| Title |
Comparison of Environmental Impacts of Green and Traditional Buildings using Life Cycle Assessment |
| Authors |
Hong, Taehoon ; Jeong, Kwangbok ; Ji, Changyoon |
| DOI |
http://dx.doi.org/10.6106/KJCEM.2014.15.3.058 |
| Keywords |
Life Cycle Assessment ; Environmental Impact ; Green building ; Traditional building ; Elementary school |
| Abstract |
This study aims to understand the environmental impact reduction of green buildings that are certified by Green standard for energy and environmental design(G-SEED). To ensure this end, this study assessed and compared the environmental impacts(global warning, ozone layer depletion, acidification, and eutrophication) of a G-SEED-certified elementary school building(green building) and an uncertified elementary school building(traditional building) using the life cycle assessment methodology. This study considered the environmental impacts from the material manufacturing, material transportation, on-site construction, and operation during 40 years. The comparison of the environmental impact intensity of two buildings showed that the green building generated much more environmental impacts than the traditional building. For example, the global warming potential of the green building was approximately 12.5% higher than of the traditional building since the global warming potential of the green building was 3.751 t-CO2 eq./m2 while that of the traditional building was 3.282 t-CO2 eq./m2. It signifies that the G-SEED doesn't guarantee the reduction of the environmental impacts in terms of four impact categories. Therefore, the G-SEED should be complemented and improved to achieve the environmental impact reduction. |