Environmental performances of buildings: identification of reference values through a statistical analysis

Author(s): A. Lebert, S. Lasvaux, J. Chevalier, J. Hans
Paper category: symposium
Book title: International Symposium on Life Cycle Assessment and Construction – Civil engineering and buildings
Editor(s): A. Ventura and C. de la Roche
Print ISBN: 978-2-35158-127-8
e-ISBN: 978-2-35158-128-5
Publisher: RILEM Publications SARL
Pages: 56 – 64 (+ 9 pages of appendixes)
Total Pages: 18
Language: English

Abstract: Research and standardization works are in progress and building environmental performance methods are more and more based on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. In this new holistic and multicriteria framework using not only energy-based indicators, construction stakeholders need reference values to compare from an environmental point of view a new project from the current average, good or best practice. This paper presents the results of a French pilot project, called HQE performance, concerning the LCA of 74 low-energy buildings. Reference values are presented for the non renewable primary energy use, the global warming potential, the water consumption and the generated inert waste indicators through a statistical analysis. It was found that the mean embodied impacts are 44 kWh of non-renewable primary energy and 11.4 kg eq-CO2 per m² per year. The dispersion of values for the non-renewable primary energy ranges from 35 to 60 kWh/m²/year and the global warming potential indicator ranges from 9 to 15 kg eq-CO2 per m² per year. These values related to the impacts of building materials, products and equipment can now lead to the determination of reference values for the French context.

Keywords: Building, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), environmental performance, reference value

Online publication: 2012
Publication Type: full_text
Public price (Euros): 0.00