The Carbon Emission Assessment of a Building with Different Prefabrication Rates in the Construction Stage

Qingye Han, Junjie Chang, Guiwen Liu and Heng Zhang
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Qingye Han: School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
Junjie Chang: School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
Guiwen Liu: School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
Heng Zhang: School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: The utilization of prefabricated components is taken as a potential way to reduce carbon emissions from the construction industry, and the prefabrication rate may be a factor that influences the mitigation efficiency. This study develops an assessment method to compare carbon emissions of a building in the construction stage when it is built with multiple different prefabrication rates. Firstly, two carbon sources (building materials and machineries) and three construction sub-phases (production of materials and components, transportation, and on-site construction) are determined to clarify the calculation boundary. Then, a carbon emission measurement model for prefabricated buildings in the construction stage is developed by using a process-based method. A dormitory building in Chongqing, China, is selected to conduct a case study to show the application of the provided model. The result shows that the carbon emission of prefabricated buildings is higher compared to that of traditional cast-in situ buildings. Moreover, the emission of prefabricated buildings decreased slightly with the increase in the prefabrication rate. A detailed discussion is followed to investigate the reason why the carbon emission does not decrease with the utilization of prefabricated units. Based on the discussion, some suggestions are given to improve the carbon emission reduction efficiency of prefabrication techniques.

Keywords: carbon emission; prefabrication rate; construction industry; construction stage; coefficient method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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