Ecological Footprint of Residential Buildings in Composite Climate of India—A Case Study

Ashok Kumar, Pardeep Singh, Nishant Raj Kapoor, Chandan Swaroop Meena, Kshitij Jain, Kishor S. Kulkarni and Raffaello Cozzolino
Additional contact information
Ashok Kumar: CSIR-Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee 247667, India
Pardeep Singh: Institute of Environmental Studies, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra 136119, India
Nishant Raj Kapoor: CSIR-Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee 247667, India
Chandan Swaroop Meena: CSIR-Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee 247667, India
Kshitij Jain: Department of Computer Science Engineering, College of Engineering, Roorkee 247667, India
Kishor S. Kulkarni: CSIR-Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee 247667, India
Raffaello Cozzolino: Department of Engineering, University of Rome Niccolò Cusano, 00166 Roma, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-25

Abstract: Buildings are accountable for waste generation, utilization of natural resources, and ecological contamination. The construction sector is one of the biggest consumers of resources available naturally and is responsible for significant CO 2 emissions on the planet. The effects of the buildings on the environment are commonly determined using Life Cycle Assessments (LCA). The investigation and comparison of the Life Cycle Ecological Footprint (LCEF) and Life Cycle Energy (LCE) of five residential buildings situated in the composite climatic zone of India is presented in this study. The utilization of resources (building materials) along with developing a mobile application and a generic model to choose low emission material is the uniqueness of this study. The utilization of eco-friendly building materials and how these are more efficient than conventional building materials are also discussed. In this investigation, the two approaches, (a) Life Cycle Energy Assessment (LCEA) and (b) Life Cycle Ecological Footprint (LCEF), are discussed to evaluate the impacts of building materials on the environment. The energy embedded due to the materials used in a building is calculated to demonstrate the prevalence of innovative construction techniques over traditional materials. The generic model developed to assess the LCEA of residential buildings in the composite climate of India and the other results show that the utilization of low-energy building materials brings about a significant decrease in the LCEF and the LCE of the buildings. The results are suitable for a similar typology of buildings elsewhere in different climatic zone as well. The MATLAB model presented will help researchers globally to follow-up or replicate the study in their country. The developed user-friendly mobile application will enhance the awareness related to energy, environment, ecology, and sustainable development in the general public. This study can help in understanding and thus reducing the ecological burden of building materials, eventually leading towards sustainable development.

Keywords: life cycle energy assessment; ecological footprint; embodied energy; residential building; operational energy; composite climate; mobile application (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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