A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Modeling of External Wall Construction Systems: Case Study Residential Complex in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates

摘要

The construction industry is a major contributor to most countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP), yet every year it consumes anabundance of natural resources and produces significant atmospheric environmental impacts. Countries such as the United Arab Emirates have started to develop improved efforts toward this global issue such as Estidama; a green building rating system. In this paper a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed to measure the environmental impacts of two types of exterior wall structural systems, a Light Steel Frame (LSF) and Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF). The study was performed to help an owner choose a sustainable alternative which would earn points under the materials selection category in Estidama. A two-bed room villa of 260 squaremeter was chosen for the study. Later, the four steps of the LCA: goal and scope definitions, life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis, life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) and interpretation were applied following the guidelines set by the International Standardization Organization (ISO). The results showed that ICF) has a great environmental impact during the construction phase in eight categories of the Tools for Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and Environmental Impacts (TRACI), while LSF showed higher impacts for one category, which is Ozone depletion. Although ICF has great benefits during the use phase, for this study it generated high emissions during the construction phase. Furthermore, the use of LCA shown that ICF might have contributed more toward the environmental benefits. However, applying such a green building technology like ICF in a city like Al-Ain would not enhance local industry due to the dependence on expertise and resources brought from overseas. Most of the green buildings in the UAE were constructed by specialists who were recruited from outside the UAE, due to the shortage of resources within the country.