Assessment of embodied carbon of ventilation systems and their components in educational and office buildings
Authors
El Hamid, Mona Mohamed Abd ; Stramarko, Marina ; Heckova, Monika
Term
4. Term
Education
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-01-06
Abstract
Klimaloven og CO2-grænserne i Bygningsreglementet fra 2023 danner baggrunden for dette studie. Tidligere forskning har sjældent haft fokus på HVAC-systemer (varme, ventilation og aircondition), især deres indlejrede CO2—de drivhusgasudledninger, der opstår ved fremstilling, transport og installation af materialer og udstyr. Denne afhandling vurderer den indlejrede CO2 i ventilationsanlæg i undervisnings- og kontorbygninger. Fordi de tilgængelige miljødata for sådanne anlæg er for sparsomme til en pålidelig vurdering, gennemførte vi en detaljeret opgørelse baseret på mængder og materialer for hver enkelt komponent. Med udgangspunkt i tre case-bygninger blev resultaterne generaliseret til nye referenceværdier for globalt opvarmningspotentiale (GWP) for ventilationssystemer og deres komponenter i denne bygningskategori. Vi peger på, hvilke komponenter der bidrager mest til den indlejrede CO2, og undersøger potentialet for at reducere deres påvirkning. På den baggrund foreslår vi tiltag, som branchen kan iværksætte for at mindske ventilationssystemers miljøpåvirkning.
The Danish Climate Act and the 2023 CO2 limits in the Danish Building Regulations motivate this study. Earlier research has rarely focused on HVAC systems (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), especially their embodied carbon—the greenhouse gas emissions from producing, transporting and installing materials and equipment. This thesis assesses the embodied carbon of ventilation systems in educational and office buildings. Because existing environmental data for such systems is too limited for a reliable estimate, we carried out a detailed assessment based on the quantities and material composition of each component. From three case buildings, we generalised the results to establish new reference values for global warming potential (GWP) for ventilation systems and their components in this building category. We identify which components contribute most to embodied carbon and examine how much their impacts could be reduced. Based on these findings, we suggest actions the industry can take to lower the environmental footprint of ventilation systems.
[This summary has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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