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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> John Swearingen
[mailto:jswearingen@skillful-means.com] <br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Monday, February 16, 2009
9:02 PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> ArchiLogic@chaffyahoo.ca;
(private, with public archives) Global Straw Building Network<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [GSBN] Embodied
energy comparisons: SB vs Stick-built</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Ok, since we've decided
that embodied energy is of less or equal significance as life-cycle energy use,
I would suggest that any materials or forms of construction be evaluated on at
least these areas:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<ol start=1 type=1>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Does the material contribute structurally<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Does the material contribute thermally
(insulation)<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Does the material provide thermal storage (mass)<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Does the material provide fire safety<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Does the material contribute to the local economy<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>What are the manufacturing environmental costs<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>What are the transportation and wastage
environmental costs<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Is the material a by-product, waste-product, or
recycled<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Is the material bio-degradable, recyclable or
land-fill<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Is the material toxic in manufacture, use or
disposal<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>What is the expected life-span of the system
(resistance to environmental damage)<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
</ol>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Feel free to add. <br>
<br>
John<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 10:34 AM, RT <<a
href="mailto:ArchiLogic@yahoo.ca">ArchiLogic@yahoo.ca</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>By way of putting some numbers to what Andrew was talking about earlier
WRT life cycle cost dwarfing embodied energy cost, an excerpt from a recent
post to the REPP/CREST Greenbuilding List:<br>
<br>
<a
href="http://listserv.repp.org/pipermail/greenbuilding_listserv.repp.org/2009-January/009751.html"
target="_blank">http://listserv.repp.org/pipermail/greenbuilding_listserv.repp.org/2009-January/009751.html</a><br>
<br>
<br>
" ... from the seminal paper done by Cole and Kernan years ago<br>
==========copied material =============<br>
<snip><br>
The data shown here represent average operating energy consumption between<br>
Vancouver and Toronto climatic conditions, assuming conventional levels of<br>
envelope and equipment energy efficiency.<br>
<br>
The initial embodied energy remains constant at 4.82 GJ/m2 over the 50<br>
year period which was examined, while the recurring embodied energy<br>
increases from zero at the time of building completion, to a cumulative<br>
value of 6.44 GJ/m2 by year 50. The operating energy eclipses both forms<br>
of embodied energy at a cumulative value of 70.28 GJ/m2 and represents<br>
just over 85% of the total energy at the end of the 50-year period.<br>
<br>
This relationship has prompted some practitioners to conclude that<br>
embodied energy is comparatively irrelevant. However, as the level of<br>
operating energy efficiency is improved, the contribution of embodied<br>
energy to total energy becomes more significant.<br>
<snip><br>
=======end of copied material ========= "<br>
<br>
*<br>
And on the subject of tools for evaluating environmental impact, another
excerpt from a recent message posted to the same list:<br>
<br>
<a
href="http://listserv.repp.org/pipermail/greenbuilding_listserv.repp.org/2009-February/010158.html"
target="_blank">http://listserv.repp.org/pipermail/greenbuilding_listserv.repp.org/2009-February/010158.html</a><br>
<br>
<br>
========= copied material ============<br>
... under the auspices of Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp (<a
href="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca" target="_blank">www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca</a>) a
spreadsheet<br>
application "OPTIMIZE" was developed to<br>
<br>
"...assist building researchers and designers in estimating
the life-cycle energy,<br>
material flows and environmental impact of residential assemblies
and buildings"<br>
<br>
-- essentially a means to evaluate the Green-ness of a proposed design and<br>
do the necessary tweaking at the design stage (ie before the mistakes have<br>
been concretised in the Real World).<br>
<br>
<br>
The output, in chart & table form, using recognisable English where text<br>
was used, provided<br>
<br>
- breakdowns for energy flows, both embodied and
life-cycle<br>
ie energies of materials aquisition,operating,
maintenance/replacement,<br>
construction, demolition, disposal/recovery, fuels)<br>
<br>
- AsBuilt & Life Cycle Embodied Energy &
Weight Breakdown by Commodity for a list<br>
of about 60 material types<br>
<br>
- Breakdown of Air Emissions and External Costs<br>
<br>
-Breakdown of Indoor Air Pollutants<br>
<br>
-Breakdown of Outdoor Emissions with weights for
each and their $ co$t<br>
itemised for CO2, particulates, NOx, SO2, VOCs,
Methane,CO, Arsenic,Beryllium,<br>
Cadmium, Chromium,Copper,Mercury (blah,blah,blah,)
... Nuclear, Hydro<br>
<br>
...with a dollar cost per person housed as the last line of output.<br>
<br>
OPTIMIZE made its appearance well over 15 years ago and no doubt, there<br>
have been a number of similar software programs put out there since then.<br>
<br>
<snip><br>
============ End of Copied Material ============<br>
<br>
<br>
But back to Joyce's original query about embodied energy comparisons of
stick-built ve SB, as Andrew pointed out, it's like asking "how long is a
piece of string".<br>
<br>
I would venture that one of el Lupo's (aka John Glassford)
earthen-plastered, loadbearing SB houses in Australia is several magnitudes
lower in embodied-energy than one of his twin-brother-by-different-mothers (aka
the Skillful Meany) Portland cement plastered, seismic-resistant SBH on a
thickened-edge reinforced concrete slab foundationed California SB houses.<br>
<br>
I would further venture that I could build a stick-framed house that is more
energy-efficient and lower in embodied energy than either. But I could also
build one that is higher in EE as well.<br>
<br>
That is to say, a comparison such as that suggested by Joyce would probably be
meaningless.<br>
<br>
It would be more useful I think, to simply provide charts (North American,
European, Aus/NZ sourced ) of the embodied energies of the most common
materials that are used in making a SB house and show a sample calculation as
to how to use the numbers, showing the same calculations for a
"typical" Green-built, stick-framed home for the sake of comparison
so that the reader will have an inkling of where her design stands in the
embodied-energy spectrum.<br>
<font color="#888888"><span style='color:#888888'><br>
<br>
-- <br>
=== * ===<br>
Rob Tom<br>
Kanata, Ontario, Canada<br>
< A r c h i L o g i c at ChaffY a h o o dot C a ><br>
(manually winnow the chaff from my edress in your reply)</span></font><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><br>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><br>
<br clear=all>
<br>
-- <br>
John Swearingen<br>
<br>
Skillful Means<br>
<a href="http://www.skillful-means.com">www.skillful-means.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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