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1. LVL AS A CONSTRUCTIONMATERIAL
1.5.4 Global warming impact of buildings
The life cycle of a building covers all life cycle stages from ‘cra-
dle to grave’ as well as, optionally, also the benefits and loads
beyond the building’s life cycle. These life cycles stages are
presented as modules A1–C4 + D (Figure 1.17). The environ-
mental performance of a wood-frame building, and a con-
crete-frame building were assessed based on a generic Finnish
Table 1.5.
Scenarios of a wooden frame building and a concrete frame building
9, 10
.
building type (a 4-storey residential building)
9, 10
. The assess-
ment was done according to the EN 15978 standard, with the
specific assumptions presented in Table 1.5.
The global warming potential of the whole life cycle and
beyond is 798 kg CO
2
e/m
2
for a wood-frame building and
1022 kg CO
2
e/m
2
for a concrete-frame building (Figure 1.20).
Figure 1.20.
Global warming potential (GWP) of a wood-frame building vs. a concrete-frame building
10
.
LVL 01, Table 1.4. B
Concrete-frame
Wood-frame
System boundary
4-storey residential building, gross floor area
1922 bm2, concrete structure, wooden roof
structure, all technical installation included
(HVAC, piping, electricity), energy supply based
on average Finnish heat and electricity
4-storey residential building, gross floor area
1922 bm2, first floor concrete structure,
other floors wood structures, all technical
installation included (HVAC, piping, electricity),
energy supply based on average Finnish heat
and electricity
Reference period
50 years
50 years
Service life
Windows replaced once
Windows replaced once, external cladding
(wood) painting every 10th year
End of life
Concrete: crushing and recycling for ground
construction
Wood: chipping and energy recovery
Concrete: crushing and recycling for ground
construction
Wood: chipping and energy recovery
Benefits and loads beyond system
boundary (module D)
Concrete: carbonization
Wood: bioenergy carbon emissions compared
to natural gas emissions
Concrete: carbonization
Wood: bioenergy carbon emissions compared
to natural gas emissions
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