The industrialised construction system versus the conventional construction system: possibilities for reducing CO2 emissions. A case study

摘要

CO2 emissions attributable to the manufacture of the materials used for a standard dwelling in Catalonia are equivalent to those for 25 years of use. In 2003, 44% of the emissions in Catalonia attributable to the domestic sector came from the manufacture of materials for construction and rehabilitation, and 56% came from the use of existing housing. These data show that a significant reduction in emissions from the domestic sector implies not only reducing the energy demand of the building—which is the aim of most environmental action—but also finding ways of reducing the energy input of building materials. Many of the proposals for reducing the environmental impact of buildings use light materials and industrialised construction systems because they are more energy-efficient. This study measures the emissions from the manufacture of several conventional solutions for a dwelling and compares them with several versions of a specific industrialised system. The emissions associated with the use of these dwellings were taken into consideration. The results show that the use of industrialised systems does not necessarily bring about the overall environmental advantages that are often associated with them; indeed, they can even be counter-productive.