Life cycle assessment: a multi-scenario case study of a low-energy industrial building in Thailand

A life cycle assessment (LCA) is conducted on a low-energy industrial building under construction in Thailand. The building has a gross floor area of 14,938 m2 and a 20-year lifetime. As energy-saving initiatives need to expand beyond the established domain of low-energy residential and commercial buildings, this study demonstrates the successful application of active and passive energy-saving measures to a large, energy-efficient industrial building-the first to be surveyed by an LCA. LED lighting, minimal air conditioning, and passive ventilation architecture reduce operation phase burdens. As a result, the manufacturing phase yields largest impacts in primary energy demand (71%), global warming potential (60%), and four other environmental impact categories. This is largely attributable to steel and concrete production and a higher embodied energy quantity per material.  Additionally, four scenarios-a base case, recycling case, photovoltaic system scenario, and combined recycling/photovoltaic scenario-are simulated to evaluate strategies for further energy reduction. Analysis indicates that significant life cycle energy savings can be achieved through recycling (29%) and a rooftop PV system (64%). The combination of both enhancements compensates for all manufactured material embodied energies and results in a building with zero or sub-zero total life cycle energy demand. Buildings that are already low-energy can further reduce environmental impacts through inclusion of the aforementioned approaches in design and implementation.