Ambrose Dodoo

Lifecycle primary energy analysis of conventional and passive houses

In this study we analyse the primary energy implications of thermal envelope designs and construction systems, for a 4-storey apartment building, including the full lifecycle phases and the entire energy chains. We maintain the architectural design of the reference building, and alter the thermal properties of the envelope components and include heat recovery of ventilation air to achieve buildings with thermal properties similar to three existing passive houses in Sweden. We also vary the building frame material from the reference wood case to reinforced concrete, and vary the heat supply system between district heating and electric resistance heating. We follow the lifecycle of the buildings and analyse and compare their lifecycle primary energy use, considering the production, operation and end-of-life energy uses. The results show that the lifecycle primary energy use of a passive house building is substantially lower when it is heated with district heating instead of electricity. A passive house with...

Recycling of lumber

Wood from sustainably managed forests can play important roles both as material and as fuel in a transition to a low-carbon society. Wood is widely used as an energy source and as a physical and structural material in diverse applications, including furniture and joinery, pulp and paper, and construction material. There is large potential to improve resource efficiency and thereby reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through efficient management of post-use wood materials. This chapter explores post-use management of wood products from resource efficiency and climate perspectives. Primary energy and GHG balances are important metrics to understand the resource efficiency of climate change mitigation strategies involving post-use wood products. Primary energy use largely determines natural resource efficiency and steers the environmental impacts of material recovery and production. This chapter describes the mechanisms through which post-use management of recovered wood materials can affect primary energy use and GHG impacts of wood products. To further understand the implications of different post-use management options for wood products, we then explore several quantitative case-studies.

Comment on "material Nature versus Structural Nurture: The Embodied Carbon of Fundamental Structural Elements"

MATERIAL NATURE VERSUS STRUCTURAL NURTURE: THE EMBODIED CARBON OF FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS Roger Sathre, Ambrose Dodoo, Leif Gustavsson, Bruce Lippke, Gregg Marland, Eric Masanet, Birger Solberg, and Frank Werner Environmental Energy Technologies Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley, CA 94720 May 2012 Supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.