Statistical analysis of embodied carbon emission for building construction

Goune Kang, Taehoon Kim, Yong Woo Kim, Hunhee Cho, Kyung In Kang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

41 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Buildings are significant contributors to the greenhouse effect through emission of considerable carbon dioxide during their life cycle. Life cycle carbon resulting from buildings consists of two components: operational carbon (OC) and embodied carbon (EC). Recent studies have shown the growing significance of EC because much effort has already been invested into reducing OC. In this context, it is important to estimate and reduce EC. Because of the variability and uncertainty contained in a range of conditions, the EC of building needs to be calculated based on probabilistic analysis. This study identifies and analyzes the statistical characteristics of EC emitted from building construction materials. It was aimed at buildings constructed of reinforced concrete and nine representative construction materials. Descriptive statistics analysis, correlation analysis, and a goodness-of-fit test were performed to describe the statistical characteristics of EC. In addition, a case study was carried out to show the difference between the deterministic and probabilistic estimations. Presenting statistical information on EC data and the differences between the deterministic and probabilistic values, the result shows the necessity and reasonability of the probabilistic method for EC estimation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)326-333
Number of pages8
JournalEnergy and Buildings
Volume105
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015 Oct 15

Keywords

  • Building materials
  • Correlation
  • Descriptive statistics
  • Embodied carbon
  • Goodness-of-fit

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Building and Construction
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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