This study assesses five domestic buildings constructed in a project for experimental housing. The project aims at competitive buildings, which comply in different construction ways with the standards for low en-ergy buildings. For these buildings the study sets up an environmental cost- / benefit-balance. It includes:

• Life cycle assessment of the energy relevant building components
• Attribution of the heat demand to the different building components
• Comparison of the different usual exterior wall construction
• Valuation of the whole system concerning primary energy demand, CO2 emissions, generated waste, and total costs.

The main focus lies on the question, whether the additional construction demand to achieve the better energy standard can be justified.

For the analysed construction parts no linear correlation between material demand and impacts from the building’s use phase could be found. The results indicate a superiority of exterior wall constructions from wood.

This study was conducted within the experimental housing project in co-operation with the building authority of Bayern, the city of Munich and the conostructor GEWOFAG.

Project term: 2003 - 2005

Contact: Daniel Kellenberger

    
Technology and Society Laboratory homepage
Homepage der Abteilung Technologie und Gesellschaft