How much Energy is Embodied in your Central Heating Boiler?

[摘要] Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is an important tool in current research to quantitatively assess energy consumption and environmental impact of a building. In the context of LCA, the Embodied Energy (EE) related to the building and the corresponding Embodied CO2emissions are valuable data. In such a case, these data concern the constitutive materials of the building and any subsystem, component or equipment in it. Usually, after calculating the mass of these materials, embodied energy values are estimated multiplying them by the corresponding EE coefficients concerning the production of these materials (EEMP). However, apart from transportation energy costs, another part of EE is that consumed for the manufacturing of any item as a finished product. The present work focuses on the manufacturing EE (EEMFG) of central heating boilers in Hellenic dwellings. Six typical boilers of different types are studied. Each of them is analyzed to its constitutive materials and its EEMP is estimated. For four of them, the boiler house where it was constructed in Greece was visited and data were collected. Based on them the corresponding boiler EEMFGvalues are estimated. The results concerning the EE for material production and manufacturing, as well as the results concerning the corresponding ECO2values are discussed and assessed. Benchmark values correlating EE and ECO2with the mass or the heat rate of the boiler are extracted.

[发布机构] Department of Energy Technology Engineering, Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Agiou Spyridonos Street, Egaleo, Athens; 122 10, Greece^1

[效力级别] 能源学

[关键词] Boiler house;Central heating;CO2 emissions;Constitutive materials;Data concerns;Embodied energy;Finished products;Life cycle analysis