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Comparison of life cycle assessment (LCA) results of probabilistic, simplified and detailed calculation for the case study.
Source publication
With current efforts to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of buildings in the operational phase, the share of embedded energy (EE) and embedded GHG emissions is increasing. In early design stages, chances to influence these factors in a positive way are greatest, but very little and vague information about the fut...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... as described in Section 3.2, mean values are consistent throughout the BDLs. Table 4 shows the results of the simplified and probabilistic calculations in comparison to the detailed calculation based on the execution drawings. All values are rounded without digits. ...Context 2
... as described in Section 3.2, mean values are consistent throughout the BDLs. Table 4 shows the results of the simplified and probabilistic calculations in comparison to the detailed calculation based on the execution drawings. All values are rounded without digits. ...Similar publications
This paper focuses on FuelCell-based electromobility (Commercial and Heavy-Duty Vehicles) to judge its ability to reduce GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions in the Transport sector as to fulfill Paris Agreement demands to struggle against Global warming. Current LCA studies and literature show that BEVs (Battery Powered Vehicles) offer lesser emissions...
Citations
... This database adapts the environmental data of Ecoinvent 3.0 to the Chilean energy matrix and interconnects it with economic and social costs for stages A1-A5. Veselka et al. [64], among others [58,[68][69][70][71][72], make use of the German Ökobaudat database which is based on GaBi and information from the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). ...
... For example, Hao et al. [88] use the GGJ2013 and GCL2013 software to obtain material quantification data, send them to an Excel file, and perform the LCA for a prefabricated construction. Other studies choose to manually input data extracted from a BIM model into LCA or LCC tools for impact calculation [72,76,[89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98]. Among these, Rezaei et al. [75] use the model's output data in Revit, Ecoinvent's database, and perform the LCA in OpenLCA. ...
... Early stage [6,7,9,48,51,52,54,55,58,60,61,63,65,66,69,71,72,76,[78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85][89][90][91][92]100,[102][103][104][105][106][109][110][111][112][113][114][115][116][117][118][119][120][121][130][131][132][135][136][137][138]141,144,146,148,[150][151][152][153][154][155][156][157][158][159] End of design [93,134,145] Entire design process [1, 13,25,26,56,70,75,133,139] Design (unspecified stage) [17,64,73,74,86,87,94,95,99,101,107,123,124,140,142] After construction [68,110,125,143] Unspecified stage [8,57,59,88,96,97,108,122,126,128,147,160] ...
The construction industry has enormous impacts on the three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, economic, and social. To mitigate these impacts, several researchers have explored a variety of methods that link Building Information Modeling (BIM) with methodologies for a holistic evaluation of sustainability, such as Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA). However, the complete integration of BIM-LCSA still remains unresolved, with a series of challenges that must be overcome. Consequently, the aim of this article is to identify the advances and challenges of BIM-LCSA integration focused on buildings through a literature review of the existing solutions presented by researchers worldwide. The PRISMA 2020 protocol is used. A total of 135 articles published between 2010–2023 are reviewed for bibliometric analysis. Furthermore, an exhaustive analysis of the case studies is carried out, by taking into account the structure proposed by ISO 14040. The authors identify a gap in the literature mainly regarding the full integration of the three dimensions with BIM that facilitates a simultaneous on-the-air assessment, in addition to the lack of a standardized LCSA method of calculation.
... Die in der Vergangenheit überwiegend verfolgte Optimierung des Gebäudeenergiebedarfs und damit verbundener THG-Emissionen der Betriebsphase führte dazu, dass deren Einfluss auf den Gesamtfußabdruck von Bauwerken zurückging. Durch diese Entwicklung haben die mit der Herstellung und dem End-of-Life von Dämmmaterialien sowie Baukonstruktion einhergehenden grauen THG-Emissionen an Bedeutung gewonnen, was deren Untersuchung insbesondere bei hochgedämmten Gebäuden zwingend erforderlich macht [26][27][28][29]. Verbesserungen der Energieeffizienz durch zusätzliche Dämmschichten ziehen in der Regel eine Erhöhung der grauen THG-Emissionen nach sich, was das Einsparpotential aus einer lebenszyklusorientierten Perspektive verringert [30,31]. ...
Mit dem Green Deal verdeutlicht die Europäische Union die Dringlichkeit von Maßnahmen zum Klimaschutz und zur Klimaanpassung. Dem weltweit für 38 % an CO2 Emissionen verantwortlichen Gebäudesektor kommt dabei eine Schlüsselrolle zu. Bisherige Ansätze zur Quartiersentwicklung sind jedoch häufig auf einzelne Aspekte fokussiert, da die ganzheitliche Bewertung komplexer Quartiersysteme kaum umsetzbar scheint. Es gilt daher Rahmenbedingungen zu identifizieren, die Klimaschutz und Klimaanpassung vereinen sowie einen positiven Beitrag zur Regeneration der Biokapazitäten unseres Planeten leisten. Diese Dissertation zeigt, wie Wechselwirkungen zwischen Gebäuden und Außenraum untersucht werden können und welche Relevanz sie für damit verbundene Entscheidungsprozesse mit Blick auf resultierende Synergien und Trade-offs haben. Zudem werden Methoden entwickelt, um die gewonnenen Erkenntnisse der Planungspraxis zugänglich zu machen.
Zunächst erfolgt eine Analyse bestehender Definitionen zu den Begriffen Synergie und Trade-off in verschiedenen Themenfeldern. Die Übertragung auf den Bausektor liefert die Grundlage zur Ableitung entsprechender Bewertungskennzahlen und zur Konzeption eines generischen Prozesses für die multikriteriell optimierte Entscheidungsunterstützung in der Quartiersentwicklung, der Urban Systems Exploration. Mittels parametrischer Gebäude- und Quartiersmodelle werden das synergetische Wirken von Maßnahmenkombinationen sowie multikriterielle Trade-offs hinsichtlich der lebenszyklusbasierten Treibhausgasemissionen, der Lebenszykluskosten und des thermischen Außenraumkomforts in Fallstudien untersucht. Die daraus entwickelten Quartiersteckbriefe dienen zur Integration der Erkenntnisse in Planungs- und Entscheidungsprozesse. Die Nutzbarkeit dieser Steckbriefe wird schließlich anhand von Expert:inneninterviews überprüft und verbessert.
Mit dem entwickelten Prozess der Urban Systems Exploration und der Bewertung von Synergieeffekten in der gebauten Umwelt wird ein Grundstein für die Integration von Wechselwirkungen zwischen Gebäuden und Außenraum in Entscheidungsprozessen gelegt. Dabei zeigt sich, dass die Ermittlung des Pareto-optimalen Handlungsspielraums wesentlich zur ausgewogenen Quartiersplanung beiträgt. Dies unterstützt Planer:innen und Entscheider:innen bei der fundierten Abwägung von Zielkonflikten im Quartier, erfordert jedoch interdisziplinäre Herangehensweisen und ausgeprägtes Systemdenken aller Beteiligten. Die erstellten Quartiersteckbriefe bieten hierzu bereits in frühen Planungsphasen eine niedrigschwellige Diskussionsgrundlage. Die Ergebnisse der Fallstudien zeigen unter anderem, dass Außenraumbegrünungen in Kombination mit hohen Energiestandards und Photovoltaikflächen zur parallelen Verbesserung der lebenszyklusbasierten Treibhausgasemissionen, der Lebenszykluskosten und des Außenraumkomforts beitragen. Zudem sind diese Planungsvariablen gut geeignet, um Pareto-optimale Trade-offs gezielt zu steuern und dadurch Planungsentwürfe an den jeweiligen Quartierskontext anzupassen. Zusammenfassend ist die Notwendigkeit einer systemischen Betrachtung des urbanen Raums für die nachhaltige Transformation des Bausektors feststellbar. Es wird daher empfohlen, bei Planungsprozessen eine multikriterielle Betrachtungsweise anzustreben und Entscheidungen basierend auf der vollständigen Exploration des Handlungsspielraums abzuwägen.
... Case studies have demonstrated that wooden buildings can significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions compared to equivalent structures made from mineral materials. Studies indicate that the estimated total environmental impact of wooden buildings may be as much as about 50% of the value for buildings constructed using traditional technology (cement blocks and concrete), and this result is repeatable in both new and older studies [55,110,155,156]. This value decreases when buildings are low-energy, then embodied energy becomes important. ...
A Carbon Footprint (CF) is defined as the total emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, and is a specific type of Environmental Footprint that measures human impact on the environment. Carbon dioxide emissions are a major contributor to anthropogenic greenhouse gases driving climate change. Wood, as a renewable and ecological material, has relatively low carbon emissions. The study aimed to review and analyze the criteria influencing the feasibility of constructing modern zero-carbon wooden buildings. The review was conducted in two phases: (i) a literature review and (ii) an assessment of existing buildings. The preliminary research led to (i) narrowing the focus to the years 2020–2024 and (ii) identifying key criteria for analysis: sustainable material sourcing, carbon sequestration, energy efficiency, life cycle assessment (LCA), and innovative construction practices. The study’s findings indicate that all these criteria play a vital role in the design and construction of new zero-carbon wooden buildings. They highlight the significant potential of wood as a renewable material in achieving zero-carbon buildings (ZCBs), positioning it as a compelling alternative to traditional construction materials. However, the research also underscores that despite wood’s numerous potential benefits, its implementation in ZCBs faces several challenges, including social, regulatory, and financial barriers.
... As displayed by the alternative ranking in Fig. 13, ribbed slab (R) or box slab (B) should be preferred over reinforced concrete (RC) and composite timber-concrete (CTC) constructions, except for ribbed composite timber-concrete with wet screed (alternative CTC(R)_ws). These results are already known for single criteria, such as GWP or PENRT (Schneider-Marin et al. 2020;Allan et al. 2022;Reitberger et al. 2022; Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen 2021). This study shows that this also holds when considering further environmental criteria simultaneously. ...
Purpose
Sustainable building design relies heavily on building parts, with crucial consideration for climate and environmental impact. Due to numerous criteria and diverse alternatives, employing multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) to choose the best alternative is essential. Yet, relevant criteria and suitable MCDM methods for life cycle-based building planning still need to be determined. This study highlights prevalent environmental criteria and offers guidance on MCDM approaches for sustainable building parts.
Methods
This study introduces an innovative approach by integrating life cycle assessment and MCDM. This provides comprehensive decision support for planners. A systematic literature review identifies environmental criteria for building parts and is validated in expert workshops. Thus, the relevance of criteria across the building life cycle is established. Furthermore, the study analyzes MCDM approaches in the built environment. From this, the study employs and evaluates the Analytical Network Process (ANP) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in a case study. Thereby, it offers insights into effective decision-making methodologies for sustainable building practices.
Results
This research categorizes environmental criteria for building parts and buildings into emissions, energy, resources, and circularity. Among 26 building part-related criteria, the global warming potential is highlighted. While the AHP is widely used in MCDM, a standardized method in planning processes is yet to emerge. Applying the ANP and AHP reveals similar rankings for the best and worst alternatives in a case study focused on selecting the optimal ceiling structure. Ribbed or box slab ceiling constructions are favored over reinforced concrete and composite timber-concrete constructions.
Conclusions
This study presents a novel method for life cycle-based MCDM challenges, identifying key environmental criteria. While material correlations exist, evaluating building parts demands simultaneous consideration of multiple criteria. Future research aims to compare further MCDM methods regarding their applicability, transparency, and ranking to enhance decision-making in sustainable construction. These investigations are essential for refining decision-making processes in the built environment, ensuring effective and transparent sustainability planning approaches.
... The operation stage plays the most important role in reducing the greenhouse gas emissions (GGE) of buildings throughout the life cycle (Cheng et al., 2020). The use of BIM for facility management in the operation phase of the building life cycle can effectively assess the state of the building environment (Stojanovic et al., 2019), improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from buildings (Schneider-Marin et al., 2020). BIM can be used to manage indoor environmental quality (IEQ) parameters, such as temperature, humidity and air quality (Abdelazim et al., 2021). ...
Building information modelling (BIM), as an effective digital method of information representation in the field of construction engineering, helps to deal with a series of works including design optimization, construction planning, and facility management. BIM enhances sustainability through energy simulations, material selection, waste reduction, and energy monitoring. However, challenges like talent shortage, interoperability issues, data management, and lack of standardization hinder its widespread use. Current research lacks systematic exploration of BIM's application in green buildings' life cycle, limiting further development. To fill this research gap, this study aims to provide a systematic review of the application of BIM in the design, construction and operation stages of the whole life cycle of green buildings. As a guideline to conduct this research, the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) model are used to identify the main procedures for literature screening and review. Through the systematic review, the main applications of BIM technology in green buildings are summarized, while the challenges in the current applications and the corresponding solutions are discussed. Finally, the study proposes key points for the future development of BIM to help the construction industry truly realize the development of man and nature and harmony and greenery.
... Notably, the operational aspect remains less explored, as seen in Schneider-Marin et al. [112] and Theißen et al. [124] studies, allowing potential for a more holistic approach in future studies that weigh both operational and embodied life cycle phases. ...
... • The major drivers of uncertainty should be identified, and the extent to which uncertainty can be reduced should be investigated [81,112] methodologies in the realm of construction and environmental impact assessments. The difficulties encompass various aspects, including data consistency, the predictive nature of green building certificates, interoperability issues, and the absence of standardized approaches. ...
... Were overlooked [5,42,140] • The social impact of using BIM was overlooked [18,35,140] • Some categories of BSA credits were under-researched [9,13,72,132] Under-researched • Operational energy impact was under-researched [13,24,70,102,112,122,124] • Embodied energy impact was under-researched [13,70,79] Lack of empirical support • Only the theoretical framework was provided, without a case study [12,[45][46][47]76,87,88,102,103,107,135] • Confusion between BIM as a tool and BIM as a concept [20,54,71,99,113] Confusion spotting Competing explanations ...
Scientific contributions to BIM-sustainability integration have gained momentum in recent years due to the influential role of BIM as a well-accepted approach for sustainable construction practices. In this regard, some systematic reviews and informatic analysis papers have addressed this topic. Although these papers have provided useful insights, we go deeper into the body of knowledge through a critical lens. In addition, in this paper, keyword combination is broadened as opposed to other reviews, and critical insight is applied to synergies between BIM and sustainability through gap-spotting. For this purpose, 98 journal articles are selected and grouped into four major categories, namely: (i) BIM-based Life-Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA); (ii) BIM for green buildings; (iii) BIM-aided construction waste management; (iv) state-of-the-art topics. The work's novelty lies in giving a holistic understanding of previously dismissed issues and a critical area review. Finally, the research gaps and future opportunities are discussed and tabulated.
... Schneider-Marin et al. [22] conducted an LCA of interior walls (i.e., gypsum boards) in office buildings. The authors determined that the service life of gypsum boards in an office is 20 years due to changes in users or other reasons, whereas the service life of a building is 50 years. ...
The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of service conditions on lightweight partitions in residential buildingsusing life-cycle assessments (LCAs). Three alternative service conditions were included as follows: light/moderate, standard, and intensive. LCAs were conducted for pairwise comparisons among three types of lightweight partitions: gypsum board, autoclaved aerated blocks, and hollow concrete blocks. The functional unit considered was 1 m2 of a partition, and the building’s lifespan was 50 years. In light/moderate conditions, the replacement rate for all three partitions was zero times during the building’s lifespan. In standard conditions, the replacement rate for gypsum board and autoclaved aerated blocks was one time during the building’s lifespan, and for hollow concrete blocks, it was zero times. In intensive conditions, the replacement rate for gypsum board was four times during the building’s lifespan, that for autoclaved aerated blocks was two times, and that for hollow concrete blocks was zero times. The six ReCiPe2016 methodological options were used to estimate environmental damage using a two-stage nested analysis of variance. The results showed that, in light/moderate and standard conditions, gypsum board was the best alternative, while in intensive conditions, hollow concrete blocks were the best alternative. In conclusion, the choice of lightweight partitions should be made while taking the service conditions in residential buildings into account.
... The method is commonly facilitated by the employment of building archetypes, i.e. statistical representations of buildings that are classified by a limited range of building properties, including age class, geometry, usage, and building type (Lauster 2018). Such an approach inherently leads to a high degree of sensitivity in LCA simulations, where the broad range of environmental impact factors for each life cycle module and phase exponentiates the result uncertainty (De Jaeger et al. 2020;Schneider-Marin et al. 2020). Common archetype data sources such as UrbanReNet, the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development ("Bundesministerium f€ ur Verkehr, Bau und Stadtentwicklung", BMVBS), and the European Typology Approach for Building Stock Energy Assessment (TABULA) generally do not include information about interior walls (Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development 2010; Institut Wohnen und Umwelt 2012; Hegger and Dettmar 2014). ...
... The main subject of [91] is undertaking of the three methods of LCA, the environmental performance (from now on EP), and BIM to determine the environmental performance and impacts of two window frame materials: aluminum and wood. The network flow for producing one kilogram of wood and aluminum has been drawn; Autodesk Revit v2023 was used to obtain the quantity data from BIM. BIM-based techniques are presented by Schneider-Marin as a means of analyzing the main functional components of buildings to identify embedded energy demand and potentials for reducing greenhouse gas emissions [92]. A case study demonstrates how different environmental indicators and building materials (wood or concrete) affect the results' sensitivity and variability. ...
This research raises questions about the possibilities and options of using the BIM methodology associated with software for the wood design and construction of structure modeling along an asset’s cycle life. Likewise, several academic and research initiatives are reviewed. In this sense, this paper aims to establish an appropriate link between two agendas that the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, academia, and governments normally handle separately. By conducting several literature reviews (book, journals, and congresses) and extensive software tests (BIM software: Revit v2023, Archicad v27, Tekla, and wood plug-ins: AGACAD, Archiframe, Timber Framing 2015, WoodStud Frame, etc.), the state-of-the-art was assessed in both fields, and several cases linking BIM and wood are shown in detail and discussed. Various theoretical samples are modelled and shown, and the advantages and disadvantages of each technique and stage are explained. On the other hand, although wood construction has been most common for hundreds of years, this is not the case of BIM software developments associated with this materiality. Furthermore, since the appearance of materials such as steel and reinforced concrete, all software developments have focused on these materials, leaving aside the possibility of developing applications for use in wood projects. According to that previously discussed, it can be concluded that BIM for wood has been used more frequently in academia, that both fields have several common processes, and, in many cases, that only a few BIM-wood tools have been used, thus disregarding the high potential and high level of benefits that result with the application of these methodologies for the complete building life cycle (design, construction, and operation).
... The network flow for producing one kilogram of wood and aluminum has been drawn; Autodesk Revit was used to obtain the quantity data from the BIM. BIMbased techniques are presented by Schneider-Marin as a means of analyzing the main functional components of buildings to identify embedded energy demand and potentials for reducing greenhouse gas emissions [87]. A case study demonstrates how different environmental indicators and building materials (wood or concrete) affect the results' sensitivity and variability. ...
This research raises questions about the possibilities and options of using BIM methodology for wood design and construction associated with software for structure modeling along the asset's cycle life. Likewise, several academic and research initiatives are reviewed. In this sense, this paper aims to establish an appropriate link between two agendas that the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, academia, and governments normally handle separately. By conducting several literature reviews (book, journals, and congresses) and extensive software tests (BIM software: Revit, Archicad, Tekla, and Wood plug-ins: AGACAD, Archiframe, Timber Framing 2015, WoodStud Frame, etc.), the state-of-the-art was assessed in both fields, several cases linking BIM and wood are shown in detail and discussed, various theoretical samples are modelled and shown, and the advantages and disadvantages of each technique and stage are explained. On the other hand, although wood construction has been the most common for hundreds of years, this is not the case of BIM Modeling software developments associated with this materiality. Furthermore, since the appearance of materials such as steel and reinforced concrete, all software developments have focused on these materials, leaving aside the possibility of developing applications for use in wood projects. According to previously discussed, it can be concluded that BIM for Wood has been used more frequently in academia and that both fields have several common processes and, in many cases, only a few BIM-wood tools have been used. Thus, disregarding the high potential and high level of benefits that results with the application of these methodologies for the complete building life cycle (design, construction, and operation).
