Embodied and Operational Decarbonization Trade-Offs in the Building Envelope

Allison Fricke
Proposal Status
Ready for Committee Review
Username
Allison Fricke
Proposer First Name
Allison
Proposer Email
adfricke@sgh.com
Proposer Last Name
Fricke
Proposer Phone
(917) 655-6942
Proposer Job Title
Project Consultant
Proposed Session Description
Some of the most efficient building envelope design strategies for reducing operational carbon involve increasing the enclosure assemblies’ thermal performance and requiring highly airtight systems. However, we are only starting to understand the trade-offs between operational and embodied decarbonization. To evaluate the trade-off, this session will directly compare wall assemblies in a high-performance new construction building and wall assemblies in common existing building typologies.
Why is this session important?
Legislation and decarbonization efforts in the design and construction community focus primarily on operational carbon. However, there is a growing awareness that the relationship or ratio of embodied carbon versus operational carbon must also factor in to decarbonization efforts in the built environment. This session examines the impacts of prioritizing embodied versus operational carbon in three specific high-performance wall assemblies and three historic wall assemblies. While the data is by no means comprehensive or broadly applicable, it offers a starting point for discussions about how to balance the ratio of embodied carbon vs operational carbon when reviewing preservation concerns.

Comments

Gwen McLaughlin Thu, 05/11/2023 - 6:15 pm

Maybe. Proposal is focused on embodied carbon of enclosures, which is critical. It's not clear how the comparison of new and existing enclosure types will inform the audience, but it is worth exploring with the proposers 

Jodi Smits Anderson Mon, 05/15/2023 - 12:23 pm

Maybe - the pitch for this was in the title, about the trade-offs, yet I don't see that as strongly spelled out in the description or the LOs. Develop that deeper for a successful prpoposal.

Ben Sachs-Hamilton Thu, 05/25/2023 - 10:42 am

Round 1 discussion: - Limited information, lacking detail- a critical topic so worth exploring with the proposer

Sara Bayer Mon, 06/12/2023 - 5:32 pm

YEs/Maybe: Presenters are flexible about what the conference needs are - in terms of presenting emboided carbon of facade upgrades - and the potential energy savings vs the embodied carbon investment.  We discussed that perhaps not all buildings need more insulation, so how do we figure out which are the best cases for extra insulation and where, from a wholistic carbon perspective. They could give a short primer on EC, and how to calculate. They use Tally as their modeling/calculation tools.  Review with other embodied carbon related sessions . They could tailor their session to the conference needs - for example, focusing on various building typologies as needed, and giving information on bio-genic options which could be carbon storing.  Their firm has a wealth of knowledge to tap for this presentation as needed.  Deeper disucssion about deep energy retrofits and the role of upgrading the encloure is needed in our industry - but how do we do so without spending tons of emboided carbon?!

Ben Sachs-Hamilton Thu, 06/22/2023 - 1:53 pm

R2 meeting: Very flexible, open to adjusting content based on what we want (would take strong curation). Add hemp lime speaker/content.

Diversity and Inclusiveness
Decarbonization provides benefits for everyone, but especially the most marginalized people due to the concentration of factories and disposal sites in communities with lower incomes and less political influence. The study of embodied carbon makes a strong case for reuse, rather than demolition and reconstruction, which also benefits people through cleaner air, and fewer airborne particles from demolition and manufacturing. It also emphasizes the case for preserving the diverse buildings and spaces that are important to maintaining community connections and history.
Learning Objectives
Understand how embodied carbon is calculated.
Identify resources for determining embodied carbon.
Identify the construction methods and materials that can lower embodied carbon impacts.
Identify known strategies for reducing operational carbon in both new high-performance construction and historic building retrofits.
Has this session been presented before?
No
Additional Comments
A portion of the presentation was presented at PHIUS 2022 Conference. At that conference, the presentation focused on embodied carbon analysis of PHIUS wall assemblies. This proposal expands the topic to include embodied carbon analysis of retrofitted historic wall assemblies and discusses known decarbonization strategies.
Target Audiences Level of Expertise
Level 2 - Some prior knowledge helpful.

NYC 2023 Areas of Focus

Session Format Details
40-minute presentation followed by Q&A
Recommended Length
60-minute session

Strongest Content Connection - NYC 2023

Reviewer 1
McLaughlin, Gwen
Reviewer 2
Bayer, Sara
Curator
Mayer, Aidan
Proposal #
158
Session #
NYC23-221
Committee Decision
Accepted

Presenters