Life cycle assessment: A case study of a dwelling home in Scotland

Abstract

The article provides a life cycle assessment (LCA) of a 3-bed room semi detached house in Scotland. Detailed LCA of five main construction materials i.e. wood, aluminium, glass, concrete and ceramic tiles have been provided to determine their respective embodied energy and associated environmental impacts. Embodied energy of various construction materials involved has been estimated to be equal to 227.4 GJ. It is found that concrete, timber and ceramic tiles are the three major energy expensive materials involved. It as been calculated that concrete alone consumes 65% of the total embodied energy of the home while its share of environmental impacts is even more crucial. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.