|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Background
Reports |
|
|
|
Annex 31 has completed a series of seven technical Background Reports to provide
researchers, instructors and tool developers with additional information on key aspects
of energy and life cycle assessment (LCA) tool design for buildings. These include: |
|
|
|
Context
and Methods for Tool Designers |
|
click
to open the main
PDF document |
|
|
|
|
|
|
When assessing the environmental performance of buildings over their life cycle, important
assumptions need to be made for the building itself (life duration, maintenance, end of life),
the energy flows, the energy chains, and the user's behaviour.
This report reviews many
such assumptions, and analyses what information is required in order to effectively integrate
energy-related and environmental issues in the investigation and decision making stages.
The information is shown to vary greatly depending upon degree of detail, and degree
of interpretation.
|
|
|
|
Comparative
Applications - A Comparison of Different Tool Results on Similar Residential
and Commercial Building |
|
|
|
|
This
report describes the results of an Annex 31 research
project in which the environmental impact of both a
single dwelling and an office building was assessed
with tools from the participating countries. All the
tools were intended to assist in quantifying or qualifying
the environmental profile of a building, or to assist
decision-makers in improving the environmental performance
of a building design.
Significant differences
in outputs between tools occurred as a result of differences
in data infrastructure (e.g. Energy mix), system boundaries,
data allocation and weighting factors.
|
|
|
Case
Studies of How Tools Affect Decision-Making |
|
|
|
|
The
intent of this report is to explore how life-cycle assessment tools have
had an impact on the design and environmental performance of buildings.
Six countries were asked to submit case studies of building projects where
tools were intentionally used to create a more efficient and environmentally
friendly building or buildings stock.
Each case study includes information
on the site and project, the energy and environmental features, the assessment
tool and the results. |
|
|
Data
Needs and Sources |
|
|
|
|
In
this report a more detailed examination is conducted of data requirements
and sources. An attempt is made to inventory as exhaustively as possible
the data needed for a complete detailed assessment of impacts at any aggregation
level. |
|
|
Assessing
Buildings for Adaptability |
|
|
|
|
Adaptability
refers to the capacity of buildings to accommodate
substantial change. Over the course of a building's
lifetime, change is inevitable, both in the social,
economic and physical surroundings, and in the needs
and expectations of occupants.
This report
examines all aspects of adaptability in buildings,
from principles to strategies to specific features.
Evaluation methods and potential benefits are discussed. |
|
|
Sensitivity
and Uncertainty |
|
|
|
|
Sensitivity
and uncertainty analysis can be used at many stages
throughout the assessment of energy related environmental
impacts from buildings. The key purpose of sensitivity
analysis is to identify and focus on key data and assumptions
that have most influence on a result - thereby simplifying
data collection and analysis without compromising the
results.
This
report describes how to undertake sensitivity and uncertainty
analysis, and includes examples of how such exercises
can improve decisions. |
|
|
Stock Aggregation |
|
|
|
|
Stock
Aggregation refers to the process of evaluating the
performance of a building stock using environmental
assessments of components of the stock. For example,
total energy use by a stock of buildings can be estimated
by adding up (or 'aggregating') the energy estimates
for all the individual buildings within the stock.
Or for less effort, a subset of representative buildings
can be analyzed, and the results then factored in proportion
to the total number of such buildings in the stock.
This report explains why Stock Aggregation is frequently
the best method for assessing stocks. Examples are
given of how stock aggregation can assist in policy
development at the local and
regional scale. The
method is also shown to significant benefits for planners,
businesses in the building sector, and utilities.
|
|