The cross-laminated timber as an energetic alternative in the building construction
Fernández, Mario; Alonso, Adolfo and Llopis, Verónica
Department of Continuum Mechanics and Theory of Structures, Universitat Politécnica de València, España.
Abstract:
Current researches estimate that the energy demanded in building sector will
increase by 50% in the next 20 years as well as CO2 emissions to the
environment. Faced with this situation, governments and institutions usually
do not take action until the situation is very serious and the consequences
devastating.
In the specific case of the building sector, embodied energy and CO2 emissions
into the atmosphere, will be the regulatory parameters of environmental
sustainability. The current focus of the environmental sustainability of the
buildings is the utilization period, without taking into account the other phases
of the life cycle analysis of the architectural product.
The experimental plan of this article quantifies the demand for primary energy
and CO2 emissions, both in the construction phase and in the utilization period
of the building, for three structural systems: cross-laminated timber,
reinforced concrete and structural steel. The chapters studied are structure
and envelopes of the building. Three types of houses have been used as a
sample, detached house isolated, semi-detached house and block of flats. A
structural calculation has been carried out by means of simulation by finite
elements in the three mentioned construction systems, up to the fulfillment of
the structural requirements demanded by the Eurocodes. For the utilization
period, the sample was energetically simulated.
The results dictate that the cross-laminated timber is the construction system
that requires less energy for the construction of the three samples of housing,
with a saving of 24% and 70% respectively, with structural steel being the most
penalized. In the impact category of global warming potential, the result is a
reduction from 51% savings in CO2 emissions compared to the reinforced
concrete structure, reaching 60% for structural steel.
Keywords: timber; cross-laminated; energy; sustainability; structures;
embodied.