Life cycle carbon dioxide emissions simulation and environmental cost analysis for building construction

•A CO2 emission evaluation system is proposed for building life-cycle.•Environmental cost analysis for building construction is presented.•A case study compares prefabrication and cast-in-place construction methods.•The approach facilitates engineers and architects in evaluating environmental risk.

The construction industry causes a number of complex environmental effects, particularly carbon dioxide emissions. In the past decade, decision makers in the construction industry have focused on economic costs rather than environmental habitat concerns. However, in recent years, companies have slowly realized the importance of the environmental effects of building life cycles, in addition to maximizing profit. Therefore, this study developed a carbon dioxide emissions evaluation system and an environmental cost calculation method. The simulations considered the consumption of fossil fuel, electricity, and water. A systematic approach was proposed for optimizing the balance of the carbon dioxide emissions and environmental cost during building life cycle. Particularly, this study demonstrated a simplified metric for converting carbon dioxide emissions into environmental costs. The proposed method can guide engineers and architects in evaluating the primary environmental risk for a building life cycle and selecting an appropriate construction method.