Document Type
Article
Rights
Available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International Licence
Disciplines
Applied mathematics, Probability, Environmental sciences, Climatic research, Architecture engineering, Construction engineering, Energy and fuels
Abstract
Although embodiedCO2-eq analysis has seen recent developments as evident in the establishment of the ISO14040 and 14044 LCA standards, it is recognized that due to weaknesses in gathering data on product-related emissions,embodiedCO2-eq values are probabilistic. This paper presents a stochastic analysis of hybrid embodied CO2-eq in buildings to account for this weakness in traditional methods and, by way of example, applies it to an Irish construction-sector case study. Using seven apartment buildings, 70,000 results are simulated with Monte Carlo analysis and used to derive probabilistic and cumulative embodied CO2-eq intensity distributions for apartment buildings in Ireland. A Wakeby distribution with known statistical parameters and uncertainty was derived for the average embodied CO2-eq intensity of apartment building in Ireland. The mean hybrid embodied CO2-eq (ECO2-eq) intensity was estimated to be 1,636gCO2-eq/€ with an uncertainty of 73gCO2-eq/€ . The stochastic analysis helps to account for variability in input variables into embodied CO2-eq analysis. The application of the stochastic embodied CO2-eq analysis as demonstrated in this study can be extended to other building sectors and countries and can form the basis for the development of evidence-based policy formulation since it provides greater information on embodied CO2-eq intensities of buildings than deterministic approaches.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2011.01.006
Recommended Citation
Acquaye, A., Duffy, A & Basu, B. (2011) Stochastic hybrid embodied CO2-eq analysis: An application to the Irish apartment building sector. Energy and Buildings, vol.43, no.6, pp.1259-13-3. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2011.01.006.
Funder
Department of Education, Ireland
Included in
Applied Statistics Commons, Architectural Engineering Commons, Construction Engineering Commons, Environmental Design Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Natural Resource Economics Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Other Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons, Probability Commons, Sustainability Commons
Publication Details
Energy and Buildings