Life cycle energy balance of residential buildings: A case study on hypothetical building models in Finland

• The life cycle energy balance of four residential building types was studied.
• The influence of structural frame material selection was also observed.
• There are clear differences between the types regardless of the frame material.
• The differences appeared evenly among the building life cycle stages.
• The results were discussed focusing on the geometrical factors of each housing type.

This study has demonstrated the life cycle primary energy balance of the four residential building types (detached house, row house, townhouse and apartment block) based on current Finnish design. The differences in the energy balance arising from the geometrical characteristics of each housing type were investigated using hypothetical building models. In addition, the influence of structural frame material selection was observed in relation to the housing types. The results showed that there are clear differences between the housing types: the detached house is the highest energy consumer, the row house the second (about 20% less), the townhouse the third (about 30% less) and the apartment block the lowest (about 45% less), regardless of the frame materials selection. The differences appeared evenly among the building life cycle stages. A correlation has been observed between the geometrical factors and life cycle primary energy balance of the reference buildings.