24-10-2014, 10:09 AM
Abstracts: The building industry uses great quantities of raw materials that also involve high energy consumption. This study examined the environmental impacts due to the construction phase of residential buildings. Building research has often overlooked the construction phase and focused on the material and use phases, discounting the significant environmental impacts of construction. The study was conducted using life-cycle assessment LCA methodology, which is a systematic environmental management tool that holistically analyzes and assesses the environmental impacts of a product or process. Life-cycle inventory results focused on particulate matter, carbon emission, global warming potential, SOx, NOx, CO, Pb, nonmethane volatile organic compounds, energy usage, and solid wastes. Results over the entire building life cycle indicate that construction, while not as significant as the use phase, is as important as other life-cycle stages. This study presents the results of an CO2 emissions study comparing the most commonly used building materials with some eco-materials using different impact categories. The aim is to deepen the knowledge of energy and environmental specifications of building materials, analysing their possibilities for improvement and providing guidelines for materials selection in the eco-design of new buildings and rehabilitation of existing buildings. Embodied energy of various construction materials involved has been estimated to be equal to 227.4 kg. It is found that concrete, timber and ceramic tiles,steel are the four major energy expensive materials involved. The study proves that the impact of construction can be significantly reduced by promoting the use of the best techniques available and eco-innovation in production plants, substituting the use of finite natural resources for waste generated in other production processes, preferably available locally. This would stimulate competition between manufacturers to launch more eco-efficient products and encourage the use of the Environmental Product Declarations.