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Life Cycle Assessment in Building: A Case Study on the Energy and Emissions Impact Related to the Choice of Housing Typologies and Construction Process in Spain

Author

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  • Antonio Ángel Rodríguez Serrano

    (Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Jaén, C/AlmenasJaén 23001, Spain)

  • Santiago Porras Álvarez

    (Department of Architecture, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02481, Korea)

Abstract

While there exists an international trend to develop zero or near zero emissions building solutions by 2020, and European governments continuously update their building regulations to optimize the building envelope and energy systems to achieve this during the building use stage, at least in Spain the building regulations do not take into account the impact of emissions resulting from urbanization and construction activities prior to building use. This research studies in detail the entire emissions balance (and how it may be related to energy efficiency) in a newly built residential cluster project in Mancha Real (Jaén, Spain), and influences due to the choice of different urban typologies. For comparison, terraced housing and low-density, four-floor, multi-family housing alternatives have been studied. The present work assessed the life cycle of the building with the help of commercial software (CYPE), and the energy efficiency and emissions according to the legal regulations in Spain with the official software LIDER and CALENER VYP. After a careful choice of building and systems alternatives and their comparison, the study concludes that the major emissions impact and energy costs of urbanization and building activity occurs during construction, while later savings due to reductions in building use emissions are very modest in comparison. Therefore, deeper analysis is suggested to improve the efficiency of the construction process for a significantly reduced emission footprint on the urban environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonio Ángel Rodríguez Serrano & Santiago Porras Álvarez, 2016. "Life Cycle Assessment in Building: A Case Study on the Energy and Emissions Impact Related to the Choice of Housing Typologies and Construction Process in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-29, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:3:p:287-:d:66246
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Mohamad Monkiz Khasreen & Phillip F. G. Banfill & Gillian F. Menzies, 2009. "Life-Cycle Assessment and the Environmental Impact of Buildings: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 1(3), pages 1-28, September.
    5. Jungwon Yoon & Jiyoung Park, 2015. "Comparative Analysis of Material Criteria in Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment Tools and Urban Design Guidelines: Cases of the UK, the US, Japan, and Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-38, October.
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    2. Luis Claudio A. Borja & Sandro Fábio César & Rita Dione A. Cunha & Asher Kiperstok, 2019. "Getting Environmental Information from Construction Cost Databases: Applications in Brazilian Courses and Environmental Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-28, January.
    3. Chen Chen & Zengfeng Zhao & Jianzhuang Xiao & Robert Tiong, 2021. "A Conceptual Framework for Estimating Building Embodied Carbon Based on Digital Twin Technology and Life Cycle Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-20, December.
    4. Rui Jiang & Rongrong Li, 2017. "Decomposition and Decoupling Analysis of Life-Cycle Carbon Emission in China’s Building Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-18, May.
    5. Nan Wang & Daniel Satola & Aoife Houlihan Wiberg & Conghong Liu & Arild Gustavsen, 2020. "Reduction Strategies for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from High-Speed Railway Station Buildings in a Cold Climate Zone of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-22, February.
    6. Xingqiang Song & Christel Carlsson & Ramona Kiilsgaard & David Bendz & Helene Kennedy, 2020. "Life Cycle Assessment of Geotechnical Works in Building Construction: A Review and Recommendations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-17, October.
    7. Samira Shokouhi & Ingo Weidlich, 2025. "An LCA Study of Various Office Building Shapes Focusing on Operational Energy—A Case of Hamburg," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-25, February.
    8. Rongrong Li & Rui Jiang, 2017. "Moving Low-Carbon Construction Industry in Jiangsu Province: Evidence from Decomposition and Decoupling Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-14, June.
    9. Héctor Saldaña-Márquez & Diana C. Gámez-García & José M. Gómez-Soberón & Susana P. Arredondo-Rea & Ramón Corral-Higuera & María C. Gómez-Soberón, 2019. "Housing Indicators for Sustainable Cities in Middle-Income Countries through the Residential Urban Environment Recognized Using Single-Family Housing Rating Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-29, August.

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