David
The total embodied energy of a building material is the amount of commercial energy used to extract raw materials, transport, manufacture, assemble, install, disassemble, deconstruct, and dispose. Basically it is all of the energy that will be used throughout the lifecycle of a product.
The less embodied energy a product uses, the better it is for the environment because less energy would have been used to create it. Since less energy is used, less pollution is released into the atmosphere. Products with lower embodied energy also have lower costs because they don’t have to pay for as much in energy costs.
Refurbishing and reusing old building materials saves a lot of embodied energy because the materials don’t have to be manufactured, the just have to be fixed. Their embodied energy has already been accounted for by years of use. There are also stores that carry old building materials that have been salvaged from old building sites. These items also save on embodied energy costs. These items, though, would also cost the price of the items and the gas driving to get the items, as well as refurbishment.
Buy materials that are manufactured or grown near your home. The closer to your home, the less gas was used to transport the item to where it is sold. Building products made from recycled materials have less embodied energy because they don’t have to be extracted as raw materials, but they do have extra energy to change them from raw materials into recycled product.
One great example I found is EcoRock, which is an alternative to regular sheetrock. It uses 80% less energy to produce, is made of 80% recycled materials, outperforms all current standards of sheetrock, and is designed to be reutilized at the end of its life. As long as EcoRock is produced locally in each region, it seems to be an excellent alternative to normal sheetrock.
There are complications, when an item only comes from far away and there are not many good alternatives, or when an efficient item comes from far away but an inefficient one comes from close by. When that happens, you have to decide if you can compromise for a cheaper local alternative, or if you really have to get the exclusive one from far away. It could have specific features that you require, or its long term efficiency could outweigh any initial transportation costs.
Look for products that are produced locally and with recycled materials when you can. Building materials that have their own disposal already planned into their design are very good for the environment. A Subaru plant in Indiana is a Zero-Landfill automobile manufacturing plant. It doesn’t send any garbage to a landfill, all waste is recycled. I’m not saying go out and buy a Subaru, or only buy local or recycled materials, but if you are going to be buying those products anyways, why not buy by these guidelines? It will save the environment a lot of damage.
Past Blog Entries:
https://www.ecoperformancebuilders.com/eco-news/cost-effective-ways-of-saving-energy/
https://www.ecoperformancebuilders.com/eco-news/net-zero-energy-buildings/
https://www.ecoperformancebuilders.com/eco-news/residential-smart-meters/
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