Carbon Emission Estimation of Prefabricated Buildings Based on Life Cycle Assessment Model

Abstract

As a typical secondary industry in China, the building industry promotes China’s construction and development significantly. The urban construction scale is expanding continuously with the increase of the urbanization rate. However, resources needed for construction and influences of construction on the ecological environment are enormous, which further cause resource consumption and environmental destructions. Therefore, changing the traditional mode of construction and promoting the development of prefabricated buildings vigorously are conducive to realize the goal of environmental protection and resource conservation. In this study, a life cycle assessment model for prefabricated buildings was constructed based on the basic data of resource and energy consumption in the production stage, transportation stage, and field installation stage. The total carbon emission of a prefabricated building in Wuhan City was estimated, and specific energy conservation and emission reduction measures were proposed. Results show that prefabricated buildings have become a major manifestation of the industrialization of construction, represented by America, Germany, and Japan. In the case study, the total carbon emission of prefabricated components in the project is 3277.66 t, in which the carbon emissions in the production stage, transportation stage, and field installation stage account for 86.58%, 12.37%, and 1.05%, respectively. Based on the above research results, the further decrease in carbon emissions of prefabricated buildings by promoting the development of building energy efficiency and prefabricated buildings, accelerating R&D and innovation of prefabricated building technologies, and strengthening training to designers related with installation of prefabricated buildings is suggested. Research conclusions have important significance in various aspects, such as providing case-based references and guidance to the carbon emission reduction of prefabricated buildings and supply basic data to decrease carbon emission caused by the production of building materials, developing new environmentally friendly materials to relieve the impact of carbon emissions from the building industry on the environment, realizing energy conservation and emission in the field of construction, and promoting the sustainable development of prefabricated buildings.

Keywords

• prefabricated buildings, carbon emission, energy conservation, emission reduction