Project 

Current Challenge

Building envelopes can meaningfully contribute to the carbon footprint of a building. Evaluating the embodied energy and embodied carbon emissions for common building wall assemblies can guide efforts to reduce building carbon emissions.

Research Goal

This project aims to define theoretical embodied energy and embodied carbon benchmarks for prototypical residential and commercial building wall assemblies using the Department of Energy (DOE) prototype buildings. The results will reveal which wall assemblies have low carbon footprints and will highlight what construction materials are the highest contributors to the embodied energy and embodied carbon emissions. An interactive tool will be developed to communicate the results with building practitioners and sustainability consultants to inform low-energy and low-carbon design decisions in buildings.

Sponsor

CU Building Energy Smart Technologies Center