Life cycle energy analysis of buildings: An overview

Sustainability in the construction industry: A review of recent developments based on LCA

This review summarizes and organizes the literature on life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle energy analysis (LCEA) and life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) studies carried out for environmental evaluation of buildings and building related industry and sector (including construction products, construction systems, buildings, and civil engineering constructions). The review shows that most LCA and LCEA are carried out in what is shown as “exemplary buildings”, that is, buildings that have been designed and constructed as low energy buildings, but there are very few studies on “traditional buildings”, that is, buildings such as those mostly found in our cities. Similarly, most studies are carried out in urban areas, while rural areas are not well represented in the literature. Finally, studies are not equally distributed around the world.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle energy analysis (LCEA) of buildings and the building sector: A review

Life cycle assessment of building materials: Comparative analysis of energy and environmental impacts and evaluation of the eco-efficiency improvement potential

Review of passive PCM latent heat thermal energy storage systems towards buildings’ energy efficiency

Life cycle assessment applied to the comparative evaluation of single family houses in the French context

Thermal and environmental assessment of a passive building equipped with an earth-to-air heat exchanger in France

How to account for CO2 emissions from Biomass in an LCA. Editorials.

How to account for CO2 emissions from biomass in an LCA

A simplified simulation module has been developed to calculate the thermal performances of multizone buildings, using modal analysis. This technique reduces the computation time and therefore allows architects to perform accurate simulations using a low cost micro computer (type AT for instance). The thermal calculations are based upon a data structure in which the building is decomposed into elements (thermal zones, walls, windows, materials, ...). Each building element has been modeled as a computer object. Components of higher complexity are linked to simple components via pointers. Thus, if a component is modified, the modification is automatically transmitted through the whole structure. This environment is particularly adapted to connect the thermal calculation module (COMFIE) to an expert interface. At the moment, no expert system or inference engine is implemented, but simple algorithms which work in the following way. The user inputs a project and several characteristics (heat losses, solar gains, ...) are studied by the expert tool, which then proposes alternative designs. The user may test these modifications by repeating the simulation. This tandem simulation/expert interface takes into account the specificity of the project and its climate when applying the expert knowledge. A few expert rules are proposed, in order to enhance the energy savings and the thermal comfort. New expert rules may also be generated and/or validated. This design tool not only provides the user with fast and accurate simulations, but also offers him an opportunity to include the thermal aspects in his design approach with the help of expert rules, and this constitutes a real computer aided design.

Simulation tool with its expert interface for the thermal design of multizone buildings

Bruno Peuportier

Papers

Life cycle assessment applied to the comparative evaluation of single family houses in the French context

Thermal and environmental assessment of a passive building equipped with an earth-to-air heat exchanger in France

How to account for CO2 emissions from Biomass in an LCA. Editorials.

How to account for CO2 emissions from biomass in an LCA

Simulation tool with its expert interface for the thermal design of multizone buildings