TY - JOUR
T1 - An integrated life cycle assessment of different façade systems for a typical residential building in Ghana
AU - Ansah, Mark Kyeredey
AU - Chen, Xi
AU - Yang, Hongxing
AU - Lu, Lin
AU - Lam, Patrick T.I.
N1 - Funding Information:
The work described in this paper was supported by the PhD studentship from the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2020/2
Y1 - 2020/2
N2 - This study performs a comparative environmental and economic assessment of four different façade systems for low-cost residential buildings in Ghana. A framework is designed to incorporate BIM, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) to perform a holistic comparison of a Shotcrete Insulated Composite Façade (Shotcrete ICF), Galvanised Steel Insulated Composite façade (G. Steel ICF) and Stabilised Earth Block Façade (SEBF) against the conventional Concrete Block and Mortar Façade (CBMF). BIM models are developed to compute the environmental and economic impacts of each façade. The results are then subjected to a comparative analysis for different life cycle stages. The SEBF is proved to be the most sustainable facade as it reduces cumulative energy demand (CED) by 39.13 %, global warming potential (GWP) by 18.07 % and LCC by 47.87 % compared to CBMF. The Shotcrete IFC and G. Steel IFC are found to increase CED but decrease GWP. Other than the SEBF, the ranking of all façades under different indicators changes through the scenario analysis. The findings of this study provide useful guidelines for selecting facade systems and reducing the environmental and economic impacts of low-cost residential buildings in Ghana.
AB - This study performs a comparative environmental and economic assessment of four different façade systems for low-cost residential buildings in Ghana. A framework is designed to incorporate BIM, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) to perform a holistic comparison of a Shotcrete Insulated Composite Façade (Shotcrete ICF), Galvanised Steel Insulated Composite façade (G. Steel ICF) and Stabilised Earth Block Façade (SEBF) against the conventional Concrete Block and Mortar Façade (CBMF). BIM models are developed to compute the environmental and economic impacts of each façade. The results are then subjected to a comparative analysis for different life cycle stages. The SEBF is proved to be the most sustainable facade as it reduces cumulative energy demand (CED) by 39.13 %, global warming potential (GWP) by 18.07 % and LCC by 47.87 % compared to CBMF. The Shotcrete IFC and G. Steel IFC are found to increase CED but decrease GWP. Other than the SEBF, the ranking of all façades under different indicators changes through the scenario analysis. The findings of this study provide useful guidelines for selecting facade systems and reducing the environmental and economic impacts of low-cost residential buildings in Ghana.
KW - Cumulative energy demands
KW - Façade
KW - Global warming potential
KW - Life cycle assessment
KW - Life cycle cost
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85075524192&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scs.2019.101974
DO - 10.1016/j.scs.2019.101974
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85075524192
SN - 2210-6707
VL - 53
JO - Sustainable Cities and Society
JF - Sustainable Cities and Society
M1 - 101974
ER -
