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Life-Cycle Energy, Costs, and Strategies for Improving a Single-Family House

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Life-Cycle Energy, Costs, and Strategies for Improving a Single-Family House y A P P L I C AT I O N S A N D I M P L E M E N TAT I O N Life-Cycle Energy, Costs, and Strategies for Improving a Single-Family House Gregory A. Keoleian Center for Sustainable Systems University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA Steven Blanchard Clean Air Campaign Colorado Springs, CO, USA Peter Reppe Center for Sustainable Systems University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA y Keywords Summary building materials eco-efficiency The life-cycle energy, greenhouse gas emissions, and costs of greenhouse gas emissions a contemporary 2,450 sq ft (228 m3) U.S. residential home life-cycle cost analysis (the standard home, or SH) were evaluated to study oppor- life-cycle energy analysis single-family house tunities for conserving energy throughout pre-use (materials production and construction), use (including maintenance and improvement), and demolition phases. Home construc- tion and maintenance materials and appliances were inven- toried totaling 306 metric tons. The use phase accounted for 91% of the total life-cycle energy consumption over a 50- year home life. A functionally equivalent energy-efficient house (EEH) was modeled that incorporated 11 energy effi- ciency strategies. These strategies led to a dramatic reduction in the EEH total life-cycle energy; 6,400 GJ for the EEH com- pared to 16,000 GJ for the SH. For energy-efficient homes, Address correspondence to: embodied energy of materials is important; pre-use energy Gregory A. Keoleian accounted for 26% of life-cycle energy. The discounted (4%) Center for Sustainable Systems life-cycle cost, consisting of mortgage, energy, maintenance, University of Michigan Dana Bldg. 430 E. University and improvement payments varied between $426,700 and Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1115 USA $454,300 for a SH using four energy price forecast scenarios. [email protected] www.umich.edu/~css In the case of the EEH, energy cost savings were offset by higher mortgage costs, resulting in total life-cycle cost be- tween $434,100 and $443,200. Life-cycle greenhouse gas © Copyright 2001 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale emissions were 1,010 metric tons CO2 equivalent for an SH University and 370 metric tons for an EEH. Volume 4, Number 2 y Journal of Industrial Ecology 135 y A P P L I C AT I O N S A N D I M P L E M EN TAT I O N Introduction tion of materials also are reported in Btu/lb or MJ/kg, but other quantitative metrics are lim- The design and construction of a new house ited. The National Institute of Standards and is one of the most resource-intensive and eco- Technology has developed a software tool for se- nomically significant decisions made by devel- lecting “environmentally and economically bal- opers and consumers. In 1998, 1.62 million new anced building products.” The BEES (Building homes were built in the United States, of which for Environmental and Economic Sustainability) approximately 1.28 million were single detached tool provides a more comprehensive life-cycle dwellings and 0.34 million were multifamily inventory analysis for a select group of construc- units (NAHB 1999). Household energy con- tion materials (BEES 1998). BEES also provides sumption accounts for approximately 11% of the life-cycle cost data on the initial investment, re- total U.S. energy consumption.1 This translates placement, operation, maintenance and repair, into an average annual household expenditure and disposal of alternatives. of $1,282 for all major energy sources. The resi- A few life-cycle energy analyses have focused dential home construction industry accounts for on construction materials in residential dwell- 43% of all U.S. construction expenditures ings.2 Cole (1993) studied the embodied energy (Construction Review 1997). During 1992, of alternative wall assemblies including 2 ´ 6 wall single home construction accounted for $49.5 construction, increasing roof insulation, and in- billion in total value of business (U.S. Depart- creasing the amount of south-facing window ment of Commerce 1995). Of this amount, the area. He found that, although the embodied en- industry paid $16.7 billion for materials, compo- ergy (materials production and construction) was nents, and supplies and $15.0 billion for con- increased in each case, the use-phase energy sav- struction work subcontracted to others. Costs for ings was more significant. A comparison of how selected power, fuels, and lubricants for the in- embodied energy and heating energy vary among dustry were $647 million. Gaining a better un- generic wall systems (Pierquet et al. 1998) found derstanding of the specific material and energy that straw bale wall systems provide the best flows and costs associated with an individual combination of higher insulating value and lower residential home requires the application of the embodied energy. Cole (1999) investigated en- tools of industrial ecology. ergy and greenhouse gas emissions associated A comprehensive assessment of the resource with the construction of alternative structural intensity of a residential home requires a life- systems and determined the significance of on- cycle perspective. The life cycle of a house en- site construction relative to total initial embod- compasses materials production, construction, ied energy associated with materials production operation and maintenance, and demolition. and fabrication. He found that construction ac- Most research on energy consumption has fo- counted for 6% to 16% of the total embodied en- cused on the use phase of a house. More recently, ergy for wood assemblies, 2% to 5% for steel some attention has been directed toward recog- assemblies, and 11% to 25% for concrete assem- nizing the energy associated with the production blies. Debnath and colleagues (1995) determined of construction materials. In 1992, the American the energy requirements for major building mate- Institute of Architects (AIA) began to develop rials of residential buildings in India. Energy in- the Environmental Resource Guide for Archi- tensity varied from 3 to 5 GJ/m2 of floor area for tects, which featured environmental character- single, double, and multistory dwellings. The izations of a variety of building materials and studies by Cole (1999), Debnath and colleagues components including steel, concrete, wood, (1995), and Pierquet and colleagues (1998) indi- glass, brick and mortar, plaster and lath, ceiling cate how alternative structural materials influ- systems, and gypsum board systems (AIA 1992). ence the life-cycle energy profile of a home. These characterizations provide a qualitative de- This study addresses the primary life-cycle scription of the inputs, outputs, and environ- energy consumption, the corresponding release mental impacts associated with each material’s of greenhouse gases, and related costs for the life cycle. Energy requirements for the produc- construction and use of a typical detached home 136 Journal of Industrial Ecology A P P L I C AT I O N S A N D I M P L E M EN TATI O N y in the United States. Whereas previous life- the modeling is provided elsewhere (Blanchard cycle studies have focused on structural elements and Reppe 1998).) Although this study focuses of a home, this investigation addresses the entire on life-cycle energy and greenhouse gas emis- set of home subsystems and components, includ- sions, future work should also consider other en- ing wall systems, flooring, roof and ceiling sys- vironmental aspects, including air and water tems, foundation and basement, doors and pollutant emissions and solid waste generation, windows (fenestration systems), appliances and and their related consequences, including acidi- electrical systems, sanitary systems, and fication, ozone depletion, smog formation, cabinetry. Life-cycle building costs have been eutrophication, and human and ecological tox- analyzed previously (ASTM 1993), but this in- icity. Although many burdens and impacts are vestigation links life-cycle energy and costs for a directly associated with energy consumption, specific residential home. In addition, the use of many effects, nevertheless, originate from non- effective design strategies to reduce life-cycle combustion–related processes. energy and greenhouse gas emissions are ex- plored. Although the use phase currently domi- System Definition nates the life-cycle energy consumption, the importance of materials production and manu- The home studied was a single-family, two- facturing/construction are expected to increase story residence with 2,450 ft2 (228 m2) of primary as designs become more energy-efficient. This living area, an attached two-car garage (484 ft2), research will demonstrate how eco-efficiency and an unfinished basement (1,675 ft2), recently can influence the life-cycle energy profile. built in a new Ann Arbor, Michigan subdivision The research consisted of three primary ele- and referred to as the Standard Home (SH). This ments. First, four life-cycle metrics, mass, energy, home is shown in figure 1. The 2 ´ 4 frame con- global warming potential (GWP), and cost, struction is typical of the majority of homes built were determined for a 2,450 sq ft home built in in the United States. The basis for this analysis is Ann Arbor, Michigan, referred to as the Stan- a 50-year service life. dard Home (SH). Second, a portfolio of primary Three options for defining the EEH were ex- energy-reducing strategies were investigated to plored. Selecting a home with nearly identical improve the SH. The new structure, referred to functionality was important. Usable floor space as the Energy-Efficient Home (EEH), incorpo- and equivalent room function were stressed. The rated the same floor plan and architectural style first option consisted of finding an energy-effi- as the SH. Third, the same four life-cycle cient passive solar home already built in the up- metrics were calculated for the EEH. per Midwest with a floor arrangement similar to that of the SH. A second alternative would have required the design of a new energy-efficient Methods home incorporating passive solar heating, but Life-cycle inventories for the SH and the ensuring functional equivalence.
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