Energy and Buildings 163 (2018) 22–33

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Energy and Buildings

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enbuild

Life cycle efficiency ratio: A new performance indicator for a life cycle
driven approach to evaluate the potential of ventilative cooling and
thermal inertia
Arianna Brambilla a,c,∗ , Jérôme Bonvin b , Flourentzos Flourentzou b , Thomas Jusselme c
a
School of Architecture, Design and Planning, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
b
ESTIA, EPFL Innovation Park, Lausanne, Switzerland
c
Building 2050 Research Group, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Fribourg, Switzerland

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Building envelope design has gained importance as a means to reduce heating and cooling demand
Received 19 July 2017 related to a building’s operational phase. However, in high internal load buildings, such as offices, internal
Received in revised form gains can easily lead to overheating. Thermal inertia (TI) and night ventilation have a great potential for
21 November 2017
reducing heat loads and temperature. However, their influence is difficult to predict due to the complex
Accepted 4 December 2017
Available online 7 December 2017
nature of the TI phenomenon, which is related to the interactions of multiple factors such as architecture,
building physics and external conditions. Moreover, TI efficacy has often been studied in relation to
energy savings or temperature analysis, overlooking other aspects implicated in buildings’ efficiency,
Keywords:
Environmental efficiency such as the embodied energy involved. This paper presents a multidimensional approach to evaluate
Thermal inertia ventilative cooling and thermal inertia as a sustainable strategy to improve building performances. To
Performance indicators that end, several scenarios of night ventilation strategies have been applied to the case study of an
Natural ventilation strategies experimental double-office room placed in Fribourg (Switzerland). Based on this monitoring, a dynamic
Earth compressed bricks wall software simulation tool has been calibrated and used to analyze the energy savings potential and the life-
Thermal dynamic simulations cycle performance of TI. A new ratio index has been introduced to easily evaluate the life cycle efficiency.
Life cycle efficiency ratio The results show the importance of balancing operational and embodied impacts when evaluating a
Lca
design choice. Although high TI levels have great benefits on reducing the cooling loads, the results are
completely different when a life cycle assessment is applied. Natural ventilation coupled with middle
levels of TI have been identified as the best strategy to optimize the building’s energy and environmental
performances, without compromising indoor temperatures.
© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction worldwide [1], indicating the great CO2 reduction potential that
lies in the building sector. Energy efficiency standards push toward
Buildings are responsible for almost 34% of the global final buildings with a very low energy request, such as Nearly Zero
energy use and 15% of total direct energy-related carbon emissions Energy Buildings defined by the European Union − EPBD [2]. On the
other hand, Switzerland increases the target with the 2000watt-
society vision [3], which aims at a drastic reduction of both the
energy used and the CO2 emitted by the construction sector on
Abbreviations: CED, cumulative energy demand; CEDnr, cumulative non- a life cycle perspective. Life cycle assessment (LCA) [4] is com-
renewable energy demand; COP, coefficient of performance; Evc, energy used for monly used for assessing buildings’ impacts on the environment;
ventilative cooling; EI, embodied impacts; EPBD, energy performance of buildings
it evaluates the impacts produced in the exploitation period of the
directive; GWP, global warming potential; H, number of hours; HT, high inertia
(room); LCA, life cycle assessment; LCER, life cycle efficiency ratio; LCI, life cycle building, called operational impacts (OI), and the ones involved in
inventory; LT, low inertia (room); OI, operational impacts; Qc, cooling need; Qcref, the materials production, transportation, manufacturing, building’s
cooling need − reference scenario; SEERvc, seasonal energy efficiency ratio for construction and demolition phase, called embodied impacts (EI)
ventilative cooling; SPI, specific power input; TI, thermal inertia; TMY, typical mete- [5].
orological year.
∗ Corresponding author at: School of Architecture, Design and Planning, The Uni- Considering the operational life, the first step towards energy
versity of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. efficiency is reducing heating and cooling consumptions [6]; the
E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Brambilla). latter has been gaining importance in the last years due to higher

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.12.010
0378-7788/© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 A. Brambilla et al. / Energy and Buildings 163 (2018) 22–33 23

comfort expectations, increasing temperatures caused by global understanding of the applicability of TI coupled with ventilative
warming and over-insulated building envelopes [7]. This is the case cooling for future low-carbon and energy efficient buildings.
of offices, characterized by high internal heat gains and predom-
inant cooling requests. Cooling loads are highly variable, strictly 2. Methodology
related to interactions between a broad set of variables [8,9],
and closely correlated to climatic and operation patterns [10]. The scope of the paper is to analyze TI performances on a cali-
The envelope’s design becomes essential to minimize buildings’ brated parametric model in order to understand the potential of TI
conditioning load, which are generally related to the dynamic ther- coupled with night ventilation strategies for passively cooling an
mal properties of the building enclosure. However, the envelope’s office in Fribourg (Switzerland), representing a continental climate
dynamic behavior is often overlooked by energy regulations [11], with cold winter and warm summer. The novelty of the work lies on
which are more focused on controlling heating needs, offering the multidimensional approach used for evaluating a passive cool-
a semi-stationary evaluation regime [12]. The thermal dynamic ing strategy. Moreover, a new indicator is introduced to evaluate
properties depend mostly on interactions between insulation, ther- and balance on a life cycle perspective the efficiency of the solu-
mal inertia (TI) and ventilation strategies [13], nonetheless their tion proposed. The methodology used is described by the following
effects are not linear and easily quantifiable. In fact, buildings consecutive steps:
insulated from the outside and with high thermal mass on the
inside seem to have improved thermal behavior [14,15]: insula-
1. The case study is applied to a double office room in an office
tion acts as a shield for thermal exchanges, while thermal mass
building placed in Fribourg, within the smart living building
increases the inertial properties enhancing the building thermal
framework;
cycles. Accordingly, buildings with higher TI have more stable
2. The results of a previous experimental campaign made on a real-
indoor temperatures [16,17] and lower cooling needs [18–21]. TI
scale prototype made up of a double-office room test cell have
is particularly effective in mild climate, assuring comfort in mid-
been analyzed and used to calibrate a virtual model;
dle seasons without the contribution of air conditioning [22,23]. It
3. Six different thermal inertia levels have been designed according
works as a thermal battery, storing heat during the temperature
to the SIA380/1 [54];
peaks and releasing it later. In offices, night natural ventilation is
4. Five ventilation strategies have been set for the ventilative cool-
often used as a cooling technique [24–28], which can dissipate the
ing options;
heat load accumulated during the day. Coupling night ventilation
5. The TI and ventilation profiles have been combined to create a
and thermal inertia enhances their cooling effects [29,30], reducing
set of possible scenarios;
heat peaks and preventing overheating [31].
6. The scenarios have been simulated in a thermal dynamic soft-
On the other hand, TI is a critical property when EI is assessed.
ware, DIAL+ [55], and on LCA with KBOB database [56];
From a life cycle point of view, in fact, the energy savings induced
7. The OI results have been assessed evaluating the potential
by a design strategy can be nullified by the related EI, resulting
energy savings due to the ventilation and thermal inertia strate-
in increasing the overall building impacts. This is the case of TI,
gies adopted;
usually implemented through the use of massive materials, such
8. The EI results have been assessed with a new indicator: the
as concrete-based materials or bricks, which are proven to have
life cycle efficiency ratio (LCER), which weights the operational
higher EI than other construction techniques [32].
impacts reduction of a given scenario, on its embodied impacts
Although LCA has already been applied to buildings materials
compared to the reference case.
and components in several applications [33,34], so far only few
studies aim at quantifying the environmental performances of a
The calibration was necessary for a comparative analysis of the
passive cooling strategy, such as TI [35,36]. Usually, LCA-driven
virtual model results, due to the gap encountered between simu-
approach considers the life-cycle energy [37] or life cycle green-
lation and real energy performance [57], given the complexity of
house gas emissions [38] of buildings, focusing only on one of the
interactions due to the TI behavior. An accurate calibration of the
multiple aspects that constitute the life cycle assessment, while
dynamic software used can substantially reduce these discrepan-
few studies consider both. Table 1 lists the main researches con-
cies [58], increasing the results’ reliability.
taining a double approach to OI and EI, published after the reviews
LCA uses several parameters to describe the potential impacts
on life cycle emissions [38], life cycle energy [37] and LCA in the
on the environment [5]; among those, the carbon emissions and the
construction sector [39].
primary energy use have been proved to be reliable in evaluating
Table 1 clearly shows that a more comprehensive approach to
the environmental impacts of a building and describing the trends
LCA on the effects of thermal inertia is missing.
for all the categories [59–61]. Reducing the indicators needed is
This paper quantifies the influence of TI and night ventilation
essential to simplify the LCA calculation method in regard to its
in Fribourg’s climate (Switzerland), applying a multidimensional
application in the early design stage, considering the high compu-
investigation and analyzing the benefits on LCA and energy con-
tational time and effort associated to a full LCA [62]. In this study,
sumption. The analysis is part of the smart living building research
embodied impacts are expressed for the three main indicators of
program [51], which aims at the definition of the design brief for
LCA: global warming potential (GWP), cumulative energy demand
an innovative low-carbon building. In this framework, previous
(CED), and cumulative non-renewable energy demand (CEDnr),
analyses highlighted the potential benefits of massive construc-
according to [3]. The weather file used is the TMY (typical mete-
tion achieved with low-carbon materials, such as compressed earth
orological year) for Fribourg, generated by Meteonorm [63].
bricks [52,53]. However, a broader comparative study on TI effects
on embodied and operational impacts and a reliable way to assess
the efficiency on the life cycle scale are missing. This paper intro- 3. Calibration of the virtual model
duces a new concept for LCA, based on the balance comparison
between EI and OI, which relies on the use of an indicator that can The calibration process aims to refine the virtual model in order
help in understanding the reciprocal influence of these two compo- to better describe the real system building-environment, based on
nents of the whole life cycle impacts. This research presents the first the comparison between real measurements and simulated data. To
exploration on the viability of using this indicator and it is applied calibrate the model used for the analysis, an experimental facility
to the case of TI and night ventilation strategy, framing a deeper has been used as a case study.
24 A. Brambilla et al. / Energy and Buildings 163 (2018) 22–33

Table 1
Summary of the research balancing operational and embodied impacts.

REF RESEARCH CASE STUDY INDICATORS STUDIED

[40] Giordano et al. (2017) High rise office building Operational and embodied primary energy
[41] Macias et al. (2017) Model detached dwelling Operational and embodied primary energy
[42] Wang et al. (2016) Two green buildings Greenhouse gas emissions life cycle
[43] Praseeda et al. (2016) 16 urban dwellings Operational and embodied primary energy
[44] Hong et al. (2015) Podium of a residential Embodied greenhouse gas emissions
building
[45] Giordano et al. (2015) Single family detached house Operational and embodied primary energy
and apartment building
[46] Rossello-Batle et al. (2015) Single family detached house Embodied energy and thermal energy demand
[47] Rauf and Crawford (2015) Detached residential building Embodied energy and recurrent energy
[48] Brown et al. (2014) Broad sample of residential Operational primary energy and embodied greenhouse gas emissions
buildings (1400)
[49] Stephan and Stephan (2014) Four-storeys apartment Operational, embodied and transport primary energy
building
[50] Cellura et al. (2014) Three-storeys apartment Operational and embodied primary energy
building

Graph 1. Climatic condition for Fribourg (CH). Hourly temperature (grey line), monthly average temperature (black line), monthly daily average temperature (dotted line),
monthly night average temperature (dotted line) and relative humidity range (light blue zone) are shown. The red line indicates the value of 20 ◦ C (temperature side) and
60% (humidity side). Acronyms used: Ur (relative Humidity), MAX T (monthly average of the maximum daily temperatures), MIN T (monthly average of the minimum daily
temperatures), T average (monthly average of the average daily temperatures). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to
the web version of this article.)
Source: Meteonorm [63]

3.1. Real scale prototype case study than 0.15 W/(m2 ·K). Table 2 shows the prototype’s constructive
elements.
The 1:1 scale test facility is a small experimental building made In one of the rooms, the longer walls are covered with com-
of two double offices, placed in a free area in Fribourg (Switzerland). pressed earth bricks, identified as an interesting strategy for an
It has been designed according to the Swiss norms to better repre- environmental efficient TI application [52]. For this reason, the
sent a typical high efficient office building in Switzerland. rooms were called High-Thermal inertia room (HT room) and Low-
Fribourg is characterized by a continental climate with aver- Thermal inertia room (LT room).
age cold winter and warm summer. Graph 1 shows the average Large windows are placed on the shorter walls of each room, fac-
monthly temperature and the extreme values, which range from ing south-east and north-west. Natural ventilation is made through
almost −10 ◦ C (January) up to 31 ◦ C (July). However, the average a single hopper opening part of the windows, which allows to
temperature is always below 20 ◦ C and the daily average below achieve a net opening surface of 0.1m [2]. During the monitor-
26C. This means that normally Fribourg has warm summer but hot ing phase a thin black plastic layer was added to the external part
spells are frequent and can achieve critical temperature, leading to of the windows, covering the whole glazed facade. This expedient
overheating and indoor discomfort situations. On the other side, allowed to cut down all the solar contribution in order to reproduce
Fribourg is characterized by high relative humidity: the average is the same heat gains patterns for each measurement. The inter-
above 60%, classifying Fribourg as humid-continental city. nal gains were generated through artificially controlled lighting
The two rooms are 36 m2 , indicated by SIA2024 [64] as the typ- systems, which were switched on and off following a standard
ical dimension for offices, and they are separated by an anteroom schedule, according to the SIA indications [64]. This system pro-
that contains the technical facilities and the building equipment duced heat through the energy dispersion of incandescent bulbs
(Fig. 1). The construction is a wooden lightweight construction (efficiency 10%).
with a highly-insulated envelope, which reaches U-values lower
 A. Brambilla et al. / Energy and Buildings 163 (2018) 22–33 25

Fig. 1. Architectural plan (quoted in cm) and side view of the prototype used for calibrating the virtual model.

Table 2
Description of the composition of the prototype’s architectural elements. For each element, the materials and the relative specific thermal properties are specified.

COMPONENTS MATERIALS Thickness [mm] Conductivity ␭ Density ␦ [kg/m3 ] Heat capacity C

[W/(m K)] [kJ/(kg K)]

ROOF Bitumen elastomeric membrane 4 0.2 875 4.5

Insulation polyurethane 180 0.031 15 1.116
Vapour barrier 0.22 0.4 500 1.8
OSB panels 25 0.13 600 2.15
FLOOR Linoleum 3 0.17 1200 1.47
Cement screed (fiber reinforced) 50 0.8 1400 1
Acoustic insulation 9 0.15 556 1.7
OSB panels 25 0.13 600 2.15
Insulation glass wool 350 0.032 28 1.03
Wooden panels 60 0.047 250 2.1
WALLS – LT (Low Inertia) Wooden structure 140 0.13 471 1.6
Vapour barrier 0.22 0.4 500 1.8
Insulation polyurethane 180 0.031 15 1.116
Permeable membrane 0.45 0.17 900 1.8
Ventilation chamber 50 – – –
Wooden cladding 24 0.15 450 1.8
WALLS – HT (High Inertia) Compressed earth bricks 140 0.79 1900 1.1
Wooden structure 140 0.13 471 1.6
Vapour barrier 0.22 0.4 500 1.8
Insulation polyurethane 180 0.031 15 1.116
Permeable membrane 0.45 0.17 900 1.8
Ventilation chamber 50 – – –
Wooden cladding 24 0.15 450 1.8

3.2. Virtual prototype Table 3

Description of the scenarios used for the calibration. The calibration process com-
pared results monitored from a prototype and taken from thermal simulations.
The virtual model has been developed using DIAL+ [55], a Swiss Scenarios, building’s geometry and physical properties and climates were identical.
thermal dynamic simulation tool created by the Estia Company.
SCENARIO DAY ventilation NIGHT ventilation HEAT GAINS
Its thermal model has been validated with respect to the Euro-
08.00/20.00 20.00/08.00
pean norms [65–67]. Thanks to a meteorological station directly
mounted on the prototype, it has been possible to re-create the C1 80 m3 /h – Standard by SIA
C2 80 m3 /h natural Standard by SIA
specific weather file for the calibration, reproducing the same con-
ditions encountered during the monitoring phase. The calibration
is a way to fine tuning the accuracy of the virtual prototype [68],
days and were performed during August 2016. Scenario C1 on the
reducing the errors and the standard deviation between the real
4th and 5th, while scenario C2 on the 12th and 13th (Table 3). An
case and the virtual results [69].
ideal calibration should be done on both summer and winter peri-
ods, however in this paper only the summer calibration has been
3.3. Calibration process done since that the free-running mode is allowed only during the
warm period, as the analysis is focused on the cooling capacity of
The calibration process was made on two scenarios: during the TI.
day from 08:00 to 20:00 mechanical ventilation was active with an Scenario C1 is used to gather information about the night ther-
air-flow of 80 m3 /h; during the night (from 20:00 to 08:00 am of the mal losses through the envelope, the thermal gains due to the
successive day) there was either natural ventilation (scenario C2) or internal gains profile applied and the stability of the airflow. Sce-
no ventilation (scenario C1). The scenarios lasted two consecutive nario C2 shows the importance of night ventilation.
26 A. Brambilla et al. / Energy and Buildings 163 (2018) 22–33

Graph 2. Surface temperatures (left) and internal temperatures (right) for the two rooms (HT and LT) in the calibration scenarios (C1 and C2). Dashed lines represented the
simulated data in the virtual model, continuous lines the monitored in the prototype. It is possible to notice that there is a difference between the two measures, in particular,
for scenario C1 simulations have higher temperatures than the real monitored, while for C2 is the opposite.

The calibration process involves the comparison of two vari- Table 4 shows that the max errors encountered in the simulations
ables: internal air temperature (Tint) and surface temperature (Ts), is below 1.5◦ , which can be considered an acceptable threshold for
considered as the mean value of the longitudinal walls. While in the accuracy of the model used [69].
simulations it is possible to easily set an output with the two In the first scenario, it is possible to notice a decay of the sim-
variables, for the prototype, some sensors were used. A Vaisala ulated night temperatures. The reason is most likely due to the
GMW93R transmitter (one for each room) placed on half of the windows’ coverage: the black plastic layer traps static air, which
longer wall logged the air temperatures and some calibrated ther- contributes to insulate the envelope. A higher resistivity in the
mocouples type K were placed along the longitudinal walls for enclosure means fewer losses during the night and, therefore,
logging the surface temperatures. Among the various calibration slower temperature decrease. In scenario C2, instead, no significant
models available [70], in this paper we followed a manual hourly- difference is detected between simulated and measured tempera-
based process [71], aimed at defining the confidence interval of the tures.
simulation results.
Graph 2 shows the temperatures logged and simulated as func-
tion of time. 4. Simulation scenarios
The analysis highlights a slight difference between the simula-
tions and the data collected, Table 4 shows the standard deviation The calibrated virtual model has been used as case study to per-
and the maximum error calculated for the two scenarios, refer- form the simulation of different scenarios, aiming to define the
ring both to internal air temperature and the surface temperature. benefits of TI and ventilative cooling in Fribourg’s climate. The
 A. Brambilla et al. / Energy and Buildings 163 (2018) 22–33 27

Table 4
Standard deviation and max error calculated between the simulation results and monitored data. The variables used are the internal air temperature and the mean surface
temperature of the longitudinal walls. Results are shown for both rooms (characterized by high inertia and low inertia).

SCENARIO C1 SCENARIO C2

STD Deviation (◦ C) Max Error (◦ C) STD Deviationn (◦ C) Max Error (◦ C)

HT – Ts 0.26 0.45 0.22 0.52

HT – Tint 0.27 0.66 0.24 0.78
LT – Ts 0.32 0.90 0.38 1.12
LT – Tint 0.48 1.01 0.38 1.11

geometry has been kept identical and the lightweight room is used
as reference case. Its thermal properties have then been changed
according to the scenarios applied.
Six different thermal inertia levels (scenario TI) have been
used, defined by different construction typologies. To each TI level,
five ventilative cooling strategies (scenarios V) have been applied.
These crossed scenarios (scenarios TI + V) help to define the suitable
technical strategies for an office placed in Fribourg, to maintain
indoor comfort while improving the environmental efficiency of
the building. Moreover, four additional risk scenarios (scenarios R)
have been evaluated to understand the criticisms related to the
ventilative cooling strategy.

Graph 3. Heating needs for ventilation scenario V1, expressed as function of thermal
4.1. Thermal inertia levels inertia. Please, note that the vertical axis is not starting from 0 but 38 kWh/m2 a.

In the analysis, we created six different TI levels, varying from

matic ventilation system (V3), and users-driven ventilation profile
very light to very heavy in order to better represent the possible
(V4) (Table 6).
solutions used in offices. The choice of having these scenarios was
driven by the only previous study aimed at balancing OI and EI of dif-
ferent TI levels [36], where four construction typologies are defined. 4.3. Scenarios used for simulation
Based on that, we modeled two more scenarios, in the medium-
weight construction ranges with different materials, as the goal Once the ventilation profiles and the TI levels have been defined,
of the analysis was to determine TI impacts on both operational a cross matrix that merges these two aspects has been created. Each
and embodied impacts and, therefore, the variation in the materials TI level has been simulated with each ventilation profile, creating
implemented to achieve the desired heat capacity is essential. a set of possible and feasible solutions that are commonly used in
TI levels are classified according to the specific Swiss norm on the Swiss construction context.
thermal properties of building elements [54]. Accordingly, the lev-
els have been chosen ranging from very light to very heavy and 5. Simulation results
referring to typical Swiss construction typologies exemption made
for TI4, which is modeled as the prototype used for the calibration 5.1. Operational impacts: energy savings
(Table 5).
Ventilation scenarios are designed to maximize the ventilative
cooling effects; they are applied accordingly on thermal simulation
4.2. Ventilation profiles only during the Swiss cooling period (16th April to 15th October),
while during the heating period the hygienic airflow rate is the
Ventilative cooling can be a useful strategy to reduce cooling only one considered. Therefore, the heating requirements’ analysis
loads during summer in buildings with high internal heating gains, is addressed only for the ventilation scenario V1, regarding the six
such as offices. For this reason, different ventilation scenarios have TI levels.
been tested, in order to understand the potential of these strategies Results (Graph 3) confirm the state of the art: the heating needs
in relation to the case of the Smart Living Building [51]. The scenar- decrease when higher levels of TI are considered.
ios have been created starting from scenario V1, considered as a A massive construction (TI6) requires almost 7% less heating
reference case. V1 only includes the minimum requested rate of than a lightweight wooden one (TI1), reducing the heating needs
hygienic ventilation during occupancy [54,64], equal to 46.3 m3 /h. from 43 kWh/m2 a to 40 kWh/m2 a. However, the percentage reduc-
The other scenarios integrate the hygienic ventilation with ven- tion from one TI level to the other averages between 0.2% (from
tilative cooling strategies during the night (scenario V2), occupied TI3 to TI4) and 3.2% (from TI5 to TI6), indicating that the winter
hours (scenario V4) or all day long (scenario V3 and scenario V5). thermal performances of the envelope are not driven by TI. On the
Therefore, the scenarios have been created as V1 plus and adjunc- contrary, the extent of TI influence on the reduction of cooling needs
tive ventilation strategy. As said, V1 represents a critical profile, as increases when summer time is considered (Graph 4). These results
it includes only the minimum requirements for hygienic purpose clearly confirm the previous studies done on thermal inertia and
and, therefore, it is not sized for cooling purpose. V5 represents its effect on cooling and heating in continental climates [52,53].
instead the critical profile on the opposite directions, as overcool- TI has a bigger potential when no mechanical system is used [15].
ing might occur when external temperatures are too low. The other Therefore, in cold continental regions such as Switzerland, where
three profiles have been designed starting from these two extreme mechanical heating is essential to assure indoor comfort, TI impor-
situations and representing the ventilative profiles most commonly tance is mostly related to its influence during summer as natural
used in offices: night ventilation (V2), temperature-driven auto- cooling strategy.
28 A. Brambilla et al. / Energy and Buildings 163 (2018) 22–33

Table 5
Thermal Inertia scenarios used for the analysis. TI levels are calculated with SIA380/1 and described by the heat capacity of the room. This depends on the thermal properties
of each surface delimiting the room itself. the type of construction considered is reported in the table.

SCENARIO LONGITUDINAL WALLS SHORT WALLS ROOF FLOOR Heat capacity C

[kJ/(kg K)]

TI1 Light- wooden Light – wooden Light – wooden Light – wooden 39.1
TI2 Wooden + synthetic Wooden + synthetic Light – wooden Light – wooden 46.2
rendering rendering
TI3 Light – wooden Light – wooden Light – wooden Wooden + cement 50.4
screed
TI4 Wooden + compressed Light – wooden Light – wooden Light – wooden 58.7
earth bricks
TI5 Wooden + compressed Light – wooden Light – wooden Wooden + cement 70
earth bricks screed
TI6 Concrete + internal Concrete + internal Concrete + internal Concrete + cement 94.4
mortar rendering mortar rendering mortar rendering screed

Table 6
ventilation scenarios used for the analysis. The scenarios enhanced the ventilative cooling potential and were defined as integrative strategies applied on the reference case,
represented by scenario V1.

SCENARIO BASIC AIRFLOW + MECHANICAL VENTILATION NATURAL VENTILATION

V1 46.3 m3 /h during occupancy + – –

V2 as reference scenario + 46.3 m3 /h from 2am to 6am –
V3 as reference scenario + 46.3 m3 /h if Tint-Text > 2 ◦ C and Tint > 21 ◦ C –
V4 as reference scenario + – Open windows during occupied hours
V5 as reference scenario + – Open windows 24/24h

in scenario TI6 the cooling needs associated to V3 (mechanical ven-

tilation temperatures-driven) differ of less than 0.5 kWh/m2 from
the needs of V5.
These results show the importance of TI as a means to balance
under-estimated airflows for ventilative cooling purposes.
Graphs 2 and 3 underline three major points:

1. TI reduces both heating and cooling needs, even if its efficiency

is higher in the latter
2. The ventilative cooling potential is affected by TI
3. The extent of the interactions bet ween TI and ventilative cool-
ing is strongly dependent from the typology of ventilation
profiles considered

Moreover, from the operational savings analysis it is possible

Graph 4. Cooling needs of ventilation scenarios, expressed as function of thermal to conclude that natural ventilation − either active all day long
inertia. or only during occupied hours −is the most effective solution to
reduce cooling needs independent from the TI levels considered.
If mechanical ventilation is considered instead, a temperature-
TI’s potential in reducing overheating lies in fact on the dynamic
dependent system (V3) is more efficient than a time-scheduled one
capacity of storing heating during the day and releasing it later.
(V2). In fact, the latter does not encompass the effective cooling
Graph 4 displays the cooling requirements associated with the
properties of the airflows, which depends on physical properties of
ventilation scenarios in relation to the TI levels. The cooling require-
the external environment as well as the relative indoor and outdoor
ments have been evaluated according to SIA [54] using a comfort
temperature’s differences.
threshold of 26.5 ◦ C.
Cooling requirements for the case study are relatively small,
due to the continental climate of Fribourg; however, overheating 5.2. Operational impacts: seasonal energy efficiency ratio
during hot days can occur, making necessary the use of mechan-
ical cooling [53]. TI contributes to decrease cooling requirements In the previous section, a consistent difference between
and reduce indoor temperatures in all the scenarios, however, the mechanical ventilation scenarios in regard to the energy saving
extent of the contribution varies according to the ventilation strat- potential has been shown. As said, mechanical ventilation based
egy applied: the reduction between lightweight and heavyweight on temperature’s gradient (scenario V3) is more effective than
scenarios (from TI1 to TI6) ranges between 60% – when the min- mechanical ventilation based time schedule (scenario V2), espe-
imum hygienic ventilation rate is considered (V1)- up to 100% – cially for high TI where the difference is more significant – Graph 3.
when natural ventilation is used (V5). The results of mechanical To better define this difference, the seasonal energy efficient ratio
ventilation scenarios V2 and V3 clearly indicate the low efficiency for ventilative cooling (SEERVC ) has been assessed. This parameter
of these ventilative cooling profiles, which are not able to dissi- has been introduced by EBC Annex 62 [72] and is useful for eval-
pate the accumulated internal heat, even when activated all night uating the ventilative cooling potential associated with a specific
long (scenario V2). In this case TI property is essential to reduce the mechanical ventilation profile, allowing the comparison with any
cooling need and its difference among ventilation profiles. In fact, real cooling machine.
 A. Brambilla et al. / Energy and Buildings 163 (2018) 22–33 29

Nevertheless, when ventilation is controlled by the temperature

difference (scenario V3), SEERVC increases with higher TI levels and
stabilizes around 1.3. Therefore, V3 is efficient only if coupled with
massive constructions. These results confirm the potential associ-
ated with the two mechanical ventilation scenarios in relation to
TI and they classify the extent of the overall benefits and highlight
the most effective strategy for reducing cooling needs in an office
building in Fribourg using mechanical ventilation.

5.3. Embodied impacts: life cycle efficiency ratio

Embodied impacts assessments are usually done by evaluating

not only the impacts of the building’s construction but also those
of every single material. Due to the complexity of the calculation,
Graph 5. Seasonal energy efficiency ratio for ventilative cooling (SEERvc), expressed a simple visualization method is needed when comparing two or
for mechanical ventilation scenarios (V2 and V3) for TI levels. Mechanical ventilation more different solutions. For this reason, a new indicator has been
based on temperatures gradient (V3) shows higher SEERvc than mechanical venti- introduced in this paper: the life cycle efficiency ratio (LCER). This
lation based on time schedule (V2). TI influences V3 almost linearly: the effects of
indicator has been defined following the SEERVC methodology: it
scenario V3 are maximized by high TI levels.
compares the operational savings of a given scenario with the ref-
erenced ones, weighted on the difference of embodied impacts
It is evaluated for both scenarios V2 and V3 and it is calculated implied in the two considered scenarios.
as the cooling need difference between the specific scenario with OIref − OI
and without the mechanical cooling system: LCER = (3)
EI − EIref
QCref − QC OIref are the operational impacts of the reference scenario (CED
SEERVC = (1)
EVC and CEDnr in MJ-eq and GWP in kgCO2-eq)
OI are the operational impacts of the scenario analyzed (CED and
SEERVC seasonal energy efficiency ratio
CEDnr in MJ-eq and GWP in kgCO2-eq)
QCref is the cooling need of the scenario without ventilative cool-
EIref are the embodied impacts of the reference scenario (CED
ing kWh/m2
and CEDnr in MJ-eq and GWP in kgCO2-eq)
QC is the cooling need of the scenario with ventilative cooling
EI are the embodied impacts of the scenario analyzed (CED and
applied kWh/m2
CEDnr in MJ-eq and GWP in kgCO2-eq)
EVC is the energy used to apply ventilative cooling, calculated as:
This indicator relies on the ratio between the two main aspects
EVC = SPI × ϑ × H (2) of LCA, embodied and operational impacts, which are usually
summed up to obtain the life cycle impacts of a specific building. In
Where: this case, we identify the environmental performance with a sole
SPI is the specific power input of the ventilation system, number, given by the ratio between the two components (EI and
expressed in W/(m3 /h) OI), instead of using either the sum or two separate numbers. In
ϑ is the airflow rate of the mechanical ventilation in m3 /h this way, the multidimensional comparison of multiple scenarios
H is the number of running hours of the ventilation system for is easier and faster. Operational and embodied impacts are calcu-
cooling purposes in h. lated following the standard LCA procedure given by norm [4,5].
A negative SEERVC means that the strategy evaluated has neg- LCER can be applied for each LCA indicator analyzed, in this case
ative impacts on the overall cooling demand. If positive, it means the impacts considered would be the specific ones assessed. In this
that there are benefits associated to the ventilative cooling pro- analysis LCER is assessed for global warming potential (LCERGWP ),
files in terms of reduction of cooling needs. However, when SEERVC cumulative energy demand (LCERCED ), and non-renewable cumu-
is positive but lower than 1, it means that the cooling needs sav- lative energy demand (LCERnrCED ). As for the previous indicator,
ings are lower than the energy spent for running the mechanical when LCER is negative – meaning that the embodied impacts are
ventilation system. In these three cases, ventilative cooling is not higher than the operational savings, or when it is lower than 1 –
recommended. On the contrary, when the value is positive and the scenario analyzed does not introduce benefits in comparison
greater than 1, the ventilative cooling strategy chosen has over- with the reference one. On the contrary, the greater the indicator,
all energy benefits, and it is an effective way to reduce a building’s the higher the life cycle benefits.
energy needs.
In the case study, we considered an SPI of 0.4 W/(m3 /h), airflow 5.3.1. Embodied impact: LCA method applied
rate of 46.3 m3 /h, and the number of hours from the virtual simu- LCA is strictly dependent on the life cycle inventory (LCI) prin-
lations related to each scenario. With these assumptions, Graph 5 ciples used [73,74] and to the method used [75]. Three main
shows the SEERVC related to scenarios V2 and V3 for each TI level. methods are used for compiling the inventory: the process-based
It is interesting to see that for both scenarios – TI1 and TI2 (low TI method, the input-output method, and the hybrid method [76]. The
levels) – the ventilative cooling strategies V2 and V3 are not effec- process-based approach was the first methodology introduced to
tive. SEERVC for V2 is always lower than 1.1, indicating that the compute the environmental impacts. It follows the actual process
balance between the energy requested by the mechanical system, flow [75] and it usually assumes that a production process pro-
and the energy savings induced by the ventilative cooling is not duces one material (or energy), materials and energy flows do not
optimal. have loops and the connections between process is linear (each
Graph 5 shows that the SEERVC behavior for scenario V2 is highly process takes one input and generates one output) [77]. Generally
unstable, probably due to the high cooling needs, which requires speaking, all production processes in a supply chain are connected
a more efficient and powerful ventilation system than the one to one another, bringing in the LCI process-based method to a
assumed. necessary truncation to a certain degree of the chain [78,79]. The
30 A. Brambilla et al. / Energy and Buildings 163 (2018) 22–33

Graph 6. Life cycle efficiency ratio for ventilative cooling in relation to TI. The parameter is expressed for GWP, CED and CEDnr.

input-output method is instead a top-down technique, based on • transportation distance is considered similar for all products;
macro-economic interdependencies of industrial sectors [77–79]. • the additional massive layers are considered to have an impact
This latter approach is not affected by the truncation errors, but still only on the thermal properties of a building, overlooking the
presents problems in the macro-scale of the study [80], the data structural impacts;
age and the industry aggregation [77]. Based on the fundamental
gaps found in the two methods, more recent hybrid approaches
have been developed [81–83], combining the strength of the two
methods with different degrees of integration [76]. In literature, Graph 6 shows that V5 has always the highest LCER, underlining
different studies aimed at understanding the differences between the great potential of this ventilative cooling profile and confirming
the approaches: generally, there is a big gap between the input- the results obtained from the operational savings analysis. How-
output and the process-based methodology [84,85], even if it has ever, LCA completely changes the conclusion previously obtained
also been found that the order of magnitude could be the same when considering the thermal inertia levels. LCER shows that TI is
[86,87]. In our study, we used the KBOB database [56], which is a interesting if middle levels are considered (TI3, TI4, TI5), highlight-
process-based LCI database that contains information about build- ing that high levels of TI are not efficient from a life cycle point
ing materials and components and relies on the ecoinvent database of view, due to the materials involved to increase the building’s
[88,89]. In the KBOB, the energy indicators are evaluated according thermal capacity.
to [90] and [91], while the emissions are calculated according to This trend can be detected also in low-energy-consumption
the impact assessment method described in IPCC 2007 [92]. buildings, where the energy spent in creating an efficient envelope
We calculated the embodied impacts of the scenarios as a com- increases the embodied impacts of the construction [95,96].
parison: considering the reference scenario TI1 + V1, embodied On the contrary, the extremely high value achieved by TI4 is
impacts are assessed only for the additional layers. Exception is given by the relatively low EI of the compressed earth bricks, used
made for TI6, where concrete substitutes the wooden structure. In as massive layer in that scenario.
this case, wooden EI are subtracted and replaced by concrete EI. The analysis points out the benefits of CEB on the life cycle of a
For this reason, the underestimation embedded in the truncation building and, in the same time, highlights the necessity to consider
adopted in the process-method LCI is considered to be negligible EI when implementing TI. GWP has the lowest alues among the
and not affecting the result added-value in supporting the design three indicators, indicating that the carbon emissions related to a
process. building’s life are the critical parameters to consider when looking
In general, the following assumptions have been made for the at its life cycle performances. The LCA analysis underlines that:
LCA:

• materials EI are considered for production, transportation, and

end of life; 1. including embodied impacts when evaluating the benefits of a
• thermal energy is provided by a heat pump COP 4; cooling strategy might change completely the results; in the case
• final energy is transformed directly in primary energy factors study the optimal solution to minimize the building impacts
according to the KBOB database. Final energy is directly converted passed from very heavyweight to middle thermal inertia levels;
into the primary energy impacts directly using the factors given 2. material with an optimal balance between thermal properties
by KBOB database for the final energy delivery system used. The and embodied impacts, such as compressed earth bricks, have
factors indicated for the heat pump chosen are: CED: 1.57 MJ-eq, higher benefits;
CEDnr: 0.709 MJ-eq, GWP: 0.0153 kgCO2-eq [56,93,94], per unit 3. LCER is an easy way to understand the life cycle impacts of a cool-
of final energy in MJ. ing solution and should be integrated to the operational savings
• cooling loads are considered: an ideal mechanical cooling system evaluation when deciding for the optimal design solutions;
is used to supply the cooling needs that the ventilative cooling 4. Natural ventilation has the highest benefits both on OI and EI if
strategy cannot satisfy; compared to mechanical ventilative cooling.
 A. Brambilla et al. / Energy and Buildings 163 (2018) 22–33 31

6. Discussion Alongside the results on TI and ventilative cooling, the first via-
bility assessment on the use of LCER as new indicator has been
In this paper, we applied a multidimensional approach for eval- addressed. This performance indicator is a balanced ratio between
uating the benefits of different ventilative cooling strategies in the operational and embodied impacts of a given solution and it
relation to the thermal properties of the building’s envelope. This aims at defining a method to quantify the environmental bene-
means that the influence of the scenarios is considered under differ- fit of a given design choice, based on the effects of the whole life
ent points of view to understand TI effects on multiple dimensions. cycle. In this study, only the case of the smart living lab has been
The test facility constructed in Fribourg was used to calibrate addressed, as preliminary exploration on the feasibility of using
the simulation software, small deviations have been found between LCER as design guide. Future research development aims, how-
simulated and measured data, given by the methodology applied ever, at better investigating its reliability in regard to a broader
in the experimental campaign. application on several case studies. This first results show clearly
DIAL+ was then used to simulate with the standard conditions that LCER can have a big potential as an evaluation parameter
(SIA 2024) the influence of ventilative cooling on offices with dif- during the design phase. Usually we evaluate the quality of a
ferent thermal capacities. project based on energy indicators (e.g. heating needs), the results
For the test facility constructed in Fribourg, it is possible to con- of this analysis open the possibility to replace those indicators
clude that: with the LCER, which evaluates a project from a global perspec-
tive.
In the framework of the smart living building research program,
• TI has a smaller influence on heating requirements, up to 7%, com-
the conclusions help to define an optimal solution for design-
pared to the influence on cooling requirements, ranging from 60%
ing its future environmental efficient building [51], including in
up to 100%.
the design brief the mandatory requirement of balancing OI and
• Mechanical ventilation based on temperature differences has
EI. LCER indicator will be incorporated into the design brief as a
more effects in reducing cooling loads than mechanical venti-
design compass for the architectural competition that will serve
lation based on time schedule. The first ventilation strategy has a
as a decision-making tool to help designers provide more environ-
seasonal energy efficiency ratio 1.5 time bigger than the second
mentally efficient solutions.
one; its SEERVC increases with higher TI levels and stabilizes for
Further development of this research could better focus on an
heavyweight constructions (maximum value 70 Wh/(m2 ·K));
extensive use of this parameter to quantify the environmental effi-
• Middle levels of TI are more efficient from a life cycle point of
ciency embedded in the commonly used passive design strategies.
view than lightweight up to a factor of 2 (GWP), 3.5 (CED) and 3
We expect the results to draw some criticism in relation to an OI-
(CEDnr). In comparison with high TI levels instead: 25 (GWP), 16
driven design, which is the approach suggested by energy efficiency
(CED) and 15 (CEDnr);
standards.

The approach adopted in this paper highlights the importance of Acknowledgments

introducing a holistic method to the early design phase, where the
possible efficiency strategies have been evaluated. The benefits of a The work presented in this paper has been funded by the State
given passive strategy – in this case thermal inertia (TI) and ventila- of Fribourg and EPFL. The authors would like to acknowledge the
tive cooling might change in relation to the parameters considered. building 2050 team for the valuable discussions.
High thermal inertia and natural ventilation strategy have been
defined as the best way to prevent overheating in an office building
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