Chapter
Nov 14, 2023

Evaluating the GHG Emissions of Manufactured Housing through a Comprehensive Life-Cycle Assessment

Publication: ASCE Inspire 2023

ABSTRACT

With the country facing a shortage of affordable homes, manufactured housing is an option offering significant cost savings over traditional homes. In addition, manufactured housing has the potential to lower the environmental impacts, in particular, the embodied carbon of residential buildings. Consequently, investigating the environmental performance of manufactured housing is significant and important. This study aims to evaluate the environmental impacts of a manufactured house as a case study and recommend strategies and methods to reduce the environmental impacts. This study utilizes the life-cycle assessment (LCA) method with a cradle-to-site scope of analysis to evaluate the environmental impacts of a manufactured house. The LCA model includes material production processes (A1/A2/A3) and construction process (A4/A5) according to EN 15978 and ISO 14040 LCA frameworks. The results find that the initial emissions related to the building materials have a significant impact on total emissions, and using low-carbon and materials with a low transportation burden to reduce the carbon emissions of manufactured housing is recommended.

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Go to ASCE Inspire 2023
ASCE Inspire 2023
Pages: 867 - 876

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Published online: Nov 14, 2023

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Maryam Kouhirostami, S.M.ASCE [email protected]
1Assistant Professor, Dept. of Construction Management, College of Architecture and Environmental Design, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA. Email: [email protected]
Abdol R. Chini, Ph.D., M.ASCE [email protected]
2Professor, M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Email: [email protected]
Robert J. Ries, Ph.D., M.ASCE [email protected]
3Professor, Director of the Powell Center, M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Email: [email protected]

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