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Benchmarking the Environmental Impact of Green and Traditional Masonry Wall Constructions
Gauvreau-Lemelin, Corinne; Attia, Shady
2017In Brotas, Luisa; Roaf, Susan; Fergus, Nicol (Eds.) Passive low energy architecture design to thrive
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Keywords :
Life cycle assessment (LCA); embodied energy; hemp wall; zero energy buildings; decision making; bio-based materials
Abstract :
[en] In Belgium, the most common approach for nearly Zero Energy Buildings is to comply with the locally modified version of the German Passive House (PH) Standard that requires a very low conductivity of exterior walls. The conventional PH brick constructions are dominated by building materials with high environmental impact including concrete blocks, firebrick and petrochemical insulation materials that produce a great amount of greenhouse gases (GHG). Moreover, there are very few studies that assessed the holistic environmental impact of conventional wall compositions against ecological wall compositions. Therefore, this research compares a traditional Belgian representative wall against a hemp block wall, according to the PH standard. The environmental impact of each wall is quantified through a life cycle assessment. The final results indicate that the hemp wall reinforced with a wood skeleton has a much lower impact on the environment: up to 60% reduction on total primary energy, 72% on climate changes, 93% on eutrophication, 61 % on ozone layer depletion and 74% on acidification. Future work may refine the assessment process. The study provides novel and significant findings that can inform building owners, architects and contractors and encourage them to choose environmentally friendly masonry wall compositions.
Research center :
Sustainable Buildings Design Lab
Disciplines :
Architecture
Author, co-author :
Gauvreau-Lemelin, Corinne
Attia, Shady  ;  Université de Liège > Département ArGEnCo > Techniques de construction des bâtiments
Language :
English
Title :
Benchmarking the Environmental Impact of Green and Traditional Masonry Wall Constructions
Publication date :
03 July 2017
Event name :
Passive Low Energy Architecture
Event organizer :
Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh
Event place :
EDINBURGH, United Kingdom
Event date :
3-5 July 2017
Audience :
International
Main work title :
Passive low energy architecture design to thrive
Editor :
Brotas, Luisa
Roaf, Susan
Fergus, Nicol
Publisher :
Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
ISBN/EAN :
978-0-9928957-5-4
Pages :
2856-2863
Peer reviewed :
Peer reviewed
Funders :
Sustainable Buildings Design Lab
Available on ORBi :
since 28 June 2017

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