<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This article proposes to contribute to the discussion on environmental product declarations for buildings. Using a simple life-cycle analysis of a low-energy detached house and CO2-equivalent emissions as a comparative unit, the case study presented illustrates the problems with the initial input data related to embodied energy and a definition of the criteria for an assessment of the environmental quality of buildings. The actual case study compares the expected energy demand of a detached house in the course of its service life and the energy input (embodied energy) necessary for its assembly and for the manufacture of the individual building products. The operation of the building during its service life is described using a computer-aided building performance simulation. The input data related to the embodied energy are based on information from classical works on life cycle analyses. In addition, the article discusses the limits of building envelope improvements in terms of the thickness of thermal insulation and also stresses the increasing significance of embodied energy in the environmental assessment of buildings.</p></abstract>

This article proposes to contribute to the discussion on environmental product declarations for buildings. Using a simple life-cycle analysis of a low-energy detached house and CO2-equivalent emissions as a comparative unit, the case study presented illustrates the problems with the initial input data related to embodied energy and a definition of the criteria for an assessment of the environmental quality of buildings. The actual case study compares the expected energy demand of a detached house in the course of its service life and the energy input (embodied energy) necessary for its assembly and for the manufacture of the individual building products. The operation of the building during its service life is described using a computer-aided building performance simulation. The input data related to the embodied energy are based on information from classical works on life cycle analyses. In addition, the article discusses the limits of building envelope improvements in terms of the thickness of thermal insulation and also stresses the increasing significance of embodied energy in the environmental assessment of buildings.

Environmental Assessment of Buildings – A Suggestion

Department of Building Construction, Faculty of Civil Engineering

Slovak Journal of Civil Engineering

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"Environmental Assessment of Buildings \u2013 A Suggestion"}

This article proposes to contribute to the discussion on environmental product declarations for buildings. Using a simple life-cycle analysis of a low-energy...

Environmental Assessment of Buildings – A Suggestion

Published Online: Apr 03, 2020

Page range: 20 - 24

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjce-2020-0003

Keywords
Building, Environmental assessment, Embodied energy, Operative energy

© 2020 Martin Jamnický et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Environmental Assessment of Buildings – A Suggestion

Published Online: Apr 03, 2020

Page range: 20 - 24

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjce-2020-0003

KeywordsBuilding, Environmental assessment, Embodied energy, Operative energy

© 2020 Martin Jamnický et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Building, Environmental assessment, Embodied energy, Operative energy