% of the measured energy use. The potential for EEM in the existing stock is negated by the increased energy use due to new construction until 2035, using a development scenario based on current renovation rates and planned developments. Visualizations of the current energy use of the stock as well as the impact of renovation and new construction are provided, targeting specific local stakeholders.
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| 22. |
- Kono, Jun, 1987, et al.
(author)
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The trends of hourly carbon emission factors in Germany and investigation on relevant consumption patterns for its application
- 2017
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In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 22:10, s. 1493-1501
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PurposeThe share of variable renewable energy sources (vRES) in the German electricity grid has increased over the past few decades. Due to the nature of the generation pattern of vRES, the increase of vRES causes the emission factor (EF) to fluctuate on an hourly basis. This fluctuation raises concerns about the accuracy of quantifying emissions with the current metric of the annual average EF as the respective EF may change depending on the time at which it is consumed.MethodsThe study calculated the hourly EF of Germany from 2011 to 2015 and investigated the effect of an increase of vRES on the EF. The calculated hourly EF was clustered based on three aspects of time: the period of time, the time of a day, and the day of the week.Results and discussionThe study showed a higher proportion of vRES on weekend daytimes while the weekday nighttimes resulted in a lower share than the annual average. The study highlighted potential underestimation and overestimation of emissions by using annual average EF which ranged from +22% (2015 weekday nighttime of October) to −34% (2015 weekend daytime of May).ConclusionsThe study suggested that the application of hourly EF may be necessary to quantify the respective emission from the consumers that use electricity during the weekend daytime and weekend nighttime. For consumer use at other times, the emissions could be quantified appropriately by using the conventional annual average EF.
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| 23. |
- Hardziewski, Regina, et al.
(author)
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EU-project OPEN HOUSE: Benchmarking and mainstreaming building sustainability in the EU based on transparency and openness
- 2012
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In: 3th International Symposium on Life-Cycle-Engineering, October 16-19, 2012, Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria. - 9780415621267
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper is about the development of the new European building assessment methodology OPEN HOUSE. Central in the OPEN HOUSE concept are transparency and collective development in an open way across the EU. The process to develop the OPEN HOUSE assessment methodology for the planning and construction of sustainable buildings consists of the following main steps:1. Assessment of methodologies, normative, standards and guidelines for sustainability of buildings at national,European and international level2. First set of recommendations for standardisation for the baseline3. Definition of indicators, sustainability performance levels and procedures to evaluate them4. Development of the OPEN HOUSE baselineNineteen partners from eleven EU-countries participated in the development of the OPEN HOUSE methodology.The basis for the new methodology is already existing standards as well as other European and internationalassessment methods.
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| 24. |
- Heeren, Niko, et al.
(author)
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Towards a 2000 Watt society – assessing building-specific saving potentials of the Swiss residential building stock
- 2012
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In: International Journal of Sustainable Building Technology and Urban Development. - 2093-7628 .- 2093-761X. ; 3:1, s. 43-49
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Switzerland declared the notion of the 2000 Watt society as their leitmotif towards a sustainable development in terms of energy and greenhouse gas emissions. This implies that worldwide, no more than 17,520 kWh of total primary energy and 1 ton CO2-equivalent are to be consumed per capita and year for all services. Thus, in order to meet the targets of the 2000 Watt society, it is necessary to reduce primary energy demand by 44% and greenhouse gas emissions by 77%. The building stock model, described in this paper, assisted the government of Zurich to identify the necessary steps in order to achieve the goals with regard to the city's residential, school, and office buildings. The objective of this paper is to investigate the role of energy demand reduction in residential buildings on the way towards the goals of a 2000 Watt society.In order to illustrate the mechanisms within the building stock and to identify the effects of construction activity, the model works with different scenarios. Specific measures were isolated and analysed individually. All three measures act directly on the building stock; each have comparable reduction potential in terms of primary energy demand (ca. 15%) and greenhouse gas emissions (ca. 40%). In order to further cut back greenhouse gas emissions, measures to reduce the carbon intensity of fuels and electricity need to be considered.
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| 25. |
- Jakob, Martin, et al.
(author)
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Energiekonzept 2050 für die Stadt Zürich - Auf dem Weg zur 2000 Watt tauglichen Wärme-Versorgung mit einem räumlich differenzierten Gebäudeparkmodell
- 2012
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In: Brenet Statusseminar, 13-14. September 2012, Zurich, Switzerland.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This project develops a heat demand and supply concept for the City of Zurich within the framework of the 2000 Watt society. Heat and electricity demand and supply were simulated with a building stock model that aggregates buildings that are similar by type, construction period, usage, and location, etc. by using building specific information of an official data set of the buildings and apartments within the city of Zurich. Based on official GIS-Data, the city area was divided into 16 supply zones for which a specific energy carrier mix for the year 2050 was defined. With regard to the regional development strategy (RES) the city area was also divided into 5 demand zones, which differ in monument conservation regulations entailing less stringent measures (e.g. lower specific retrofit rates, demolition rates, heat transfer coefficients). With ambitious, but realistic retrofit measures, efficient use of electricity and tapping available renewable energy potentials to a large extent it is possible to reach the goals of the 2000-Watt-Society within the modeled framework.
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