Embodied energy in building construction

Abstract

Building construction systems that come in different forms and types need to be properly selected before being use, this may have different impact on overall embodied energy of the building construction. Hence, in order to achieve and maximize the construction contribution, the designer plays a big role in choosing the appropriate energy efficient construction. The designers need to be equipped with the right knowledge and tool which gathers a possible range of embodied energy indicators in order to select energy efficient construction. This paper aims at confirming the Malaysian common construction systems and compares it with the historical literature while it also explore energy efficiency in building construction. It is based on the common construction knowledge and also on the published literatures through a critical review of the possible range of embodied energy indicators and construction systems. The study demonstrated and confirmed that Malaysian common building construction systems can be categorized into six groups: Structural frame, Slab, Internal wall, External Wall, Roof and Staircase. This finding is highly significant for the future design in the area of energy efficiency.