A comparative study of the environmental impact of Swedish residential buildings with vacuum insulation panels

作者：Karami Peyman^*; Al Ayish Nadia; Gudmundsson Kjartan

来源：Energy and Buildings, 2015, 109: 183-194.

DOI：10.1016/j.enbuild.2015.10.031

• Vacuum insulation panels (VIPs)
• LCA
• Environmental product declaration (EPD)
• Environmental impacts
• GWP
• GHG
• Primary energy use
• Operational energy

A large part of the energy consumption in the European Union member states is related to space heating, a significant share of which is due to transmission losses through the building envelope. Vacuum insulation panels (VIPs), with unique thermal insulation properties, do therefore provide an interesting alternative for the building industry. This paper presents the results of a life cycle analysis (LCA) study that compares the environmental impact of three hypothetical buildings, a standard residential building, a regular well-insulated building and a building insulated with VIPs. The environmental impact includes the global warming potential (GWP) and the primary energy (PE) use, from the material production stage to the building operational phase (50 years). The cradle-to-gate environmental impact categories of ozone depletion potential (ODP), acidification potential (AP) and eutrophication potential (EP) of all building components are also assessed. The study shows a comparatively lower operational energy for the VIP insulated building and a relatively lower total greenhouse gas emission as well as the possibility to save significant living space. The results also show that the VIPs have measurable environmental impact during the product stage while the core material of the VIPs has considerable impact on the results.

• 出版日期2015-12-15