1.MIT Research: Life Cycle Assessment of Residential Buildings
2.MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub
$10 million investment over 5 years
Funded equally by RMCREF & PCA
NRMCA providing technical support and guidance
NRMCA and state associations to play a critical role in the technology transfer
3.Goals
Identify areas in which concrete excels
Identify opportunities for improvement
Create solid technical basis for future industry development
Social
Environment
Economic
Sustainable
4.3 Research Platforms
5.Concrete Science Platform: Mission
Scientific breakthroughs toward reducing CO2 footprint of cement and concrete
Strength with less material
Lower energy processing
Chemical stability
6.Building Technology Platform
Mission: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Concrete Buildings and Pavements to Identify Impacts and Opportunities
Research Topics:
Material Flow Analysis
LCA of commercial buildings
LCA of residential buildings
LCA of pavements
LCCA of building materials
8.Methodology
Standardized LCA methodology critical
Increase consistency of LCA
MIT proposes good practices for LCA
9.Methodology
Transparency of data
Define scope
Identify system boundaries
Define functional unit
10.Transparency
11.Life Cycle Perspective
12.Functional Unit
13.Structural Systems Considered
Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF)
Traditional Wood Framing
14.Benchmark Single Family Building
Phoenix
Chicago
2 stories
2,400 ft2
ICF
Wood
15.Benchmark Multi-Family Building
Phoenix
Chicago
4 stories
33,763 ft2
ICF
Wood
16.Structures
2 stories
Single Family
4 stories
Multi-Family
17.Energy Modeling
60
YEAR
18.Benchmark Analysis
CO2
equivalent
Resources
Water
Global Warming
Potential
Ozone Depletion
Acidification
Eutrophication
Smog Formation
Human Toxicity
Eco Toxicity
Waste
Land Use
19.Weight of Materials(lbs/sf2)
20.Embodied Emissions
21.Thermal Mass Benefits
22.Annual Energy Use Intensity (Chicago)
23.Annual Energy Use Intensity (Phoenix)
24.Impacts
The GWP of the ICF house in is approximately 6%-10% lower than the light-frame wood house.
Over a 60-year life cycle, the lower (5%-8% for single family, 4.4%-6.2% for multifamily) operating GWP outweighs the initially equal or higher embodied GWP for ICF buildings.
25.Impacts
26.Impact Reduction - Air Tightness
27.Other Impact Reductions
ICF - 6 in core to a 4 in core
Increasing SCM (such as fly ash) from 10% to 50%. Can decrease pre-use GWP by 12-14%
28.Life Cycle Cost Analysis
29.Life Cycle Cost
Compared to light-frame wood, ICF
$2.36-$4.09/ft2 ($25-44/m2) of wall area higher in Chicago
-$0.08 to $4.15/ft2 (-$1 to $45/m2) of wall area in Phoenix
Over the total life cycle cost, however, ICF construction increases the price of a house by less than 5%.
30.More Information
Full report available from MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub at web.mit.edu/cshub.
MIT Hub established by
RMC Research & Education Foundations
Portland Cement Association
NRMCA providing technical support
Transfer research into practice
Visit www.nrmca.org