A web-based tool for streamlining environmental decision-making in building design

Abstract

The construction industry is an important driver for economic growth, but it is also a major contributor to global energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. A plethora of sustainable design tools and rating schemes have been developed in an attempt to improve the environmental performance of buildings. Regardless of their increasing adoption by the construction industry, much of the existing focus is on improving the operational performance of buildings. However, a more holistic life cycle approach that also considers material production is critical. Despite this, limited information and tools are available that consider the full life cycle at the point where decisions can have the greatest impact - at the early stages of design. This paper presents a web-based tool to assist environmental decision-making by providing information on the life cycle energy loadings of building envelope assemblies at the early stages of design. Real-time embodied energy calculations are combined with cloud-based building energy simulation within a graphical user interface that enables exploration of different alternatives through interactive visualisations. This paper describes the tool, an output of over 10 years of research, and how it can be used to inform building envelope assembly selection to reduce life cycle energy.