Life Cycle Assessment of Dynamic Water Flow Glazing Envelopes: A Case Study with Real Test Facilities

Autor: Belen Moreno Santamaria, Fernando del Ama Gonzalo, Matthew Griffin, Benito Lauret Aguirregabiria, Juan A. Hernandez Ramos
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Energies, Vol 14, Iss 8, p 2195 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 14082195
1996-1073
DOI: 10.3390/en14082195
Popis: High initial costs hinder innovative technologies for building envelopes. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) should consider energy savings to show relevant economic benefits and potential to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Life Cycle Cost (LCC) and Life Cycle Energy (LCE) should focus on investment, operation, maintenance, dismantling, disposal, and/or recycling for the building. This study compares the LCC and LCE analysis of Water Flow Glazing (WFG) envelopes with traditional double and triple glazing facades. The assessment considers initial, operational, and disposal costs and energy consumption as well as different energy systems for heating and cooling. Real prototypes have been built in two different locations to record real-world data of yearly operational energy. WFG systems consistently showed a higher initial investment than traditional glazing. The final Life Cycle Cost analysis demonstrates that WFG systems are better over the operation phase only when it is compared with a traditional double-glazing. However, a Life Cycle Energy assessment over 50 years concluded that energy savings between 36% and 66% and CO2 emissions reduction between 30% and 70% could be achieved.
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