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Environmental Sustainability Building Criteria for an Open Classification System

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Book cover Cold Climate HVAC 2018 (CCC 2018)

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Abstract

Existing classification systems linked to the environmental performance of buildings provide limited added value for practitioners. A survey among Swedish construction entrepreneurs showed that there is a real demand for better formulated criteria and clearer guidance. At the same time, critical investigation of requirements based on fixed average values for primary energy factors (such as in the EU Environmental Performance of Buildings Directive) shows that they are insufficient to provide guidance towards environmental sustainability building practices. They fail to take into account a number of methodological issues, including seasonal and hourly variability of energy supply and demand, and the future evolution of energy mixes. This is illustrated in the case of Sweden. The outline of an Open Classification System, currently under development, is then presented. This system focuses on methodological transparency and validity, as well as ease of use for practitioners. It addresses specifically issues where other existing systems were found to be lacking, and its methodology will be assessed to ensure that it provides optimal guidance towards environmentally sustainable practices. The system is based on three criteria: the energy resource index and global warming potential, calculated with attributional and consequential life cycle approaches, and a heat loss factor to assess the building’s energy performance independently from the supply side.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It is considered to have a PEF of 1 kWh/kWh in the current Swedish building code.

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Acknowledgements

Björn Berggren, from Skanska AB, was responsible for carrying out the initial survey. His help and comments on this article are gratefully acknowledged.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

    Nicolas Francart & Martin Erlandsson

  2. ATON Teknikkonsult AB, Stockholm, Sweden

    Eje Sandberg

  3. IVL Swedish Environmental Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

    Martin Erlandsson

Authors
  1. Nicolas Francart
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  2. Eje Sandberg
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  3. Martin Erlandsson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicolas Francart .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Building Services, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Dennis Johansson

  2. Division of Building Physics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Hans Bagge

  3. Division of Building Services, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Åsa Wahlström

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Francart, N., Sandberg, E., Erlandsson, M. (2019). Environmental Sustainability Building Criteria for an Open Classification System. In: Johansson, D., Bagge, H., Wahlström, Å. (eds) Cold Climate HVAC 2018. CCC 2018. Springer Proceedings in Energy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00662-4_85

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00662-4_85

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-00661-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-00662-4

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