• Energy Research

“A project is a vehicle to bring about change” [1] Strong pressure from industry, students and society has led the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim to introduce a 2-year international, interdisciplinary M.Sc. program in Sustainable Architecture in fall 2010. The program expanded from a 1-semester specialization course in energy- and environment-friendly architecture (22.5 ECTS) to a 120-ECTS 2-year program of four consecutive semesters. All courses within the program can also be selected as independent topics by regular architecture students who only want to specialize in low-carbon architecture during one semester. The program is connected to the Norwegian Centre for Environment-friendly Energy Research (CEER) in Zero Emission Buildings which was created under the leadership of NTNU (Director) and SINTEF (CEO) in 2009 [2]. The ZEB centre works closely with educational and research institutions, industry and public administration in Norway and abroad. The collaboration en...

“A project is a vehicle to bring about change” [1] Strong pressure from industry, students and society has led the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim to introduce a 2-year international, interdisciplinary M.Sc. program in Sustainable Architecture in fall 2010. The program expanded from a 1-semester specialization course in energy- and environment-friendly architecture (22.5 ECTS) to a 120-ECTS 2-year program of four consecutive semesters. All courses within the program can also be selected as independent topics by regular architecture students who only want to specialize in low-carbon architecture during one semester. The program is connected to the Norwegian Centre for Environment-friendly Energy Research (CEER) in Zero Emission Buildings which was created under the leadership of NTNU (Director) and SINTEF (CEO) in 2009 [2]. The ZEB centre works closely with educational and research institutions, industry and public administration in Norway and abroad. The collaboration en...

The dominance of operational energy and related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of most existing build- ings is decreasing in new construction, when primary fossil energy of building operation decreases as re- sult of the implementation of energy efficiency measures as well as a decarbonisation of national energy mixes. Stakeholders therefore have a growing interest in understanding the possibilities for reducing em- bodied impacts in buildings. In the IEA EBC project ‘Annex 57’ a broad call for case studies was launched with the aim to identify design strategies for reducing embodied energy and GHG emissions (EEG) from buildings. The aim of this paper is to identify and provide a collected and comprehensive overview of quantitative reduction potentials of the particular EEG reduction strategies which should be considered by the stakeholders engaged in, and with the capacity to influence the outcome of, individual building projects. This is done by a systematic analysis of the Annex 57 case study collection as well as additional scientific literature. While it should be noted that the actual EEG savings at building level illustrated in this collection of studies are only applicable to each specific case, importantly this multiple cross-case analysis has provided rigorous evidence of the considerable potential to reduce embodied impacts in the design and construction of new and refurbished buildings.

The dominance of operational energy and related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of most existing build- ings is decreasing in new construction, when primary fossil energy of building operation decreases as re- sult of the implementation of energy efficiency measures as well as a decarbonisation of national energy mixes. Stakeholders therefore have a growing interest in understanding the possibilities for reducing em- bodied impacts in buildings. In the IEA EBC project ‘Annex 57’ a broad call for case studies was launched with the aim to identify design strategies for reducing embodied energy and GHG emissions (EEG) from buildings. The aim of this paper is to identify and provide a collected and comprehensive overview of quantitative reduction potentials of the particular EEG reduction strategies which should be considered by the stakeholders engaged in, and with the capacity to influence the outcome of, individual building projects. This is done by a systematic analysis of the Annex 57 case study collection as well as additional scientific literature. While it should be noted that the actual EEG savings at building level illustrated in this collection of studies are only applicable to each specific case, importantly this multiple cross-case analysis has provided rigorous evidence of the considerable potential to reduce embodied impacts in the design and construction of new and refurbished buildings.

The current regulations to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from buildings have focused on operational energy consumption. Thus legislation excludes measurement and reduction of the embodied energy and embodied GHG emissions over the building life cycle. Embodied impacts are a significant and growing proportion and it is increasingly recognized that the focus on reducing operational energy consumption needs to be accompanied by a parallel focus on reducing embodied impacts. Over the last six years the Annex 57 has addressed this issue, with researchers from 15 countries working together to develop a detailed understanding of the multiple calculation methods and the interpretation of their results. Based on an analysis of 80 case studies, Annex 57 showed various inconsistencies in current methodological approaches, which inhibit comparisons of results and difficult development of robust reduction strategies. Reinterpreting the studies through an understanding of the methodological differences enabled the cases to be used to demonstrate a number of important strategies for the reduction of embodied impacts. Annex 57 has also produced clear recommendations for uniform definitions and templates which improve the description of system boundaries, completeness of inventory and quality of data, and consequently the transparency of embodied impact assessments.

The current regulations to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from buildings have focused on operational energy consumption. Thus legislation excludes measurement and reduction of the embodied energy and embodied GHG emissions over the building life cycle. Embodied impacts are a significant and growing proportion and it is increasingly recognized that the focus on reducing operational energy consumption needs to be accompanied by a parallel focus on reducing embodied impacts. Over the last six years the Annex 57 has addressed this issue, with researchers from 15 countries working together to develop a detailed understanding of the multiple calculation methods and the interpretation of their results. Based on an analysis of 80 case studies, Annex 57 showed various inconsistencies in current methodological approaches, which inhibit comparisons of results and difficult development of robust reduction strategies. Reinterpreting the studies through an understanding of the methodological differences enabled the cases to be used to demonstrate a number of important strategies for the reduction of embodied impacts. Annex 57 has also produced clear recommendations for uniform definitions and templates which improve the description of system boundaries, completeness of inventory and quality of data, and consequently the transparency of embodied impact assessments.