Embodied energy assessment of building materials in India using process and input-output analysis

Praseeda, KI and Reddy, Venkatarama BV and Mani, Monto (2015) Embodied energy assessment of building materials in India using process and input-output analysis. In: ENERGY AND BUILDINGS, 86 . pp. 677-686.

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Abstract

Growing demand for urban built spaces has resulted in unprecedented exponential rise in production and consumption of building materials in construction. Production of materials requires significant energy and contributes to pollution and green house gas (GHG) emissions. Efforts aimed at reducing energy consumption and pollution involved with the production of materials fundamentally requires their quantification. Embodied energy (EE) of building materials comprises the total energy expenditure involved in the material production including all upstream processes such as raw material extraction and transportation. The current paper deals with EE of a few common building materials consumed in bulk in Indian construction industry. These values have been assessed based on actual industrial survey data. Current studies on EE of building materials lack agreement primarily with regard to method of assessment and energy supply assumptions (whether expressed in terms of end use energy or primary energy). The current paper examines the suitability of two basic methods; process analysis and input-output method and identifies process analysis as appropriate for EE assessment in the Indian context. A comparison of EE values of building materials in terms of the two energy supply assumptions has also been carried out to investigate the associated discrepancy. The results revealed significant difference in EE of materials whose production involves significant electrical energy expenditure relative to thermal energy use. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
Publisher:	ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA
Additional Information:	Copy right for this article belongs to the ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA, PO BOX 564, 1001 LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND
Keywords:	Embodied energy; Building materials; Process analysis; Input-output method
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Centre for Sustainable Technologies (formerly ASTRA) Division of Mechanical Sciences > Civil Engineering
Date Deposited:	24 Feb 2015 05:45
Last Modified:	24 Feb 2015 05:45
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/50851

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