A COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF INSULATED CONCRETE AND WOOD FRAME WALL TECHNOLOGIES: THERMAL PERFORMANCE, COSTING, AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

摘要

Reducing heat losses through building envelope is an important step towards energy conservation in buildings. This study aims at providing an assessment framework to compare three different types of exterior wall systems; wood frame, insulated concrete forms (ICFs), and pre-cast insulated concrete panel (PICP) for Canadian applications. We focus on assessing the building envelope performance, cost efficiency, and environmental footprints of these technologies. This assessment would influence the decisions on design characteristics of such walls and the selection of required materials. The paper is divided into three parts. First, the exterior wall technologies will be independently designed and assembled according to the building codes of Canada and ASHREA standards. And then, the environmental impacts of each technology and its components will be assessed through life cycle assessment (LCA) using Simapro software. Finally, we will turn to life cost analysis to present the cost profile of each technology that includes capital costs as well as operation and maintenance costs. The proposed framework which consists of performance criteria from building envelope, life cycle assessment (LCA), and life cycle cost (LCC) perspectives for each system. The proposed framework could assist the practitioners in identifying the technology that is the best match with a peculiar building.