Comparative life cycle assessment for Green walls systems Research carried out between: the Living walls and roofs centre. University of Greenwich

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1 Comparative life cycle assessment for Green walls systems Research carried out between: the Living walls and roofs centre. University of Greenwich and the University Ramón Llull La Salle Barcelona Researcher: MSc. Arch. Michelle Sánchez de León Brajkovich Presentation at: Staffordshire University, Green Wall Conference

2 Environmental Impact by sector Construction Transport Industrial Globally, it is estimated that energy consumption is: roughly 30% in the industrial sector, 30% in transport and 40% construction and other uses

3 What is a Life Cycle Assessment? This type of Assessment is used to calculate the environmental impact made by a product throughout its entire life. Taking into consideration all phases of the process: from the supply of the raw materials, manufacturing, transport, construction, use and end of life.

4 How can we do a Life Cycle Assessment?

5 Type of walls systems to compare on the LCA 1. Green Wall (Felt System) Table 02a 1. Green Wall (Felt System) material weight (kg), transportation (km), and service life (years) of components Components Material Weight (kg/m2) Distances (km) Service life (years) Inner Masonry Clay Brick (100 mm) Thermal insulation Mineral wool (70 mm) Air cavity Air (50 mm) Outer Mansory Lime stone (50 mm) Exterior finishes Plaster- Gypsum Structural- Bolts Stainless steel Structural- Spacer brackets Stainless steel PVC foam plate Inner layer (10mm) Supporting system for vegetation Polyamide Felt (3+3 mm) Growing material Goe-textil Brick Irrigation system PE pipes and flexible tube Water demand Tapwater+ nutrients Vegetation Selected plants

6 Type of walls systems to compare on the LCA 2. Green Wall (Indirect System + Climber) Table 02b 2. Green Wall (Indirect System + Climber) material weight (kg), transportation (km), and service life (years) of components Components Material Weight (kg/m2) Distances (km) Service life (years) Clay Brick (100 Inner Masonry mm) Mineral wool (70 Thermal insulation mm) Air cavity Air (50 mm) Lime stone (50 mm) Outer Masonry Exterior finishes Plaster- Gypsum Structural- Bolts Stainless steel Structural- Spacer brackets Stainless steel Structural- Mesh Stainless steel mesh Vegetation H. Helix

7 Phase A01,02 and 03_Production of materials / Embodied energy and CO2 emissions Table 03a 1. Green Wall (Felt System): Embodied energy and Carbon data per m2 Components Material Weight (kg/m2) EE-MJ/Kg MJ/m2 EC-kgCO2/Kg KCO2/m2 Inner Masonry Clay Brick (100 mm) Thermal insulation Mineral wool (70 mm) Air cavity Air (50 mm) Outer Mansory Lime stone (50 mm) Exterior finishes Plaster- Gypsum Structural- Bolts Stainless steel Structural- Spacer brackets Stainless steel PVC foam plate Inner layer Supporting system for vegetation (10mm) Polyamide Felt (3+3 mm) PE pipes and flexible tube Irrigation system Water demand Tapwater+ nutrients Vegetation Selected plants , Table 03c 2. Green Wall (Indirect System + Climber): Embodied energy and Carbon data per m2 Components Material Weight (kg/m2) EE-MJ/Kg MJ/m2 EC-kgCO2/Kg KCO2/m2 Inner Masonry Clay Brick (100 mm) Thermal insulation Mineral wool (70 mm) Air cavity Air (50 mm) Outer Mansory Lime stone (50 mm) Exterior finishes Plaster- Gypsum Structural- Bolts Stainless steel Structural- Spacer brackets Stainless steel Structural- Mesh Stainless steel mesh Vegetation H. Helix ,

8 Phase B01, 02 and 06_Use and Maintenance / Energy consumption and carbon emissions / Energy simulation Table 06 LCA-Energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the USE phase of the building Wall System kwh MJ kwh/m2 MJ/m2 kco2 KCO2/m2 Green wall felt layers (Felt System) Total amount of CO2 emission (kg) 10, Total energy consumption in a year 6, , Energy consumption on heating in a year 3, , Energy consumption on cooling in a year -2, , Total saving 14.00% 14.00% 14.00% 14.00% 5.00% 5.00% Green wall indirect system with a climber Total amount of CO2 emission (kg) 11, Total energy consumption in a year 7, , Energy consumption on heating in a year 3, , Energy consumption on cooling in a year -3, , Total saving 9.00% 9.00% 9.00% 9.00% 9.00% 9.00% LCA-Energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the 50 years of life Wall System Amount of year in a life Energy consumption in 1 Energy consumption in CO2 emissions in 1 CO2 emissions in a life time year a life time year time Und MJ/m2 MJ/m2 KCO2/m2 KCO2/m2 Green wall felt layers (Felt System) , , Green wall indirect system with a climber , , Tables 07 LCA-Maintenance phase Wall system Concept MJ/m2 KCO2/m2 Green wall felt layers (Felt System) Maintenance from 0 to 50 years 44, Replacement from 0 to 25 years Replacement from 0 to 10 years 4, Replacement from 0 to 7.5 years TOTAL 4, Green wall indirect system with a climber Maintenance from 0 to 50 years 44, Replacement from 0 to 25 years Replacement from 0 to 10 years Replacement from 0 to 7.5 years TOTAL

9 Energy simulations Results Energy Savings Energy consumption and embodied 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% Dubai L O N D O N kwh % SAVINGS 7, , , , , , , , , % 15% 10% 5% 0% 1. LW FS 2. LW ICS Barcelona London B A R C E L O N A kwh % SAVINGS 9, , , , , , , The results of this part of the research are: The Green Walls Felt System provides a 14% of energy savings on a London climate, a 30% of energy savings on a Barcelona climate, and a 40% of energy savings on a Dubai climate. The Green Walls Indirect System provides a 9% of energy savings on a London climate, a 12% of energy savings on a Barcelona climate, and a 30% of energy savings on a Dubai climate. D U B A I kwh % SAVINGS 29, , , , , ,

10 LCA comparative Results Carbon data/ CO2 emissions Energy consumption and embodied 7, , , End of life 20, End of life 5, , Use and Maintena nce 15, Use and Maintenan ce 3, , Transport and Construct ion 10, Transport and Constructio n 1, Prod. of materials 5, Prod. of materials 0.00 LW (FS) LW (IS) 0.00 LW (FS) LW (IS) Tables 09 LCA-TOTAL/ all phases of the cycle Embodied energy Phase of the cycle Type of wall (A01, A02 and A03) (A04 and A05) Prod. of materials Transport and Construction (B01, B02, B03, B04, B05, B06 and B07) (C01, C02, C03 and C04) Use and Maintenance End of life TOTAL LW (FS) 2, , , LW (IS) 1, , , Carbon data Phase of the cycle Type of wall (A01, A02 and A03) (A04 and A05) Prod. of materials Transport and Construction (B01, B02, B03, B04, B05, B06 and B07) (C01, C02, C03 and C04) Use and Maintenance End of life TOTAL LW (FS) , , LW (IS) , ,589.75

11 Conclusion: The calculations explained above are an example of the environmental benefits of Green walls. Having a very good amount of savings on the energy wasted and CO2 emissions produced by the building on the entire life cycle. We demonstrated that the Green walls FS brings more energy savings in three different type of climates that the Green walls IS, because it has an growing extra layer that act as a thermal insulation layer that improve the performance of a building. The Green wall with the Felt System works better as a thermal insulate because it has growing material which helps the performance of the building in terms of energy exchange between the interior and exterior space. In this analysis only focused on the embodied energy and the CO2 emissions. However there are more unquantifiable factors of having a Green wall system in a building like: Increased biodiversity, Human health, Improvement of air quality and Reduction of the heat island effect

12 The Benefits of Making a Life Cycle Assessment and Thermal Analysis on Green Walls: Create a more competitive product in the market Have comprehensive and certified information about your product s level of sustainability Have certified information for architects and designers to understand the performance level of your product, to simplify their involvement of the Green wall on a building project Have certified information of energy savings to contrast with cost of the product to encourage clients to install Green walls on their buildings Test the sustainable performance of your product and identify which part of the life cycle can be improved Study alternative designs of your product to better adapt in different climates. So you can have a solution for a project in Dubai that is different than in London, so you can reduce your cost of production and the products have higher efficiency

13 Comparative life cycle assessment for Green walls systems Thank you! Contact: