Life cycle assessment of 61 ducted gas heating upgrades in Australia
International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation
ISSN: 2398-4708
Article publication date: 26 October 2021
Issue publication date: 8 March 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Operational energy use in buildings accounts for 28% of global energy demand. One method to reduce operational energy is upgrading old appliances to more efficient ones. In Australia, the most common residential heating type is reverse-cycle heating, followed by gas heating. This article aims to determine the energy balance resulting from a gas heating upgrade through a life cycle assessment (LCA).
Design/methodology/approach
Extensive primary data were collected for operational energy performance of 61 ducted gas heating upgrades. To address the scarcity of data on material composition, one ducted gas heater was deconstructed and assessed in terms of material composition (types and weights). The comparison between embodied energy and operational energy savings allows us to establish whether operational energy savings offset the embodied energy incurred with the upgrade. The end of life stage of the old appliance, as well as the production, construction and use stage of the new appliance were assessed.
Findings
The results show that the operational energy savings offset the following impact categories: global warming, ozone layer depletion, aquatic acidification, nonrenewable energy and carcinogens. Only the mineral extraction is not offset by the operational energy savings. The results clearly demonstrate that operational energy savings outweigh the embodied energy and therefore contribute positively to the environment.
Originality/value
This study is the first to focus on the LCA of building services through extensive primary data collection and a focus on a high number of appliances. This supports ongoing energy efficient upgrades in Australia and paves the way for further, similar studies to confirm or disprove these findings in other parts of the world.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Jack Martin Scrap Metals (Canberra, Australia) for providing the ducted gas heating system for this study and ActewAGL (Canberra, Australia) for supplying the data on energy efficiency heating upgrades and the energy use prior and after heating upgrade. The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding received from the EPSRC, Grant. No EP/R01468X/1.
Citation
Peukes, I.E., Francesco, P. and D'Amico, B. (2023), "Life cycle assessment of 61 ducted gas heating upgrades in Australia", International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, Vol. 41 No. 1, pp. 143-169. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-04-2021-0052
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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