Conducting Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) to Determine Carbon Payback: A Case Study of a Highly Energy-Efficient House in Rural Alaska

Yasmeen Hossain and Tom Marsik
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Yasmeen Hossain: Cross-Cultural Studies, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 505 South Chandalar Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
Tom Marsik: University of Alaska Fairbanks—Bristol Bay Campus, 527 Seward St, Dillingham, AK 99576, USA

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 9, 1-11

Abstract: Buildings are responsible for a large portion of global greenhouse gas emissions. While energy efficiency features can significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions during a building’s operational stage, extra materials and processes associated with these features typically involve higher greenhouse gas emissions during the construction phase. In order to study this relationship, a case study of a highly energy-efficient house in rural Alaska was performed. For the purposes of this case study, a theoretical counterpart home was designed that has the same interior space, but insulation values close to the code minimum requirements. Using computer simulations, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed for the case study home as well as its conventional counterpart. The extra greenhouse gas emissions associated with the construction of the case study home were compared to the annual savings in greenhouse gas emissions achieved thanks to the energy efficiency features, and carbon payback was calculated. The carbon payback was calculated to be just over three years, which is only a small fraction of the life of the building. The results of this study show that despite higher greenhouse gas emissions during the construction phase, highly energy-efficient homes can play an important role in addressing climate change.

Keywords: Life-Cycle Assessment; energy and buildings; Alaska; energy efficiency; carbon payback (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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