Sustainable Living: the Role of Whole Life Costs and Values

247 Pages·2007·1.74 MB·English

by  Nalanie Mithraratne, Brenda Vale, Robert Vale

Sustainable Living
The role of whole life costs and values
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Sustainable Living
The role of whole life costs and values
Nalanie Mithraratne
Brenda Vale
and
Robert Vale
AMSTERDAM BOSTON HEIDELBERG LONDON NEW YORK OXFORD
PARIS SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO SINGAPORE SYDNEY TOKYO
Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier
Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier Ltd
Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP
30 Corporate Road, Burlington, MA 01803
First edition 2007
Copyright # 2007, Nalanie Mithraratne, Brenda Vale and Robert Vale. Published by
Elsevier Limited. All rights reserved
The right of Nalanie Mithraratne, Brenda Vale and Robert Vale to be identified as
the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted
in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher
Permission may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights
Department in Oxford, UK: phone (þ44) (0) 1865 843830; fax (þ44) (0) 1865 853333;
email:
Contents
Preface ix
List of illustrations x
Acknowledgements xii
Part A: Construction industry and resource issues 1
1. Introduction 3
The situation 4
Environmental effects of energy use 6
Climate change 7
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions 11
Buildings and energy 16
Urban development and residential constructions 17
Housing in New Zealand 18
Notes 19
References 20
2. Life cycle analysis 23
Life cycle analysis methodology 24
Definition of goal and scope 24
Inventory 25
Impact assessment 26
Evaluation and interpretation 28
Life cycle analysis of buildings 30
Functional unit 31
Useful life of buildings 32
Life cycle energy analysis 34
Embodied energy analysis 34
Embodied energy analysis in New Zealand 37
Operating energy analysis 37
Operating energy analysis in New Zealand 38
Conclusions 38
References 39
3. Life cycle energy of houses 41
Energy sources 41
Renewable energy 42
Non-renewable energy 42
vi Contents
Energy use 43
Energy use in residential buildings 46
Embodied energy 47
Operating energy 47
Space heating 47
Water heating 54
Cooking 56
Lighting 56
Refrigerators and freezers 57
Domestic appliances 57
Life cycle energy 58
Recurrent embodied energy 58
Domestic appliances and equipment 59
Furniture 59
Demolition and recycling 59
Conclusions 59
Notes 60
References 60
4. Life cycle costing of buildings 63
Time value of money 68
Inflation 69
Costs in LCC 69
Real costs, nominal costs and discounted costs 72
Current dollars and constant dollars 75
Discount rate 76
Investment appraisal methods used for LCC 78
Net present value method 79
Annual equivalent value method 80
Prediction errors and risk management 81
Conclusions 84
References 86
5. Environmental impact assessment 88
Development and the ecosystem 88
Carrying capacity 90
Environmental impact assessment 91
Limits to growth 91
Human appropriation of net primary productivity 91
IPAT formula 92
Ecological footprint calculation 93
Environmental impacts of building construction 96
Global atmospheric pollution 97
Contents vii
Local environmental effects 101
Impact of climate change on buildings 102
Environmental impact assessment of buildings 102
Conclusions 108
Notes 109
References 110
Part B: Life cycle analysis model, results and lessons 113
6. Development of a New Zealand model 115
A life cycle analysis model for New Zealand houses 116
Establishing the knowledge base of the model 117
Generic construction types based on the elements
of a house 117
Embodied energy of NZ building materials, domestic
appliances and furniture 125
Replacement cycles for building elements/materials, appliances
and furniture for a New Zealand house 128
Installed prices of building materials/components and price of
energy used in a New Zealand house 136
Operating energy requirements of space conditioning, appliances,
lighting and hot-water system 137
Greenhouse gas emissions due to NZ building materials,
appliances and furniture 140
Environmental impacts other than greenhouse gases due to
construction 143
User interface of the model 145
Inference engine of the model 146
Notes 146
References 147
7. Life cycle performance of an average New Zealand house 150
Average NZ house 150
Common design used for the New Zealand house 151
Foundations 153
Doors and windows 153
Electrical services 154
Plumbing and sanitary fittings 155
Domestic appliances and furniture 156
Operating energy requirements 156
Life cycle energy analysis of an NZ house – model results 158
Life cycle cost analysis of NZ house – model results 177
viii Contents
Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions analysis of the NZ house –
model results 184
Life cycle environmental impact analysis of an NZ house –
model results 189
Conclusions 192
Notes 194
References 195
8. Life cycle assessment results and the building user 197
Operating energy 197
Building characteristics 197
Building insulation during refurbishment 200
Ventilation 202
Lighting 204
Hot water 205
Appliances 205
Embodied and maintenance energy 206
Finishes 206
Furniture 208
Guidelines on dealing with the issues 209
Conclusion 210
Notes 210
References 211
Appendix A 212
Appendix B 214
Appendix C 220
Index 226
Preface
Lifetime studies are becoming commonplace in product evaluations. However,
this does not apply to buildings and related activities owing to the relatively
longer period involved, which leads to uncertainty. Many books which deal with
the design and construction of sustainable houses have been published. However,
sustainability also depends on the post-occupation activities of the users, which
have not been highlighted. This book attempts to fill that gap in knowledge
through the use of results from a recently completed research project.
The book demonstrates the implications of choices the designers, developers and
building-users make to achieve sustainability in the residential building sector,
through an analysis that covers the full lifespan. It identifies the problems
associated with current practices through a lifespan model that considers costs,
embodied and operating energy use, environmental impact, and global warming
potential. The model was developed based on current practices employed in New
Zealand and highlights the need for a new holistic approach to be taken. By
considering the full lifespan, and many items such as finishes, furniture and
appliances, which are usually disregarded in evaluations, the text demonstrates
the importance of material and systems selection and user behaviour. It discusses
the major issues ranked based on their importance for achieving greater sustain-
ability in residential projects and highlights those which are not in common
knowledge.
The book also demonstrates the practical use of life cycle analysis for achieving
best practice in construction and use of residential buildings. It provides a
practical guide to designers and the general public in applying the lessons learnt
to individual projects to achieve sustainability in residential buildings.
The book consists of a general discussion of issues ranked based on their
importance for achieving sustainability, with case studies intended for the general
reader and detailed justification of the importance of issues for the more
specialised reader.