Abstract
A 2,450 ft2 residential home (referred to as SH
or Standard Home) built in Ann Arbor, Michigan was analyzed to
determine total life cycle energy consumption of materials fabrication,
construction, use and demolition over a 50 year period. Life cycle
global warming potential (GWP) and life cycle cost were also determined.
The home was then modeled to reduce life cycle energy consumption
by employing various energy efficiency strategies and substitution
of selected materials having lower embodied energy (referred to
as EEH or Energy Efficient Home). The total life cycle energy
was found to be 15,455 GJ for SH (equivalent to 2,525 barrels
of crude oil [1]) of which 14,482 GJ (93.7%) occurred during the
use phase (space and water heating, lighting, plug loads and embodied
energy of maintenance and improvement materials). The life cycle
energy of EEH was reduced to only 5,653 GJ (equivalent to 927
barrels of crude oil) of which 4,714 GJ (83.4%) occurred during
the use phase. The purchase price of SH was $US 240,000 (actual
market value) and determined to be $22,801 more for EEH. Four
energy price escalation scenarios were run to determine un-discounted
life cycle cost using falling, constant, and rising future energy
costs. Accordingly, the un-discounted life cycle cost of SH varied
between $791,500 and $875,900 and between $796,300 and $824,100
for EEH. Using a 4% discount rate, the present value cost varied
between $423,500 and $454,300 for SH and $433,100 and $443,200
for EEH. Life cycle GWP for SH was determined to be 1,013 metric
tons of CO2 equivalent (91.9% during the use phase)
and 374 metric tons for EEH (78.6% during the use phase). EEH
use of energy efficiency strategies and materials with lower embodied
energy reduced pre-use phase energy by 37 GJ (3.9%) while use-phase
energy was reduced by 9,768 GJ (67.4%). Total life cycle energy
was reduced by a factor of 2.73, and life cycle GWP decreased
by a factor of 2.71.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As concern over the environmental impacts of residential house
construction grows, many researchers are beginning to use life
cycle assessment as a means to quantify natural resources consumption,
and emissions of global greenhouse gases. Historically, focus
has been on understanding energy use during the operational period
of the home (use phase). With this approach, an important factor
has been neglected; the embodied energy of construction materials.
To understand overall environmental impacts of the building, all
life cycle stages should be inventoried (material production,
manufacturing, use, retirement). Assessing the environmental impact
of a complex system, such as a house, requires an understanding
of the environmental impacts of all of its parts. As the production
sequence is followed upstream, the tributaries of material and
energy input require exponential effort to quantify. The procedures
used in this study are standard life cycle assessment methods
[2].
The object of study was a 2,450 ft2 home (referred
to throughout this report as the Standard Home, SH) built in Ann
Arbor, Michigan. A two car garage and a full unfinished basement
are included in the study and add an additional 2,100 ft2
of space to the above number. The home was selected because it
is close to the average size of new homes built in the US [3]
and uses standard construction materials and techniques. Using
developer-supplied blue prints, the mass of all building materials
was determined. Local and regional suppliers contributed substantially
to this effort. Many home components and construction materials
(e.g., carpet, fuse-boxes, refrigerators, paint) consist of multiple
materials. The percentage of different materials in each multi-material
product was established. This inventory was then divided into
eight home systems: walls, roof/ceilings, floors, doors/windows,
foundation, appliances/electrical, sanitary/HVAC, and cabinets.
The study was focused only on life cycle primary energy and global
warming potential. Other environmental burdens (e.g., resource
consumption, air/water pollution, solid waste), and health related
issues (e.g., off-gassing materials, use of carcinogenic substances)
were not inventoried. Published data from several research groups
[4,5,6,7] that have determined the environmental burdens for the
production of selected materials were used. Combining this information
with the mass of the various materials, the primary energy and
global warming potential of SH was determined.
The life cycle of SH consist of three distinct phases; pre-use,
use and end-of-life. The pre-use phase consists of the manufacturing
and transportation of all building materials used, and the construction
of the house. The use phase encompasses all activities related
to the use of the home over an assumed life of 50 years. These
activities include all energy consumed within the home, including
heating, cooling, lighting and use of appliances. The use phase
also consists of the energy to manufacture all materials required
to maintain the physical building and for home improvement projects.
The end-of-life phase inventories the eventual demolishing of
the home, and includes the actual dismantling of it, and transportation
of waste to recycling operations or landfills. The recycling,
incineration, or other end-of-life management processes have not
been included in this study.
To determine use-phase energy and global warming potential, annual
energy consumption was determined. Energy-10 [8], an energy-use
modeling software package for small buildings and residential
homes was used to determine SH energy consumption, using energy
related parameters (e.g., building envelope heat conductivity,
electricity consumption of appliances, ventilation requirements),
as well as average temperature, wind speed and humidity data for
Detroit, MI. The annual home energy consumption, based on these
calculations, was multiplied by 50 (years) to provide one part
of the life cycle use-phase energy. To determine the home maintenance
and improvement component in terms of use-phase energy, a schedule
of activities was generated, listing which activities will take
place, at what future time, and the mass of all materials required.
This information was converted into primary energy and global
warming potential in the same fashion as original construction
materials.
The primary life cycle energy consumption for SH was 15,455 GJ.
This is the energy equivalent of burning 2,525 barrels of crude
oil [9]. Of this, 6.1% (942 GJ) was consumed in the pre-use phase,
93.7% (14,482 GJ) in the use phase, and 0.2% (31 GJ) in the end-of-life
phase. With respect to the 14,482 GJ consumed during the use phase,
96% (13,877 GJ) was heating and electrical energy consumption
and 4% (604 GJ) was the embodied energy of maintenance and improvement
materials. The total life cycle amount of global warming gases,
after conversion into an equivalent amount of CO2,
was 1,013 metric tons. This provides an approximate measure of
the overall environmental impacts of the home studied.
How can these impacts be reduced? Clearly, focus should be on
the use-phase because its impact on the environment overshadows
the other phases. To examine the effect of design changes made
to reduce these impacts, a second home was modeled. Referred throughout
the report as the Energy Efficient Home (EEH), this home mirrors
the original in size and layout. All functions provided by SH
are provided by EEH. In addition to reducing use-phase impacts,
EEH served to test which materials reduce pre-use phase impacts.
Strategies that lowered impacts in both phases were adopted as
design parameters for EEH.
Based on Energy-10 simulations, and use of the energy and global
warming potential databases, EEH evolved into a much more energy
efficient structure. The defining feature of EEH is its 12"
thick, R-35 walls. The walls are constructed from double 2x4 studs,
with a 3.5" spacing between the inner wall and outer wall
studs. The wall cavity is filled with cellulose insulation. Because
cellulose requires much less energy to manufacture than the fiberglass
insulation in SH, the overall wall structure consumed less pre-use
phase energy. At the same time the thermal resistance of the wall
increased by a factor of three. Combined with a doubling of the
insulative value in the ceiling, the EEH thermal envelope was
greatly improved. Air infiltration was also greatly reduced. The
effective leakage area (ELA) of SH was determined by blower-door
test to be 153 in2. For the EEH, 20 in2
was deemed to be achievable.
Energy efficient appliances where used in EEH. Based on a review
of products available on the market, energy efficient appliances
reduced annual electricity consumption by approx. 40%. Energy
efficient appliances included the refrigerator, clothes washer
and dishwasher. The kitchen range and clothes dryer were selected
to operate on natural gas vs. electricity in the SH. Furnace efficiency
was increased from 80% to 95%. The peak heating load was reduced
from 95,300 to 28,200 Btu/h. A/C efficiency was increased from
a SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) value of 10 to 13. The
peak cooling load was reduced from 36,600 to 28,160 Btu/h. Compact
florescent lights were used throughout EEH.
These improvements in energy efficiency were not obtained without
cost. The market value of SH was $240,000. A base price was determined
by subtracting the land price and dividing out the developer's
profit. SH materials to be replaced were quantified and priced,
and subsequently subtracted from the base price of SH. EEH replacements
materials were similarly quantified, priced and added. Finally,
the Developer's profit was added back, as was the land price.
The EEH home purchase cost was $22,801 more than SH.
Life cycle costs were then calculated for both homes. The life
cycle cost was determined by adding mortgage payments (based on
a 30 year mortgage at 7% annual interest), natural gas and electricity
costs (based on utility rates of $0.462/therm and $0.08/kWh respectively)
and the cost of home maintenance and improvements (based on material
and labor costs that were escalated at 3%/year). Finally, four
future energy price escalation scenarios were run to determine
sensitivity to changing energy prices. The scenarios included
falling, constant, and rising energy rates as well as energy rates
presently used in Germany. Un-discounted life cycle costs for
SH varied from $791,500 to $875,500. SH mortgage payments made
up between 62-69% of the life cycle cost, with energy comprising
between 8-17%. Home maintenance and improvements make up the remainder.
Un-discounted life cycle costs for EEH varied from $796,300 to
$824,100. EEH mortgage payments made up between 73-75% of the
life cycle cost with energy making up between 3-6%.
Using a discount rate of 4%, each future annual total cost (mortgage,
energy, maintenance) was converted into a present value cost.
The summation of all years gives the discounted present value
cost of the home. This serves as a useful economic tool in evaluating
the two home alternatives. The discounted present value cost varied
between $423,500 and $454,300 for SH and $433,100 and $443,200
for EEH. From an investment standpoint, setting aside future uncertainties,
both homes are approximately of equal value.
Given that life cycle energy use and global warming potential
can be reduced by a factor of nearly three without compromising
the home as a financial investment, it is natural to ponder why
it is not happening on the home market. Several possibilities
are:
FOOTNOTES
[1] Conversion factor from "Annual Energy Review
1994, July 1995", DOE/EIA-0384 (94), Energy Information Administration,
Office of Energy Markets and End Use, U.S. Department of Energy,
Washington, DC 20585, pg. 352
[2] Life Cycle Assessment: Inventory Guidelines and Principles
(EPA 600/R-92/245). Cincinnati, OH: U.S. EPA, Office of Research
and Development, Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory, February
1993
[3] Housing Facts and Figures: Characteristics of New Single Family
Homes, 1971-1994", National Association of Home Builders
Economics Department, <http://nahb.com/sf/html>, 5/12/98
[4] Eco-Profile of Lumber Produced in the Western United States,
Life Cycle Inventory of WWPA Western Lumber", Western Wood
Products Association and Scientific Certification Systems, Inc.,
Oakland, California, August 1995
[5] Boustead, I., Hancock, G.F., ìHandbook of Industrial
Energy Analysisî, Ellis Horwood Publishers, Chichester,
UK, 1979
[6] DEAM Database, Ecobilan
[7] Brown, H. ìEnergy Analysis of 108 Industrial Processes",
The Fairmont Press, Lilburn, GA, USA, 1996
[8] Energy-10, Release 1.2" - January 1998, Passive Solar
Industries Council, 1511 K Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington DC
20005
[9] Conversion factor from "Annual Energy Review 1994, July
1995", DOE/EIA-0384 (94), Energy Information Administration,
Office of Energy Markets and End Use, U.S. Department of Energy,
Washington, DC 20585, pg. 352
End of section 0.0 Abstract and Executive Summary
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1.0 Introduction
2.0 Methods
3.0 Results
4.0 Conclusions
Last updated October, 9th '98, National Pollution Prevention Center