Life cycle assessment as a major support tool within multi‐criteria design process of single dwellings located in Poland

Abstract

Life cycle assessment is an environmental method which estimates either a process or a building material within the cradle‐to‐grave cycle. Presently, it is one of a few tools that include all factors which may influence the environment. The authors used this tool to prove effects connected with potential efficient energy levels and a reduction in CO2 emissions within a building’s life cycle. For the purpose of our analyses, several types of single‐family building were chosen and they were subjected to analysis in the fixed location of Warsaw. The research scope included a numerical analysis of the buildings concerning the level of embodied energies and the emission of greenhouse gases. The performed analysis proved that, within a 50‐year cycle, the difference between the embodied energy from the best and worst building choices can amount to 14.87%, whereas a reduction in embodied carbon emissions can reach 20.65%. Each change in the building’s form and the type of building materials used, regardless of the usable area, influence the environmental impact. Therefore, this paper concludes that LCA, as a management tool, should be used cyclically as part of each phase of the design process. A multi‐criteria method for selecting architectural solutions was proposed which considered minimum cumulative primary energy, minimum cumulative carbon emission and minimum cost of constructing a building.