國立虎尾科技大學 |

Building a Healthy Home : = A Comparative Life-Cycle Analysis of Energy-Efficient and Low-VOC Retrofits.

Record Type:	Language materials, manuscript : Monograph/item
Title/Author:	Building a Healthy Home :/
Reminder of title:	A Comparative Life-Cycle Analysis of Energy-Efficient and Low-VOC Retrofits.
Author:	Rivera, Giulianna M.
Description:	1 online resource (108 pages)
Notes:	Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 85-11.
Contained By:	Masters Abstracts International85-11.
Subject:	Sustainability. -
Online resource:	click for full text (PQDT)
ISBN:	9798382345680

Building a Healthy Home : = A Comparative Life-Cycle Analysis of Energy-Efficient and Low-VOC Retrofits.
Rivera, Giulianna M.

Building a Healthy Home :A Comparative Life-Cycle Analysis of Energy-Efficient and Low-VOC Retrofits. - 1 online resource (108 pages)

Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 85-11.

Thesis (ALM)--Harvard University, 2024.

Includes bibliographical references

As the main cause of death in America and the leading factor of increased health care costs, chronic illness is a growing concern. While several determinants influence the onset of disease, the surrounding environment, especially residential buildings, plays a significant role in overall health. The sustainable building industry emerged in response to growing concern around climate change, initially as a means to reduce energy use and the burning of fossil fuels. Over the years, it has evolved to include an emphasis on health and wellness, with the potential to mitigate the rising rates of chronic illness.This thesis compared certification requirements of three green building programs (WELL, LEED, Passive House) to identify differences that may impact health and should be prioritized in the retrofit of a conventional home to a greener home, all else equal. I hypothesized that (1) a retrofit of a conventional home that incorporated green building elements would result in a greater improvement (decrease) in Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) compared to the conventional build and that (2) incorporation of low-VOC materials would result in the greatest improvement (decrease) in DALYS relative to the conventional build and the incorporation of an energy-efficient heat pump. I utilized SimaPro, the industry-leading life cycle analysis (LCA) software, to evaluate health impacts in terms of DALYs associated with the transition from a conventional model to (1) a Low-VOC Model and (2) an Energy-Efficient Model with a heat pump. Sensitivity analyses included (1) a Low-VOC Model with bamboo flooring, (2) a Low-VOC Model with hardwood flooring, and (3) a Combo Model with both low-VOC materials and a heat pump. Modeled as 1970's home in New Jersey, USA, the Conventional Model was modified to incorporate green building elements associated with LEED v4.1 Certified, WELL v2 Certified, and Passive House Institute (i) 10.B guidelines. I collected an inventory of materials, sources and quantities, based on certification criteria within the green building programs, outputs from Athena Impact Estimator, and input from a NJ contractor active in the housing stock.Findings include that the Low-VOC Model and the Energy-Efficient Model reduced DALYs, with the greatest reduction from the Energy-Efficient Model. A sensitivity analysis indicated that the Low-VOC Model with bamboo flooring and the Low-VOC Model with hardwood flooring slightly reduced DALYs. The Combo Model reduced the most DALYs. Findings were scaled to represent 7%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, and 40% of the NJ housing stock to illustrate the impact sustainable building elements could have across a state-wide scale. In addition to the growing arsenal of optimal building support tools, this thesis proposes practical retrofits for homeowners through LCA methodology. This research is timely, as the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act tax credits and rebates, intended to reduce carbon emissions through national building stock updates and have the potential to improve building health, will begin in 2024. Nevertheless, limitations to LCA methodology (e.g., sparse data on post-production emissions, lifetime material toxicity and associated occupant health impacts) prevent a full understanding of building health. Future improvements to LCA methodology and chemical material standardization would facilitate an ample, objective means to evaluate building health impacts of construction/retrofit activities.

Electronic reproduction.
Ann Arbor, Mich. :
ProQuest,
2024

Mode of access: World Wide Web

ISBN: 9798382345680Subjects--Topical Terms:

793436
Sustainability.
Subjects--Index Terms:

Disability Adjusted Life YearsIndex Terms--Genre/Form:

554714
Electronic books.

Building a Healthy Home : = A Comparative Life-Cycle Analysis of Energy-Efficient and Low-VOC Retrofits.
LDR:04904ntm a22003977 4500 001 1151725
005 20241118085745.5
006 m o d
007 cr mn ---uuuuu
008 250605s2024 xx obm 000 0 eng d
020 $a 9798382345680
035 $a (MiAaPQ)AAI31148960
035 $a AAI31148960
040 $a MiAaPQ $b eng $c MiAaPQ $d NTU
100 1 $a Rivera, Giulianna M. $3 1478542
245 1 0 $a Building a Healthy Home : $b A Comparative Life-Cycle Analysis of Energy-Efficient and Low-VOC Retrofits.
264 0 $c 2024
300 $a 1 online resource (108 pages)
336 $a text $b txt $2 rdacontent
337 $a computer $b c $2 rdamedia
338 $a online resource $b cr $2 rdacarrier
500 $a Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 85-11.
500 $a Advisor: Senick, Jennifer;Leighton, Mark.
502 $a Thesis (ALM)--Harvard University, 2024.
504 $a Includes bibliographical references
520 $a As the main cause of death in America and the leading factor of increased health care costs, chronic illness is a growing concern. While several determinants influence the onset of disease, the surrounding environment, especially residential buildings, plays a significant role in overall health. The sustainable building industry emerged in response to growing concern around climate change, initially as a means to reduce energy use and the burning of fossil fuels. Over the years, it has evolved to include an emphasis on health and wellness, with the potential to mitigate the rising rates of chronic illness.This thesis compared certification requirements of three green building programs (WELL, LEED, Passive House) to identify differences that may impact health and should be prioritized in the retrofit of a conventional home to a greener home, all else equal. I hypothesized that (1) a retrofit of a conventional home that incorporated green building elements would result in a greater improvement (decrease) in Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) compared to the conventional build and that (2) incorporation of low-VOC materials would result in the greatest improvement (decrease) in DALYS relative to the conventional build and the incorporation of an energy-efficient heat pump. I utilized SimaPro, the industry-leading life cycle analysis (LCA) software, to evaluate health impacts in terms of DALYs associated with the transition from a conventional model to (1) a Low-VOC Model and (2) an Energy-Efficient Model with a heat pump. Sensitivity analyses included (1) a Low-VOC Model with bamboo flooring, (2) a Low-VOC Model with hardwood flooring, and (3) a Combo Model with both low-VOC materials and a heat pump. Modeled as 1970's home in New Jersey, USA, the Conventional Model was modified to incorporate green building elements associated with LEED v4.1 Certified, WELL v2 Certified, and Passive House Institute (i) 10.B guidelines. I collected an inventory of materials, sources and quantities, based on certification criteria within the green building programs, outputs from Athena Impact Estimator, and input from a NJ contractor active in the housing stock.Findings include that the Low-VOC Model and the Energy-Efficient Model reduced DALYs, with the greatest reduction from the Energy-Efficient Model. A sensitivity analysis indicated that the Low-VOC Model with bamboo flooring and the Low-VOC Model with hardwood flooring slightly reduced DALYs. The Combo Model reduced the most DALYs. Findings were scaled to represent 7%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, and 40% of the NJ housing stock to illustrate the impact sustainable building elements could have across a state-wide scale. In addition to the growing arsenal of optimal building support tools, this thesis proposes practical retrofits for homeowners through LCA methodology. This research is timely, as the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act tax credits and rebates, intended to reduce carbon emissions through national building stock updates and have the potential to improve building health, will begin in 2024. Nevertheless, limitations to LCA methodology (e.g., sparse data on post-production emissions, lifetime material toxicity and associated occupant health impacts) prevent a full understanding of building health. Future improvements to LCA methodology and chemical material standardization would facilitate an ample, objective means to evaluate building health impacts of construction/retrofit activities.
533 $a Electronic reproduction. $b Ann Arbor, Mich. : $c ProQuest, $d 2024
538 $a Mode of access: World Wide Web
650 4 $a Sustainability. $3 793436
650 4 $a Public health. $3 560998
653 $a Disability Adjusted Life Years
653 $a Healthy homes
653 $a Heat pump
653 $a Life cycle analysis
653 $a Sustainable building industry
655 7 $a Electronic books. $2 local $3 554714
690 $a 0640
690 $a 0573
690 $a 0474
710 2 $a ProQuest Information and Learning Co. $3 1178819
710 2 $a Harvard University. $b Extension Studies. $3 1372761
773 0 $t Masters Abstracts International $g 85-11.
856 4 0 $u http://pqdd.sinica.edu.tw/twdaoapp/servlet/advanced?query=31148960 $z click for full text (PQDT)