Life Cycle Assessment Methods for Building Materials Using the Circular Assessment Framework and Renewable Alternatives
Subject Areas : Energy and environment
mohammad Bahrami Kia
1
,
mohammad amir sherafati
2
*
,
Alireza Valipour
3
1 -
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Islamic Azad University of Shiraz
3 - Department of Civil Engineering, Islamic Azad University of Shiraz
Keywords: Life cycle of building materials, Circular Assessment Framework, Renewable alternatives,
Abstract :
Introduction: Due to increasing environmental concerns, reducing energy consumption rates and the destructive environmental impacts in the construction industry, it has become one of the design and implementation priorities in the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Life cycle assessment of renewable energy sources is a key factor in the sustainable development of countries. Conducting life cycle assessment of renewable energy systems is based on the local conditions of these sources, therefore, an energy source cannot be a sustainable development option for all geographical areas due to changes in available resources, climate, environment, economic and social conditions, politics, etc. Therefore, life cycle assessment can be used as a tool to identify the possibility of sustainable development of different energy sources and different situations.
Materials and Methods: In this study, the life cycle of building materials was examined using a circular assessment framework and renewable alternatives. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the factors affecting the life cycle of buildings. By reviewing the literature on the subject, the factors affecting the life cycle of materials were divided into four categories: environmental factors, economic factors, technical factors, and social factors. To investigate the factors considered in the life cycle analysis of materials, a statistical sample of 100 people was used and these factors were evaluated and measured using a questionnaire. The normality of the data distribution was examined using statistical analysis and the research hypotheses were examined using a t-test.
Results and Discussion: The results of this study showed that using appropriate materials reduces energy consumption in buildings and renewable alternatives significantly prevent energy waste, but the role of standard information about recyclable materials in their life cycle was not proven. Among the factors studied, the environmental factor with a weight of 0.398 was the most important, and the economic, technical and social factors were ranked next with weights of 0.264, 0.203 and 0.135, respectively.
Conclusion: Considering the sustainability priorities in Iran, presenting an approach to optimize water consumption in different stages of the building life cycle, especially the operational stage, will be of great help in achieving a sustainable solution in building design. Assessing the environmental and economic impacts of the project life cycle and integrating life cycle assessment with building information modeling are other solutions that can help improve the life cycle of materials. Developing a comprehensive building assessment document and standard, based on international sustainable building assessment tools, taking into account the life cycle and issues related to economic, environmental, and social sustainability in the case of residential buildings in Iran, are also other measures that will improve the life cycle of materials and improve their environmental status
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