Life cycle assessment of ten insulation products in different types of building walls

Life cycle assessment of ten insulation products in different types of building walls Karolien Peeters (VITO), Els Van de moortel (VIBE), Carolin Spirinckx (VITO), Peter Thoelen (VIBE), Wim Debacker (VITO), Sigrid Vanleemput (VIBE), Frank De Troyer (KULeuven), Wim Dewulf (KULeuven), Andrew Norton (Renuables), Jannick H Schmidt (2.0 LCA consultants), Liesbet Temmerman (CEERA), Dieter De Lathauwer (FPS Health) Avnir LCA conference 04-05 November 2013 Lille, France

Outline of presentation» Introduction and goal of the LCA:tim project» Goal and scope of the LCA» Results of the 12 specific LCAs for selected impact categories» Generalizing the information» Overall conclusions and policy recommendations 25/11/2013 2

Introduction and goal of the LCA:tim project» Background o Energy Performance of Buildings / Sustainable production and consumption o Environmental impact > energy related impact o Material related environmental impact o Information, insight view, no ranking» Call for tender o Contracting authority: Federal public service of Health & Environment o Exhaustive list: Glass wool, rock wool, PUR, EPS, XPS, Sheep wool, paper flakes, flax, wood fibre, hemp. o Other materials technically possible / budget constraints o External walls o Thermal insulation 25/11/2013 4

o PCR > specific LCA s > feedback to PCR > grouping of information per insulation material > policy recommendations o Methodology: CEN TC 350 o Indicators: CEN TC 350 + ILCD (now PEF) o Collaboration with manufacturers o Timing: 470 calendar days o Budget: 175k EUR (underestimated) o Stakeholder decision: need for definition of 4 wall elements o No explicit link with Belgian database for EPD s / draft Royal Decree» Next step: o Federal Public Service decides on communication format, target public on the basis of the scientif findings of the study (ongoing) o Final report not yet publicly available accompagnying note to be established 25/11/2013 5

Goal and scope of the LCA» FU based on primary function of insulation products: thermal performance» The functional unit has been defined as: 1 m² of a building wall with a U-value of maximum 0,24 (W/m 2.K) and as close as possible to, but not higher than, this value (given standard products available on the market) and with a life time of 60 years. 25/11/2013 7

Goal and scope of the LCA» ETICS brickwork + timber cladding» type A type B1 and B2 25/11/2013 8

Goal and scope of the LCA» Timber frame + brickwork Cavity wall» type C type D 25/11/2013 9

Goal and scope of the LCA» According to PCR developed in task 1» framework for development of PCR: EN 15804» Data collection in close collaboration with several manufacturers of insulation products» Additional impact categories considered:» CEN+ indicators» Critical review by Kuleuven and Renuables 25/11/2013 10

Results of the 12 specific LCAs Important:» Results from one product from one manufacturer» The results presented in the graphs cannot be generalised to the family of insulation products» Only a few impact categories are shown in this presentation due to the limited time frame 25/11/2013 12

kg CO2 eq 3,00E+02 2,50E+02 2,00E+02 1,50E+02 1,00E+02 5,00E+01 0,00E+00 Comparison complete wall from cradle-to-grave Climate change Climate change Operational energy use Wall Insulation material» Products which are incinerated (EOL) have a higher contribution» XPS: blowing agent 25/11/2013 13

kg PO4--- eq 1,40E-01 1,20E-01 1,00E-01 8,00E-02 6,00E-02 4,00E-02 2,00E-02 0,00E+00 Comparison complete wall from cradle to grave Eutrophication Eutrophication Operational energy use Wall Insulation material» The impacts of the insulation products are mainly caused during production» Paper flakes: landfill of the paperflakes» PUR insulation: raw material and aluminium facing» Flax and woodfibre: fire retardant 25/11/2013 14

kg C2H4 eq 6,00E-02 5,00E-02 Comparison complete wall from cradle-to-grave Photochemical oxidation Photochemical oxidation 4,00E-02 3,00E-02 2,00E-02 1,00E-02 0,00E+00 Operational energy use Wall Insulation material» EPS: use of blowing agent pentane» XPS: VOC emissions» PUR, XPS, EPS: main raw materials 25/11/2013 15

kg Sb eq Comparison of complete wall from cradle-to-grave Abiotic depletion non fossil 6,00E-04 5,00E-04 Abiotic depletion non-fossil 4,00E-04 3,00E-04 2,00E-04 1,00E-04 0,00E+00 Operational energy use Wall Insulation material» Paper flakes: fire retardant 25/11/2013 16

species.yr 1,20E-08 1,00E-08 Comparison complete wall from cradle-to-grave Transformation tropical rain forest Transformation tropical rain forest 8,00E-09 6,00E-09 4,00E-09 2,00E-09 0,00E+00 Operational energy use Wall Insulation material» Flax and woodfibre: fire retardant 25/11/2013 17

Generalising the information» Are results obtained in task 2 also valid for the complete family of insulation products?» LCA results of the same product family can differ substantially:» Database and software» System boundaries» LCA practitioner» Some impacts are due to specific additives which are not the same for a family of insulation products (fe blowing agent for XPS insulation).» It is not possible to generalise the results obtained for the 12 specific LCAs 25/11/2013 19

Overall conclusions and policy recommendations» More information/research needed on» End-of-life scenarios and data of the different insulation products» Life span of the insulation products» CO 2 sequestration during use: to be considered?» Impacts related to replacement and maintenance» Possible impacts during use phase 25/11/2013 21

Overall conclusions and policy recommendations» Communication of results:» Generalising the information on basis of literature was not possible» Communication on secondary performance parameters is also important» Production processes change continuously 25/11/2013 22