Estimation of CO2 emissions in life cycle of residential buildings

A method for estimating CO2 emissions given off over the entire life cycle of various types of residential buildings was examined. In the method for estimating CO2 emissions, the life cycle of a residential building was divided into four stages (manufacturing, construction, operation, and demolition). The result showed that CO2 emissions resulting from construction, including manufacturing building materials for residential building, were in the range of 381.1-620.1 kg-C/10 m2 for each building type. However, most CO2 emissions given off during the residential building life cycle were due to the building operation having 87.5-96.9% of total CO2 emissions. And when comparing residential building types, single-family houses using liquefied petroleum gas as the main heating energy source had the lowest CO2 emissions, with 5,260 kg-C/10 m2 of floor area during their life cycles. On the other hand, single-family houses using briquette as the main heating energy source had the highest CO2 emissions (15,100 kg-C/10 m2), with emissions being 2.9 times more than those of the (former) single-family house using liquefied petroleum gas.