Module B1 Study Book - the Graduate School of the Environment

disposal (recycling, landfill, incineration for energy recovery etc.)
Envest
A software tool, developed by the BRE with an online version. It can produce
an environmental assessment of building elements based on an initial design.
The results are presented in terms of eco points. 100 Ecopoints are equal to
the impact of 1 UK citizen for 1 year.
Issues assessed: Climate Change, Acid Deposition, Ozone Depletion,
Minerals Extraction, Pollution to Air: Human Toxicity, Water Extraction,
Pollution to Air: Low Level Ozone Creation, Waste Disposal, Fossil Fuel
Depletion and Extraction, Pollution to Water: Ecotoxicity, Pollution to Water:
Eutrophication, Pollution to Water: Human Toxicity
EDIP-Method
The EDIP method is a Danish weighting method, which is performed after
performing a LCA of any type of product. First all inputs/outputs are converted
to effects by use of equivalent factors. Then they are converted to 'person
equivalents' by dividing the effects with a normalizing factor and afterwards
multiplying them with a weighting factor. 5
Issues assessed: Global Warming, Stratospheric ozone depletion,
Photochemical ozone formation (high and low), Acidification, Nutrient
enrichment, Ecotoxicity, Human toxicity, Persistent toxicity, Hazadous waste,
Nuclear waste, Slag and ashes, Bulk waste, Resource use
2.4 Life Cycle Costing (LCC)
This is a method that measures the long-term capital and operational costs of
the operation and maintenance of a building. This is a useful way to justify the
increased capital investment needed to reduce operational costs. However,
the procurement process is presently such that a developer has no interest in
the long term running costs of a building. It is hoped that the single contract
process used with PFI will provide an opportunity to apply this. 6
2.5 Energy Assessment methods
These are methods that assess the energy use of a building and may be
linked to standards or regulations.
• SAP – The Government’s Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP)
is the UK government’s standard for home energy rating based on
the fixed aspects of the building. This involves a calculation of the
predicted heat loss of a building based on the building form, thermal
properties of the fabric and ventilation levels. The cost of heating
and cooling the building is calculated, based on the heat losses &
gains, heating & cooling systems and location climate. Developed by
the Building Research Establishment (BRE), it uses their Domestic
Energy Model (BREDEM) as its foundation) UK building regulations
require that all new dwellings comply with minimum standards set
out in Approved Document L1: Conservation of Heat & Power. 7 A new
Lecture: Building performance assessment methods 23