Life cycle assessment of ten insulation materials in different types of building walls

By 2020 the building regulations in Europe will be tightened to evolve to nearly-zero-energy buildings. Currently, the focus is mainly on the energy consumption of buildings. However, to further reduce the environmental impacts of a building we should additionally obtain a better knowledge of the environmental impacts of building materials. In 2012 the Belgian Federal Public Service of Health and Environment granted the LCA:TIM study to uniformly assess the environmental impact of 10 different thermal insulation materials. This paper focusses on the results of the second task of the LCA:TIM project in which cradle-to-grave LCAs are performed based on company specific data for ten specific insulation materials used in five building wall types: rock wool, glass wool, EPS, XPS, PUR, sheep wool, hemp, wood fiber, flax and cellulose. The functional unit for the LCAs has been defined as 1 m² of a building wall with a U-value maximum of 0,24 W/(m2.K) and as close as possible to this value (given standard products available on the market) and with a life time of 60 years. The LCA studies are critically reviewed by a team of independent reviewers. An important consideration is that the impact of the insulation material depends on the considered impact category. In some impact categories the impact of some insulation materials can be significant. Most of the impacts for the considered thermal insulation level (U-value = 0,24 W/m2.K), as well on insulation product level as on wall element level, can be attributed to the product stage. Depending on the impact category considered, the energy consumption during a 60 year lifespan can have an important contribution. This is especially the case in the impact categories climate change, ozone depletion and abiotic depletion fossil.status: accepte