Monika Čuláková

Multicriteria Decision Analysis of Material Selection of High Energy Performance Residential Building

Abstract In world with limited amount of energy sources and with serious environmental pollution, interest in comparing the environmental embodied impacts of buildings using different structure systems and alternative building materials will be increased. This paper shows the significance of life cycle energy and carbon perspective and the material selection in reducing energy consumption and emissions production in the built environment. The study evaluates embodied environmental impacts of nearly zero energy residential structures. The environmental assessment uses framework of LCA within boundary: cradle to gate. Designed alternative scenarios of material compositions are also assessed in terms of energy effectiveness through selected thermal-physical parameters. This study uses multi-criteria decision analysis for making clearer selection between alternative scenarios. The results of MCDA show that alternative E from materials on nature plant base (wood, straw bales, massive wood panel) present possible way to sustainable perspective of nearly zero energy houses in Slovak republic

Multi-Criteria Analysis of Material Compositions of External Walls

Intensity of building development increases by growing population and their requirements on living. Buildings belong to the largest energy consumers and greenhouse gases emitters. Current energy strategy of European Union is focused especially on reduction of operational energy of buildings. Although operational energy participates the highest proportion in total energy consumption over whole life cycle of building, it is important to take into account embodied energy. Values of embodied energy and associated emissions grow by improving energy quality of building envelope by using extra components and insulation materials. This paper demonstrates significance of correct selection of materials in order to environmental and energy optimalization of building structures. The designed material compositions of external wall alternatives are evaluated by methodology LCA and also in the view of impact on future energy consumption though thermal-physical parameters. Results of assessments are compared by multi-criteria decision analysis. The optimized alternative achieves very low embodied energy (218 MJ/m2) and high reduction of embodied CO2 (-114 kg CO2eq/m2).

Determination of Assessment Scale for Selected Indicators in Slovak Building Environmental Assessment System BEAS

By assessed different material compositions of building envelope which comply U-value of energy standard and nearly zero energy residential buildings it is possible to compare the impact of increasing insulation materials in structure compositions on embodied energy. The selection of building materials for building structures which has a significant share of total environmental performance of building and the potential of improvement is analyzed in this paper. By evaluating of large quantity of different material compositions of conventional and alternative environmental suitable structures of building envelope were determined criteria for environmental indicators such as embodied energy, CO2eq emissions and SO2eq emissions. The criteria for the evaluation of mentioned environmental indicators are determined on the base of alternative material compositions of structures which are assessed in order to identifying the most optimal solutions in terms of environmental sustainability by LCA within system boundary “cradle to gate”. The aim of this paper is to introduce the Slovak building environmental assessment system (BEAS) and to determine the criteria for environmental indicators such as embodied energy, CO2eq emissions and SO2eq emissions for the purpose of their implementation to BEAS. Worldwide used building environmental assessment systems and tools were the base of new system development for Slovak conditions. The fields and indicators were proposed on the bases of available information analysis from particular fields of building environmental assessment and also on the base of our experimental experiences.