Life Cycle Assessment of a Structural Insulated Panel Modular House in New Zealand
Innovative solutions are essential to meet the increasing demand for housing in New Zealand. These innovations must also be sustainable, given the significant contribution of the building and construction sectors to global carbon emissions (25–40%) and, specifically, to New Zealand’s gross carbon em...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Buildings |
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| author | Aflah Alamsah Dani Ran Feng Zhiyuan Fang Krishanu Roy |
| author_facet | Aflah Alamsah Dani Ran Feng Zhiyuan Fang Krishanu Roy |
| author_sort | Aflah Alamsah Dani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Innovative solutions are essential to meet the increasing demand for housing in New Zealand. These innovations must also be sustainable, given the significant contribution of the building and construction sectors to global carbon emissions (25–40%) and, specifically, to New Zealand’s gross carbon emissions (20%). This research aims to analyse the environmental impacts of a structural insulated panel (SIP) modular house and evaluate this innovative approach as a sustainable solution to the current housing issue. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted using the New Zealand-specific tool LCAQuick V3.6. The analysis considered seven environmental impact indicators, namely, global warming potential (GWP), ozone depletion potential (ODP), acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP), abiotic depletion potential for elements (ADPE), and abiotic depletion potential for fossil fuels (ADPF), with a cradle-to-cradle system boundary. Focusing on the embodied carbon of the SIP modular house, the study revealed that the whole-of-life embodied carbon was 347.15 kg CO<sub>2</sub> eq/m<sup>2</sup>, including Module D, and the upfront carbon was 285.08 kg CO<sub>2</sub> eq/m<sup>2</sup>. The production stage (Modules A1–A3) was identified as the most significant source of carbon emissions due to substantial energy consumption in activities such as sourcing raw materials, transportation, and final product manufacturing. Specifically, the study found that SIP wall and roof panels were the most significant contributors to the house’s overall embodied carbon, with SIP roof panels contributing 25% and SIP wall panels contributing 19%, collectively accounting for 44%. Hence, the study underscored the SIP modular house as a promising sustainable solution to the housing crisis while emphasising the inclusion of operational carbon in further research to fully understand its potential. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-342233148b8747ec81e185569050c6f6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj-art-342233148b8747ec81e185569050c6f62025-01-10T13:16:12ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092025-01-0115114610.3390/buildings15010146Life Cycle Assessment of a Structural Insulated Panel Modular House in New ZealandAflah Alamsah Dani0Ran Feng1Zhiyuan Fang2Krishanu Roy3School of Engineering, University of Waikato, Hamilton 3240, New ZealandSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaSchool of Engineering, University of Waikato, Hamilton 3240, New ZealandSchool of Engineering, University of Waikato, Hamilton 3240, New ZealandInnovative solutions are essential to meet the increasing demand for housing in New Zealand. These innovations must also be sustainable, given the significant contribution of the building and construction sectors to global carbon emissions (25–40%) and, specifically, to New Zealand’s gross carbon emissions (20%). This research aims to analyse the environmental impacts of a structural insulated panel (SIP) modular house and evaluate this innovative approach as a sustainable solution to the current housing issue. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted using the New Zealand-specific tool LCAQuick V3.6. The analysis considered seven environmental impact indicators, namely, global warming potential (GWP), ozone depletion potential (ODP), acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP), abiotic depletion potential for elements (ADPE), and abiotic depletion potential for fossil fuels (ADPF), with a cradle-to-cradle system boundary. Focusing on the embodied carbon of the SIP modular house, the study revealed that the whole-of-life embodied carbon was 347.15 kg CO<sub>2</sub> eq/m<sup>2</sup>, including Module D, and the upfront carbon was 285.08 kg CO<sub>2</sub> eq/m<sup>2</sup>. The production stage (Modules A1–A3) was identified as the most significant source of carbon emissions due to substantial energy consumption in activities such as sourcing raw materials, transportation, and final product manufacturing. Specifically, the study found that SIP wall and roof panels were the most significant contributors to the house’s overall embodied carbon, with SIP roof panels contributing 25% and SIP wall panels contributing 19%, collectively accounting for 44%. Hence, the study underscored the SIP modular house as a promising sustainable solution to the housing crisis while emphasising the inclusion of operational carbon in further research to fully understand its potential.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/1/146life cycle assessment (LCA)structural insulated panels (SIPs)modular houseembodied carbon emissionsNew Zealand |
| spellingShingle | Aflah Alamsah Dani Ran Feng Zhiyuan Fang Krishanu Roy Life Cycle Assessment of a Structural Insulated Panel Modular House in New Zealand Buildings life cycle assessment (LCA) structural insulated panels (SIPs) modular house embodied carbon emissions New Zealand |
| title | Life Cycle Assessment of a Structural Insulated Panel Modular House in New Zealand |
| title_full | Life Cycle Assessment of a Structural Insulated Panel Modular House in New Zealand |
| title_fullStr | Life Cycle Assessment of a Structural Insulated Panel Modular House in New Zealand |
| title_full_unstemmed | Life Cycle Assessment of a Structural Insulated Panel Modular House in New Zealand |
| title_short | Life Cycle Assessment of a Structural Insulated Panel Modular House in New Zealand |
| title_sort | life cycle assessment of a structural insulated panel modular house in new zealand |
| topic | life cycle assessment (LCA) structural insulated panels (SIPs) modular house embodied carbon emissions New Zealand |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/1/146 |
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