Why Should I Care About Embodied Energy?
In many ways, the embodied energy in the homes we live in might seem like an aspect of home sustainability that is simply out of the scope of our responsibility. To reduce energy usage, every homeowner can choose to complete upgrades like installing a more energy-efficient refrigerator, installing triple-pane windows, or maybe even installing solar panels. Behavioral change (such as turning off the lights and adjusting the thermostat accordingly) is also a tangible way to increase our homes' operational efficiency. But, can we be accountable for the amount of energy used to mine and manufacture the cement used in the foundations of our home?
Unlike operational efficiency (i.e., the amount of energy and electricity our homes use to keep us comfortable), the embodied energy is not occupant dependent. Still, every homeowner should be concerned about the energy that went into the materials in our homes. Why? Because this "upstream" component of the lifecycle impact of our homes might be equivalent to decades of the operational energy use of our homes.
A landmark study titled "The Greenest Building: Quantifying the Environmental Value of Building Reuse" was published in 2012. The study found that it can take between 10 and 80 years for an energy-efficient new building to offset the negative climate change impacts that came from the embodied energy of the building process. The study found that an energy-efficient, single-family home built in Portland, Oregon, would take 50 years of energy savings to offset the embodied energy of the home's construction.
The World Green Building Council published an important report in 2019. They stated that 11 percent of global carbon emissions stem from the materials and construction processes that occur during the building's lifecycle.
To date, most strategies to "green" the building and construction sector have focused almost exclusively on improving operational efficiency. Today, however, the World Green Building Council and other leaders in the industry are dedicated to incorporating strategies to eliminate embodied carbon emissions.
How is Embodied Energy Calculated?
One of the biggest challenges that come with understanding the embodied energy footprint of our homes is that embodied energy is calculated in a very sophisticated way. To discover the operational efficiency of your home, homeowners can quickly find a carbon footprint calculator on the internet and devise a plan to reduce overall energy demand. However, an embodied energy analysis for the steel beam in your ceiling needs to consider the amount of energy used to mine steel, manufacture it into a usable product, transport it to your home site, and any energy used in raising it and welding it into place.