Buildings require a substantive amount of energy for their operation. Recent studies have found that indirect requirements, such as the embodied energy associated with their construction and the transport-related energy of their users can be even more significant. A complete life cycle energy...

China has surpassed the United States to be the world's largest energy consumer, but a lot of energy was used to produce products for exporting to other countries. Presently, China faces a great challenge in energy security and environmental protection. This paper focuses on the energy embodied...

China’s current national policies promote high levels of economic growth, transforming China into a “world factory”, but at a high cost in terms of energy and the environment. At the same time, this growth and transformation also forms the backbone of China’s economy, underpinning social...

The exploitation of solar energy by autonomous, photovoltaic (PV) based systems offers the opportunity for satisfying the electrification needs of numerous remote consumers worldwide in an environmentally friendly way. On the other hand, the sustainable character of these systems is strongly...

The three main methods of energy analysis are outlined and a brief description given of a hybrid analysis method that makes optimum use of all three. The procedures involved in carrying out a hybrid analysis using the case of steel produced from recycled scrap are described and the embodied...

Stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems comprise one of the most promising electrification solutions for covering the demand of remote consumers. However, such systems are strongly questioned due to extreme life-cycle (LC) energy requirements. For similar installations to be considered as...

Energy from sources alternative to fossil fuels is being studied and interest in energy derived from vegetal biomass is increasing. In Brazil - mainly at Sao Paulo State -, sugarcane ethanol is being intensively produced on large-scales, giving rise to social and environmental concerns about its...

Building design decisions are commonly based on issues pertaining to construction cost, and consideration of energy performance is made only within the context of the initial project budget. Even where energy is elevated to more importance, operating energy is seen as the focus and embodied...

The objective of this paper is to compare the carbon emissions produced as a result of product consumption by the residents of an Irish city-region, that is Limerick City and its environs. The resulting carbon footprints are used to compare imports of food items, manufactured products and...

For the first time, design of a major new public building in Australia has been subjected to Life-Cycle Assessment - with the aim of minimising overall environmental impact of the development. Resource depletion, emissions, and waste products were quantified from construction, use and demolition...