A comparative study of the materials of Villa Zero project using LCA

Abstract: In this thesis a future-world case was undertaken of the life cycle assessment (from cradleto grave) of a single-family house. The house is expected to be constructed by the end of2021 in Borlänge, a city located in Dalarna County. The aim of this study is to investigatewhether the building materials in external walls and roof surpass in terms ofenvironmental impacts compared with other building materials suggested by the authorsof this thesis.Six scenarios were evaluated in terms of the environmental impacts for two buildingelements, external wall, and roof. A base case scenario is taken into consideration foreach building element, considering the fact, that the thermal performance characteristicsof the building materials are comprehensively provided. Consequently, four scenarios aredetermined by the authors.One Click LCA program was used to calculate the environmental impacts of thebuilding materials through the lifecycle of the house during a time horizon of 50 years.Hemp fiber insulation material is planned to be used in the external walls; thus, it isconsidered the baseline case for this thesis. The first study is corresponded to the externalwalls, and it was found that glass wool insulation is more environmentally friendly thanhemp fiber and rock wool insulation.Wood material is planned to be used in the roof; thus, it is considered the baseline casefor this thesis. The second study is corresponded to the roof, and it was found that woodmaterial is more environmentally friendly than concrete and steel.Therefore, the suggested material by the authors surpasses the baseline case materialenvironmentally in respect of external walls, but this was not the case regarding the roof.