Adaptive reuse and circularity potential of ventilation components: A Swedish case
(2024) AEBM01 20241Department of Building and Environmental Technology
Division of Energy and Building Design
- Abstract
- To meet 2030 climate goals, industries and governments are adopting circular economy principles to mitigate the building industry's environmental impact through reusing, recovering, and recycling. This report incorporates circularity by examining the adaptive reuse of HVAC components in a case study in Malmö, Sweden. Firstly, the report determined which elements of an HVAC system had the highest potential for reusability through a literature review and interviews with professionals, concluding that air ducts were the most ideal. Secondly, the financial and environmental benefits of reuse were quantified through the Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costs analysis. The scenarios considered the building's history and future potential to... (More)
- To meet 2030 climate goals, industries and governments are adopting circular economy principles to mitigate the building industry's environmental impact through reusing, recovering, and recycling. This report incorporates circularity by examining the adaptive reuse of HVAC components in a case study in Malmö, Sweden. Firstly, the report determined which elements of an HVAC system had the highest potential for reusability through a literature review and interviews with professionals, concluding that air ducts were the most ideal. Secondly, the financial and environmental benefits of reuse were quantified through the Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costs analysis. The scenarios considered the building's history and future potential to determine what the building owners could have done with the current office’s ventilation design and what the building owners could do in the future if the office were to be transformed into a residential space. In these scenarios, the air ducts available for the office design and air ducts available for future redesign were examined. The results indicated that reusing air ducts can have financial and economic benefits. Still, it is influenced by several factors, such as how many air ducts are available for reuse, if the ducts need to be relocated or if they can remain in their position, if the air ducts need to be stored during the renovation period, and many others. The surveys and interviews demonstrated that government regulators would play a key role in incentivising and guiding building owners and manufacturers in the practice of reuse. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Sepideh Rabie & Madeline Sjöholm, “Adaptive reuse and circularity potential of ventilation components:
A Swedish case study”
EEBD Master’s Thesis, Lund University Spring 2024
Popular Science Summary
Adaptive reuse is defined as reusing a building for a function different than its original purpose. This
research investigated whether the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) components of a
building can also be included in the adaptive reuse process. Research on the environmental impact of
HVAC components is limited and is often not included in Life Cycle Assessments. However, one study
found that the HVAC system of an office building can be 35% of the total embodied carbon emissions,
while another report found that the... (More) - Sepideh Rabie & Madeline Sjöholm, “Adaptive reuse and circularity potential of ventilation components:
A Swedish case study”
EEBD Master’s Thesis, Lund University Spring 2024
Popular Science Summary
Adaptive reuse is defined as reusing a building for a function different than its original purpose. This
research investigated whether the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) components of a
building can also be included in the adaptive reuse process. Research on the environmental impact of
HVAC components is limited and is often not included in Life Cycle Assessments. However, one study
found that the HVAC system of an office building can be 35% of the total embodied carbon emissions,
while another report found that the HVAC system can be up to a third of the total building services costs.
Embodied carbon is the CO 2 emissions from raw material extraction, production, manufacturing, and
transportation. To meet the 2030 climate goals established by the Paris Agreement, scientists and
sustainable building advisory groups call on the building industry to reduce embodied carbon emissions
by 40 %.
The investigation was conducted in two parts. Firstly, the report determined which elements of an HVAC
system had the highest potential for reusability through a literature review and interviews with
professionals, concluding that air ducts were the most ideal. The surveys and interviews identified gaps
and potential barriers in current adaptive practices and provided possible solutions for future studies. The
participants agreed that government regulators would play a key role in incentivising and guiding building
owners and manufacturers in the practice of reuse.
Secondly, the financial and environmental benefits of reuse were quantified through Life Cycle
Assessment and Life Cycle Costs analysis. The scenarios considered the building's history and future to
determine what the building owners could have done with the current office’s ventilation design and what
the building owners could do in the future if the office were to be transformed into a residential space. In
these scenarios, the air ducts available for the office design and air ducts available for future redesign
were examined. The results indicated that reusing air ducts can have financial and economic benefits,
with savings of up to 50 % in construction costs and a 98 % reduction in global warming potential. Still, it
is influenced by several factors, such as how many air ducts are available for reuse, if the ducts need to be
relocated or if they can remain in their position, if the air ducts need to be stored during the renovation
period, and many others.
Lastly, the reference points were provided to calculate the potential savings in future adaptive reuse
projects based on different duct diameters and mass. Depending on the results, both financially and
environmentally, industry practitioners can make the right decision for each project.
The results from this research showed that adaptive reuse of HVAC components can have financial and
environmental savings and it has provided a foundation for future research. For example, a real-life
application of adaptive reuse of HVAC components is necessary to demonstrate proof of success. This
would assist in identifying the technical performance of reused components as well as help to drive the
market demand. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9158211
- author
- Rabie, Sepideh LU and Sjöholm, Madeline LU
- supervisor
-
- Ilia Iarkov LU
- Karin Farsäter LU
- organization
- course
- AEBM01 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- HVAC-Adaptive reuse-Circular Economy- Whole Life cycle Assessment (LCA)- Life Cycle Cost(LCC)
- language
- English
- id
- 9158211
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-05 06:55:58
- date last changed
- 2024-06-05 06:55:58
@misc{9158211,
abstract = {{To meet 2030 climate goals, industries and governments are adopting circular economy principles to mitigate the building industry's environmental impact through reusing, recovering, and recycling. This report incorporates circularity by examining the adaptive reuse of HVAC components in a case study in Malmö, Sweden. Firstly, the report determined which elements of an HVAC system had the highest potential for reusability through a literature review and interviews with professionals, concluding that air ducts were the most ideal. Secondly, the financial and environmental benefits of reuse were quantified through the Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costs analysis. The scenarios considered the building's history and future potential to determine what the building owners could have done with the current office’s ventilation design and what the building owners could do in the future if the office were to be transformed into a residential space. In these scenarios, the air ducts available for the office design and air ducts available for future redesign were examined. The results indicated that reusing air ducts can have financial and economic benefits. Still, it is influenced by several factors, such as how many air ducts are available for reuse, if the ducts need to be relocated or if they can remain in their position, if the air ducts need to be stored during the renovation period, and many others. The surveys and interviews demonstrated that government regulators would play a key role in incentivising and guiding building owners and manufacturers in the practice of reuse.}},
author = {{Rabie, Sepideh and Sjöholm, Madeline}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Adaptive reuse and circularity potential of ventilation components: A Swedish case}},
year = {{2024}},
}