Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment Research

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Over the past few decades, there has been a general shift toward sustainable practices in the building industry. This has been driven by general urbanization, which has resulted in the global building stock being responsible for over 37 percent of global greenhouse gasses. To better inform the industry of the best practices for reducing impacts, researchers have developed whole building life cycle assessment (WBLCA) methodologies that combine building information models with LCA methods to quantify the impacts from all portions of a building’s life cycle. However, these methodologies are still in their infancy and are frequently undermined by varied approaches, inconsistent goal and scope definitions, lack of high-fidelity building models, and incomplete environmental datasets.

PNNL’s Role

The scope of work described below is funded by the Building Technologies Office (BTO) Emerging Technologies program. PNNL’s research aims at better understanding the current barriers and issues faced by WBLCA practitioners by conducting pathway analyses and disseminating expert interviews and surveys.

To effect real change in the magnitude of building emissions, both energy retrofits and new designs must plan carefully for reduced emissions. However, accurate planning is impossible without the ability to accurately account for which emissions are associated with a particular design. While WBLCA tools and other available life cycle impact resources have made significant advances in the last decade, there is still a lack of consensus on the ideal technological pathway for a WBLCA. Additionally, there are still significant data and process gaps in these tools, such as the availability of information regarding mechanical and electrical (M&E) systems.

Integrating Building Sub-Systems into the WBLCA Context

One of the most pressing challenges facing the WBLCA field today is the integration of specialty systems into the whole building context in a way that facilitates an accurate LCA. PNNL is researching pathways forward for integrating M&E systems into WBLCA. To enable this integration, PNNL is making strides forward in the inclusion of M&E data in WBLCA, which requires better data availability, standardized workflows for quantifying M&E system components within building designs, and clear methodologies for unifying the two. Understanding data flows between component-level and building-level systems and resources will ensure accurate planning and accounting for environmental emissions in the building sector.