comparative life cycle assessment for green walls systemscomparative life cycle assessment for green...
TRANSCRIPT
Comparative life cycle assessment
for Green walls systems Research carried out between: the Living walls and roofs centre. University of Greenwich and the
University Ramón Llull La Salle Barcelona Researcher: MSc. Arch. Michelle Sánchez de León Brajkovich
Presentation at: Staffordshire University, Green Wall Conference
Environmental Impact by sector
Globally, it is estimated that energy consumption is: roughly 30% in the industrial sector, 30% in
transport and 40% construction and other uses
Construction
Transport
Industrial
What is a Life Cycle Assessment ?
This type of Assessment is used to calculate the
environmental impact made by a product throughout its entire life. Taking into consideration all phases of the process: from
the supply of the raw materials, manufacturing, transport, construction, use and end of life.
How can we do a Life Cycle Assessment?
Type of walls systems to compare on the LCA
1. Green Wall (Felt System) Table 02a
1. Green Wall (Felt System) material weight (kg), transportation (km), and service life (years) of components Components Material Weight (kg/m2) Distances (km) Service life (years)
Inner Masonry Clay Brick (100 mm) 145.00 59.14 50.00
Thermal insulation Mineral wool (70 mm) 4.30 67.20 50.00
Air cavity Air (50 mm) 0.00 56.00 -
Outer Mansory Lime stone (50 mm) 147.00 50.40 50.00
Exterior finishes Plaster- Gypsum 84.00 50.40 50.00
Structural- Bolts Stainless steel 0.02 95.20 -
Structural- Spacer brackets Stainless steel 0.05 95.20 -
Inner layer PVC foam plate (10mm) 7.00 50.40 10.00
Supporting system for vegetation
Polyamide Felt (3+3 mm) 0.60 173.60 10.00
Growing material Goe-textil Brick 75.60 38.08 50.00
Irrigation system
PE pipes and flexible tube 0.26 0.00 7.50
Water demand Tapwater+ nutrients 365.00 11.20 1.00
Vegetation Selected plants 8.00 746.82 10.00
Type of walls systems to compare on the LCA
2. Green Wall (Indirect System + Climber)
Table 02b
2. Green Wall (Indirect System + Climber) material weight (kg), transportation (km), and service life
(years) of components
Components Material Weight (kg/m2) Distances (km) Service life (years)
Inner Masonry
Clay Brick (100
mm) 145.00 59.14 50.00
Thermal insulation
Mineral wool (70
mm) 4.30 67.20 50.00
Air cavity Air (50 mm) 0.00 0.00 -
Outer Masonry
Lime stone (50
mm) 147.00 56.00 50.00
Exterior finishes Plaster- Gypsum 84.00 50.40 50.00
Structural- Bolts Stainless steel 0.02 95.20 -
Structural- Spacer
brackets Stainless steel 0.05 95.20 -
Structural- Mesh Stainless steel mesh 1.55 95.20 -
Vegetation H. Helix 2.70 11.20 10.00
Phase A01,02 and 03_Production of materials / Embodied energy and
CO2 emissions
Table 03a 1. Green Wall (Felt System): Embodied energy and Carbon data per m2 Components Material Weight (kg/m2) EE-MJ/Kg MJ/m2 EC-kgCO2/Kg KCO2/m2 Inner Masonry Clay Brick (100 mm) 145.00 3.00 435.00 0.22 31.90 Thermal insulation Mineral wool (70 mm) 4.30 16.60 71.38 1.20 5.16 Air cavity Air (50 mm) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Outer Mansory Lime stone (50 mm) 147.00 5.30 779.10 0.74 108.78 Exterior finishes Plaster- Gypsum 84.00 1.80 151.20 0.12 10.08 Structural- Bolts Stainless steel 0.02 24.40 0.37 1.77 0.03 Structural- Spacer brackets Stainless steel 0.05 24.40 1.10 1.77 0.08
Inner layer PVC foam plate (10mm) 7.00 112.00 784.00 16.53 115.71
Supporting system for vegetation
Polyamide Felt (3+3 mm) 0.60 212.48 127.49 31.36 18.82
Irrigation system PE pipes and flexible
tube 0.26 10.70 2.78 2.97 0.77 Water demand Tapwater+ nutrients 365.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Vegetation Selected plants 8.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
761.22 410.68 2,352.41 56.68 291.32
Table 03c 2. Green Wall (Indirect System + Climber): Embodied energy and Carbon data per m2 Components Material Weight (kg/m2) EE-MJ/Kg MJ/m2 EC-kgCO2/Kg KCO2/m2 Inner Masonry Clay Brick (100 mm) 145.00 3.00 435.00 0.22 31.90 Thermal insulation Mineral wool (70 mm) 4.30 16.60 71.38 1.20 5.16 Air cavity Air (50 mm) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Outer Mansory Lime stone (50 mm) 147.00 5.30 779.10 0.74 108.78 Exterior finishes Plaster- Gypsum 84.00 1.80 151.20 0.12 10.08 Structural- Bolts Stainless steel 0.02 24.40 0.37 1.77 0.03 Structural- Spacer brackets Stainless steel 0.05 24.40 1.10 1.77 0.08 Structural- Mesh Stainless steel mesh 1.55 24.40 37.82 16.53 25.62 Vegetation H. Helix 2.70 - - - -
384.61 99.90 1,475.96 22.35 181.65
Phase B01, 02 and 06_Use and Maintenance / Energy consumption
and carbon emissions / Energy simulation
Table 06
LCA-Energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the USE phase of the building Wall System kWh MJ kWh/m2 MJ/m2 kCO2 KCO2/m2
Green wall felt layers (Felt System)
Total amount of CO2 emission (kg) 10,613.31 106.13
Total energy consumption in a year 6,654.09 23,954.72 66.54 239.55
Energy consumption on heating in a year 3,966.42 14,279.11 39.66 142.79
Energy consumption on cooling in a year -2,687.67 -9,675.61 -26.88 -96.76
Total saving 14.00% 14.00% 14.00% 14.00% 5.00% 5.00%
Green wall indirect system with a climber
Total amount of CO2 emission (kg) 11,186.68 111.87
Total energy consumption in a year 7,080.69 25,490.48 70.81 254.90
Energy consumption on heating in a year 3,334.53 12,004.31 33.35 120.04
Energy consumption on cooling in a year -3,746.16 -13,486.18 -37.46 -134.86
Total saving 9.00% 9.00% 9.00% 9.00% 9.00% 9.00%
LCA-Energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the 50 years of life
Wall System
Amount of year in a life
time
Energy consumption in 1
year
Energy consumption in
a life time
CO2 emissions in 1
year CO2 emissions in a life
time
Und MJ/m2 MJ/m2 KCO2/m2 KCO2/m2
Green wall felt layers (Felt System) 50.00 239.55 11,977.36 106.13 5,306.66
Green wall indirect system with a climber 50.00 254.90 12,745.24 111.87 5,593.34
Tables 07
LCA-Maintenance phase
Wall system Concept MJ/m2 KCO2/m2
Green wall felt layers (Felt System)
Maintenance from 0 to 50 years 44,14 12.26 Replacement from 0 to 25 years 151.20 10.08 Replacement from 0 to 10 years 4,586.75 851.13 Replacement from 0 to 7.5 years 231.28 43.64
TOTAL 4,969.23 917.11
Green wall indirect system with a climber Maintenance from 0 to 50 years 44,14 12.26 Replacement from 0 to 25 years 151.20 10.08 Replacement from 0 to 10 years 44.80 8.50 Replacement from 0 to 7.5 years 0.00 0.00
TOTAL 196.00 30.84
Energy simulations Results
Energy Savings Energy consumption and embodied
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
1. LW FS 2. LW ICS
Dubai
Barcelona
London
L O N D O N kWh % SAVINGS 7,776.39 100.00 4,019.61 100.00 -3,756.78 100.00 6,654.09 85.57 14 3,966.42 98.68 1 -2,687.67 71.54 28 7,080.69 91.05 9 3,334.53 82.96 17 -3,746.16 99.72 0
B A R C E L O N A kWh % SAVINGS
9,751.08 100.00 1,064.55 100.00 -8,686.53 100.00 6,791.65 69.65 30 832.58 78.21 22
-5,959.07 68.60 31 8,588.91 88.08 12 979.17 91.98 8
-7,609.74 87.60 12
D U B A I kWh % SAVINGS 29,085.46 100.00
0.00 100.00 -29,085.46 100.00 17,428.80 59.92 40
0.00 0.00 100 -17,428.80 59.92 40 20,396.82 70.13 30
0.00 0.00 100 -20,396.82 70.13 30
The results of this part of the research are: The
Green Walls Felt System provides a 14% of
energy savings on a London climate, a 30% of
energy savings on a Barcelona climate, and a
40% of energy savings on a Dubai climate.
The Green Walls Indirect System provides a 9%
of energy savings on a London climate, a 12%
of energy savings on a Barcelona climate, and
a 30% of energy savings on a Dubai climate.
LCA comparative Results
0.00
1,000.00
2,000.00
3,000.00
4,000.00
5,000.00
6,000.00
7,000.00
LW (FS) LW (IS)
End of life
Use and
Maintena
nce
Transport
and
Construct
ion
Prod. of
materials
0.00
5,000.00
10,000.00
15,000.00
20,000.00
25,000.00
LW (FS) LW (IS)
End of life
Use and
Maintenan
ce
Transport
and
Constructio
n
Prod. of
materials
Carbon data/ CO2 emissions Energy consumption and embodied
Tables 09
LCA-TOTAL/ all phases of the cycle
Embodied energy
Phase of the cycle (A01, A02 and A03) (A04 and A05)
(B01, B02, B03, B04, B05,
B06 and B07) (C01, C02, C03 and C04)
Type of wall Prod. of materials Transport and
Construction Use and Maintenance End of life TOTAL
LW (FS) 2,352.41 791.30 12,941.24 420.45 16,505.41
LW (IS) 1,475.96 574.02 16,946.59 387.08 19,383.66
Carbon data
Phase of the cycle (A01, A02 and A03) (A04 and A05)
(B01, B02, B03, B04, B05,
B06 and B07) (C01, C02, C03 and C04)
Type of wall Prod. of materials Transport and
Construction Use and Maintenance End of life TOTAL
LW (FS) 291.32 125.74 5,624.18 96.78 6,138.02
LW (IS) 181.65 93.76 6,223.76 90.58 6,589.75
Conclusion:
• The calculations explained above are an example of the
environmental benefits of Green walls. Having a very good
amount of savings on the energy wasted and CO2 emissions produced by the building on the entire life cycle.
• We demonstrated that the Green walls FS brings more energy
savings in three different type of climates that the Green walls
IS, because it has an growing extra layer that act as a thermal
insulation layer that improve the performance of a building.
• The Green wall with the Felt System works better as a thermal
insulate because it has growing material which helps the performance of the building in terms of energy exchange
between the interior and exterior space.
• In this analysis only focused on the embodied energy and the
CO2 emissions. However there are more unquantifiable factors
of having a Green wall system in a building like: Increased
biodiversity, Human health, Improvement of air quality and
Reduction of the heat island effect
The Benefits of Making a Life Cycle Assessment and
Thermal Analysis on Green Walls:
• Create a more competitive product in the market
• Have comprehensive and certified information about your product’s level of sustainability
• Have certified information for architects and designers to
understand the performance level of your product, to simplify their involvement of the Green wall on a building project
• Have certified information of energy savings to contrast with
cost of the product to encourage clients to install Green walls on their buildings
• Test the sustainable performance of your product and identify which part of the life cycle can be improved
• Study alternative designs of your product to better adapt in
different climates. So you can have a solution for a project in Dubai that is different than in London, so you can reduce your
cost of production and the products have higher efficiency
