The Application of LCA in BORAL Building Products. Roger Crowley - Boral Plasterboard Rob Rouwette - Energetics

Transcription

1 The Application of LCA in BORAL Building Products Roger Crowley - Boral Plasterboard Rob Rouwette - Energetics

2 Overview: At the end of this presentation you will have a perspective: About BORAL BORAL s Imperative LCA applied to the HIA Standard House Relative Contribution of Embodied & Operating Energy Outcomes, Issues, and Conclusions

3 BORAL in Perspective: Purpose: To create sustainable solutions for a worldwide building and construction industry Structure: Boral Construction Materials Boral Cement Boral Building Products Boral USA Quarries Concrete Asphalt Transport Contracting Boral Properties Cement Indo/ Thai Concrete & Quarries Concrete Placing Windows Clay & Concrete Products Bricks Roofing Masonry Plasterboard Australia Lafarge Boral Asia JV (50%) Rondo (50%) GRA (50%) Timber Hardwood Softwood - Highland Pines JV (50%) Plywood Bricks Clay roof tiles Concrete roof tiles Fly ash/ Construction Materials Construction material and building product manufacturer and supplier ASX Top 100 listed company $4.6 billion turnover, 15,000 employees (Aust & O seas)

4 BORAL s Worldwide Operations countries Total operating sites (excludes distribution) 77 USA Bricks #1 Clay Roof tiles #1 Concrete Roof Tiles #1 Concrete (Denver) #3 Flyash #2 1. Joint venture with Lafarge AUSTRALIA Concrete #1 Bricks #2 Quarries #1 Plasterboard #1 Asphalt #1 Roof Tiles #2 Cement #2 Masonry #1 ASIA Plasterboard 1 Korea #2 Thailand #1 China (east) Indonesia #1 Malaysia #1 The Philippines #1 Concrete & quarries Indonesia concrete #1 Thailand concrete #3

5 A range of issues influence BORAL s sustainability strategy Lightweight Vs: Heavyweight construction Recycling Wide range of climatic conditions Eco-labels vs: LCA green products ratings Energy use competing & complementary products Broad product range BORAL Purpose Mature markets Investment decisions star BORAL future growth corporate responsibility Thermal efficiency affordability / buildability Proliferation of rating tools tax Government policy carbon Building trends CUSTOMER S Innovative, low cost products EXTERNAL ENVIRONMEN T Embodied vs: Operational Energy

6 Our Imperative: Key questions arising: How do we make a rational assessment of these influences on the business? Given the diverse product range, will there be winners & losers? What technologies and products should be focussed on for future growth?

7 Our Imperative: To clarify these, an LCA approach was applied to the HIA Standard House to: Quantify product comparisons using accepted scientific based techniques Determine relativities between products Assess the relative contribution of embodied and operational energy over the lifetime of a house Study the influence of thermal assessment models Provide substantiation of any green marketing claims

8 The HIA Standard House was modelled for the LCA 3 Bed room, open plan design attached double garage & deck Concrete slab Brick veneer / concrete tile roof Single glazed Aluminium windows Dwelling 161 m 2, Garage 41 m 2

9 Variables modelled: Cradle to grave modelling for energy use and GHG generation for 100+ permutations: 3 wall types double brick, brick veneer, timber cladding 2 floor types concrete and timber 2 roof types concrete tiles and steel sheeting 2 window types single and double glazed 2 building orientations North & South 2 Climatic zones Victoria & Queensland 2 thermal modelling software AccuRate & Design Builder Embodied energy, HVAC, and Operational energy (HW, lighting, appliances) scenarios

10 Data collection: Boral Divisions supplied environmental data for their products Maintenance and replacement based on typical scenarios Background data needed for non-boral building products Mixture of European (ecoinvent) and public Australian data BP LCI data will solve part of the puzzle (n/a at time) Background data needed for processes (energy, transport, construction, demolition, waste processing) Thermal modelling and scenarios for operational consumption Need for an all-encompassing database and detailed set of rules becomes clear when envisaging future potential (e.g. uptake of LCA in the ALCAS Building Conference Code) March 2011

11 Including HVAC and Operational energy (60 year life) changes the perspective: Depending on climate zone, embodied energy represents: 26-45% with HVAC added (AccuRate output) (16-18% DesignBuilder output) 6% with HVAC + Operational energy Energy Scenario Orientation tonne % contribution of embodied impacts tonne Embodied % contribution of embodied impacts Embodied + HVAC North % % South % % Embodied + HVAC + Operating North 951 5% 863 6% (light, HW, appliances) South 958 5% 870 6% criteria: Environmental Impact of HIA Standard House 60 year life, cradle to grave Based on AccuRate CO2-e Impact - tonnes Melbourne Brisbane Assumptions & Limitations: Reports on GHG indicators only, not other environmental impacts Air leakage has not been examined Design optimisation (shading, draught proofing, selected double glazing) has not been applied Heating and cooling energy provided by electricity AccuRate (design assessment) & DesignBuilder (operational energy simulation) generate different results and are not directly comparable

12 Observations: Over a 60 year life, HVAC and Operational energy demands (hot water, lighting, appliances) dominate GHG profile, representing 95% of emissions The building envelope is critical for HVAC efficiency in terms of both material selection and air tightness House design has a greater impact on long term GHG emissions than building material choice Housing construction and demand is subject to market forces and affordability is an equally important consideration in today s environment

13 Observations: Wall system performance can be enhanced by insulation, offsetting embodied energy differences For roofs, void space and ceiling insulation can eliminate insulation differences b/w tiles and steel sheeting Flooring requires further investigation due to variable results concrete thermal mass vs. lower cooling loads for timber Different thermal modelling software generates variable results for the same situation

14 Conclusions from a Life Cycle perspective: Need for an all-encompassing database and detailed set of rules becomes clear when envisaging future potential (e.g. uptake of LCA in the Building Code) Each time an LCA practitioner needs to make a choice between two or more options, there is a potential divergence in results LCI data choices LCA related methodological choices Modelling choices

15 Conclusions from a Life Cycle perspective: LCA to study & understand models ISO14040/14044 Broadly applicable Variability in data can increase understanding Methodology can be fine-tuned within the LCA Some bias can be acceptable if it makes the results more robust Typically small, direct audience LCA in regulation or EPD PCR (based on ISO) Product group specific Variability in data can lead to conflict Methodology needs to be well thought-out and rigid Bias should be avoided Large, direct and indirect audience Will LCA ever be used in a regulatory framework in Australia?

16 Conclusions from a BORAL perspective: No clear winners or losers emerge as building performance is strongly influenced by design, placement, and equipment technology; material selection needs to be considered in light of complete design Functionality, affordability, and build-ability are equally large considerations in consumer decision making Predictions of the demise of lightweight building construction (eg in south facing Victorian coastal areas) at the time of release of First Rate (AccuRate s predecessor) were misplaced

17 Conclusions from a BORAL perspective: New and emerging technologies such as lower carbon cement will ensure a constantly changing landscape such that predicting winners is only temporary Embodied and HVAC emissions can be considerably reduced by optimal house design, including orientation, shading, correct use of thermal mass, and material selection In summary: There is no single winner but rather a comprehensive approach to design and material selection is required to generate an optimal solution