How Much Is Needed? Discussion on Benchmarks for Primary Energy Input and Global Warming Potential Caused by Building Construction

Roman Rabenseifer (), Martina Kalivodová, Yevhen Kononets, Nataliia Mahas, Katarína Minarovičová, Robert Provazník, Maryna Bordun, Svitlana Shekhorkina, Mykola Savytskyi, Oleksandr Savytskyi and Volodymyr Semko
Additional contact information
Roman Rabenseifer: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Radlinského 11, 810 05 Bratislava, Slovakia
Martina Kalivodová: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Radlinského 11, 810 05 Bratislava, Slovakia
Yevhen Kononets: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Radlinského 11, 810 05 Bratislava, Slovakia
Nataliia Mahas: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Radlinského 11, 810 05 Bratislava, Slovakia
Katarína Minarovičová: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Radlinského 11, 810 05 Bratislava, Slovakia
Robert Provazník: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Radlinského 11, 810 05 Bratislava, Slovakia
Maryna Bordun: Department of Reinforced Concrete and Masonry Structures, Faculty of Construction, Science and Educational Institution “Prydniprovska State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture”, Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies, Lazariana 2, 49010 Dnipro, Ukraine
Svitlana Shekhorkina: Department of Reinforced Concrete and Masonry Structures, Faculty of Construction, Science and Educational Institution “Prydniprovska State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture”, Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies, Lazariana 2, 49010 Dnipro, Ukraine
Mykola Savytskyi: Department of Reinforced Concrete and Masonry Structures, Faculty of Construction, Science and Educational Institution “Prydniprovska State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture”, Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies, Lazariana 2, 49010 Dnipro, Ukraine
Oleksandr Savytskyi: Department of Construction Production and Geodesy, Faculty of Construction, Architecture and Infrastructure, Science and Educational Institution “Dnipro Institute of Infrastructure and Transport”, Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies, Lazariana 2, 49010 Dnipro, Ukraine
Volodymyr Semko: Department of Structural Engineering, Institute of Building Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Transport Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, Piotrowo Street 5, 61-138 Poznan, Poland

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: The operational energy efficiency of new buildings in the EU should be at the level of ultra-low or near-zero energy buildings. It is therefore relatively difficult to achieve further energy savings. However, the pre-operational phase—raw material sourcing, manufacturing, transportation, and construction—offers significant energy savings and greenhouse gas reduction opportunities, referred to as embodied energy and equivalent CO 2 emissions. Unlike operational energy, no standard or legislative criteria have yet been established for embodied energy. Setting maximum embodied energy values converted to the unit of heated building area, accounting for building shape factor, and differentiating between high-mass and lightweight constructions are proposed. This study illustrates assessing environmental indicators based on building shape, highlighting the necessity of relative assessments over absolute values to favour energy efficiency. It also emphasizes that precise criteria should derive from authentic data collected during the energy certification and building permitting processes. Integrating assessments of embodied energy and operational energy demand facilitates a comprehensive evaluation of buildings’ environmental performance.

Keywords: primary energy input; global warming potential; embodied energy; environmental assessment; buildings; energy certification (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: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/5/1166/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/5/1166/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:5:p:1166-:d:1601143

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().