Master's thesis at Institute of Energy Efficient and

Sustainable Design and Building – A Lifecycle Analysis of

Name: Alina Izquierdo Flores

Matriculation number: 03752688

Title: "A Lifecycle Analysis of Building Walls/Slabs: A Dynamic Approach".

Name of supervisor: Chujun Zong

1. Introduction

This master's thesis revolves around evaluating a dynamic life cycle analysis (DLCA) using
the construction Building.Lab from a case study, which is a project from the Technical
University Munich (TUM). The assessment in this study focuses specifically on its exterior
walls/slab components. A life cycle analysis (LCA), a well-known and contemporary
instrument, measures the environmental impact (EI) of products by considering several
factors like CO2 gases considered in global warming potential (GWP), acidification levels,
and others. The focus of this thesis is set on a dynamic embodied CO2 LCA.
Carbon dioxide emissions have a significant and influential impact on climate change since
they emit greenhouse gases (GHG) and intensify the greenhouse effect globally (1). The
significance of this topic lies in the critical role buildings play on a global scale for energy
consumption and GHG emissions. Performing a DLCA there are several benefits, such as
the environmental impact of a building's components becomes more visible, the outcome of
this analysis could guide sustainable building practices, inform for future policy decisions,
and promote a holistic understanding of a building's environmental footprint, in this case
quantified through CO2 emissions (2). The approach of the analysis is dynamic, where
additional factors are taken into account, these factors will be explained afterwards.
2. State of research and technology

A Life cycle assessment (LCA) is becoming a necessary tool for calculating embodied carbon,
advancing sustainability in the construction industry, and measuring the environmental impact
of buildings (1). The European norm (EN) 15978, published in 2011, defines a structured and
standardized framework for conducting an LCA. Typically, there are two types of LCAs, the
static LCA (also known as standard) and the dynamic LCA (DLCA) (2). As the name suggests
static life cycle assessment is the analysis of the EI at a particular moment in time, in contrast,
a dynamic LCA (DLCA) offers an evaluation considering temporal changes and addresses
long-term EI. Both kinds of analysis lead to the same goal, to serve a purpose in
environmental assessment considering all the stages (A1-C4) of the building life cycle (2) (3).

As expected, performing a static LCA is less complex than a DLCA, because its potential
temporal variations in the lifetime of buildings and their influences on assessment results are
not part of the challenge. This is why the research on the standard LCA type is more
advanced, with a greater number of studies adopting this approach (4). However, despite the
above, the analysis of a DLCA is more precise, yielding more plausible EI results.
Consequently, research and development for DLCA is important, too, and some scholars
continue to make progress with studies and research papers. The state of research of the
DLCA demonstrates that some dynamic aspects are simplified or neglected to achieve a
foundation for further DLCA research, in which further studies will consider these variations
to keep developing the dynamic model (5).

The data collection is one of the biggest challenges of the whole DLCA, typically based on
Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), their "information modules" and other databases
(2). The importance of the data relies on the dependency between the calculation phase and
the provided information. Currently, there are several databases and people use them
according to the country or region of the LCA. Some examples are Ökobaudat, GaBi, and
ecoinvent, these three are mainly used in Europe. Due to the current trend, we can expect
an increase in software and websites for data and information to support LCA studies. Thanks
to higher data availability it is proper to understand and rely on life cycle assessments
outcomes to improve sustainable environmental strategies (3).

3. Objective of your project

The aim of this work is to analyse the EI of a DLCA applied to the building construction
Building.Lab, a project part of the EPNB chair at the Technical University Munich TUM. For
this study, a DLCA will be applied, and the procedure is to break down the building into its
components. Typical building components are foundation, exterior walls, roofs, windows and
doors, interior walls, ceilings/slabs, and mechanical systems. According to some articles and
studies like LETI, DGNB Study, and Literature Model for LCA of Buildings from EFI-
Resources, the external walls and slabs are the two components that embody the most CO2
emissions in a building (5). Not only because of its mass but also because of the materials
they are constructed of, typically like concrete and steel. Once the results of a Dynamic Life
Cycle Assessment (DLCA) are calculated, they will be evaluated and analyzed to understand
the impact they have on the environment.

The analysis is specific to these building components and their material. In this way, the
process is simpler to follow than the analysis for the whole building because fewer materials
are being considered. This study will take into account temporal changes and how they are
related to the emissions of exterior walls/slabs. This analysis will be an excerpt from a much
larger and complex assessment. However, during the execution of this DLCA, we will be able
to discern the actual limitations that exist for the calculation and define the bottle neck of this
approach. Likewise, we can make adaptations and assumptions to achieve the previously
mentioned aim. In the future, depending on the results obtained in this study, this procedure
could be replicated in a more extensive manner supporting scholars to develop a DLCA model
prototype.

The hypothesis about this case study is that the DLCA results, in terms of CO2 emissions,
are greater than those in a static LCA of the same building. If the time factor is held constant,
there will be emissions that will be overseen. Over the estimated life service (ESL) of a
building (usually 60-100 years), it represents a significant impact left unaccounted for (3).

4. Methodology

According to the article "Assessment models and dynamic variables for dynamic life cycle
assessment of buildings: a review" published in 2021 there are three typical DLCA models;
such as dynamic matrix model, data transformation-based model, and static model + dynamic
variables (6).

After some consideration, the model that will be applied in this study is the latter "static model
+ dynamic variables". There are five steps:

1. data calculation and collection,

3. temporality of the building life cycle system,

4. dynamic model of the life cycle system, and

5. dynamic impact assessment calculation

The first two steps are similar to the procedure of a static LCA. The data for the analysis will
be collected through the databases presented on the chapter 2 based on the EPD of the
elements applied in the construction. However, after this point, the approach changes, and
the analysis considers dynamic variables. Following research there are several dynamic
variables, that tend to be categorized at various levels: external level, building system level,
and end-user level (6). Due to the aim of the study previously explained and the analysis of
embodied carbon EI, the focus of the LCA will be set on the building system level. Examples
within this category include the time factor, degradation of materials, carbon absorption,
estimated life service (ESL), and obsolescence. As mentioned before, time plays a key role
in achieving a dynamic approach (7) (8). Throughout this study, the analysis how materials
and their emissions change over time will be accounted, that means time is consider a
variable and not just defined by a period of time like 60 years (9).
For example, a typical wall is made of different materials, like concrete, steel, thermal
insulation board and plaster. Following the above-mentioned methodology this wall is
categorized into the building system level and time-related factors are degradation of these
material (concrete, steel, etc.), estimated life service considering that every material has
different duration, and so on. In this way some static variables like materials are being
correlating with dynamic variables dependent of time.

The LCA calculation will be conducted in Excel and developed as a matrix file, where the
database can be linked to enhance transparency and maintain this tool straightforward.

5. Work plan, necessary resources

Start and registration date:

6. Structure

I. Agreement
II. Declaration
1 Table of contents
2 Abstract
3 Introduction
3.1 Motivation and starting point
4 State of the art
5 Methodology
5.1 Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment DLCA: Definition & Scope
5.2 Framework and Goals
5.3 Data Collection
5.4 Results
6 Case Study Building.Lab
6.1 Description of the building
6.1.1 Details and construction type
6.1.2 Objectives
6.1.3 Use
7 Correlation case study with topic
8 Results
8.1 Interpretation of DLCA Results
8.2 Comparison of results
9 Bibliography
Bibliography
1. The Economist. The construction industry remains horribly climate-unfriendly.
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2022/06/15/the-construction-
industry-remains-horribly-climate-
unfriendly?utm_medium=cpc.adword.pd&utm_source=google&ppccampaignID=181517380
51&ppcadID=&utm_campaign=a.22brand_pmax&utm_content=conversion.direct-
response.anonymous&gclid=Cj0KCQjw84anBhCtARIsAISI-xf6rjYeiCFhxKQqTcSGK2z-
fr84cgadcY8Y1YDWB-L_MlGzyEni_QQaAt6xEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds. s.l. : The Economist
Finance & economics, 2022.
2. Laca, Adriana, et al. ScienceDirect. Life Cycle Assessment in Biotechnology. [Online] 2019.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780444640468001099.
3. EN 15978:2011 Sustainability of construction works - Assessment of environmental
performance of buildings - Calculation method. Standards. [Online] 2011.
https://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/cen/62c22cef-5666-4719-91f9-
c21cb6aa0ab3/en- 15978-2011,.
4. Su, Shu, et al. A Comprehensive Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment Model: Considering
Temporally and Spatially Dependent Variations. [Online] 2019.
5. London Energy Transformation Initiative. LETI Embodied Carbon Primer. 2020.
6. Su, Shu, et al. Assessment models and dynamic variables for dynamic life cycle
assessment of buildings: a review. [Online] 2021.
7. Hawkins, Will, et al. Embodied carbon assessment using a dynamic climate model: Case-
study comparison of a concrete, steel and timber building structure. [Online] 2020.
8. Sohn, Joshua, et al. Defining Temporally Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment: A Review.
[Online] 2019.
9. Levasseur, Annie, et al. Considering Time in LCA: Dynamic LCA and Its Application to
Global Warming Impact Assessments. [Online] 2010.

Content presentation created by:

Munich, 31.10.2023 Munich, 31.10.2023

Alina Izquierdo Flores Chujun Zong