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Measuring buildings for sustainability: Comparing the initial and retrofit ecological footprint of a century home – The REEP House

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  • Bin, Guoshu
  • Parker, Paul

Abstract

The residential sector is recognized as a major energy consumer and thus a significant contributor to climate change. Rather than focus only on current energy consumption and the associated emissions, there is a need to broaden sustainability research to include full life cycle contributions and impacts. This paper looks at houses from the perspective of the ecological footprint (EF), a well-known sustainability indicator. Exemplifying single-detached houses of the early 20th century, the century-old REEP House (downtown Kitchener, Canada), together with its high performance energy retrofits, is examined in detail.

Suggested Citation

  • Bin, Guoshu & Parker, Paul, 2012. "Measuring buildings for sustainability: Comparing the initial and retrofit ecological footprint of a century home – The REEP House," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 24-32.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:93:y:2012:i:c:p:24-32
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.05.055
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Venkatraj, V. & Dixit, M.K., 2021. "Life cycle embodied energy analysis of higher education buildings: A comparison between different LCI methodologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    4. Roberta Moschetti & Helge Brattebø, 2017. "Combining Life Cycle Environmental and Economic Assessments in Building Energy Renovation Projects," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-17, November.
    5. Fan, Yupeng & Qiao, Qi & Xian, Chaofan & Xiao, Yang & Fang, Lin, 2017. "A modified ecological footprint method to evaluate environmental impacts of industrial parks," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 293-299.
    6. Beccali, Marco & Cellura, Maurizio & Fontana, Mario & Longo, Sonia & Mistretta, Marina, 2013. "Energy retrofit of a single-family house: Life cycle net energy saving and environmental benefits," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 283-293.
    7. Gireesh Nair & Leo Verde & Thomas Olofsson, 2022. "A Review on Technical Challenges and Possibilities on Energy Efficient Retrofit Measures in Heritage Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-20, October.
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    9. Wang, Xiaotong & Lu, Meijun & Mao, Wei & Ouyang, Jinlong & Zhou, Bo & Yang, Yunkai, 2015. "Improving benefit-cost analysis to overcome financing difficulties in promoting energy-efficient renovation of existing residential buildings in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 119-130.
    10. Cho, Hyun Mi & Yun, Beom Yeol & Yang, Sungwoong & Wi, Seunghwan & Chang, Seong Jin & Kim, Sumin, 2020. "Optimal energy retrofit plan for conservation and sustainable use of historic campus building: Case of cultural property building," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    11. María Rocío Ruiz-Pérez & Mª Desirée Alba-Rodríguez & Raúl Castaño-Rosa & Jaime Solís-Guzmán & Madelyn Marrero, 2019. "HEREVEA Tool for Economic and Environmental Impact Evaluation for Sustainable Planning Policy in Housing Renovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-20, May.
    12. Jagarajan, Rehmaashini & Abdullah Mohd Asmoni, Mat Naim & Mohammed, Abdul Hakim & Jaafar, Mohd Nadzri & Lee Yim Mei, Janice & Baba, Maizan, 2017. "Green retrofitting – A review of current status, implementations and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 1360-1368.
    13. Georgios Tsoumanis & João Formiga & Nuno Bilo & Panagiotis Tsarchopoulos & Dimosthenis Ioannidis & Dimitrios Tzovaras, 2021. "The Smart Evolution of Historical Cities: Integrated Innovative Solutions Supporting the Energy Transition while Respecting Cultural Heritage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-29, August.
    14. Arumägi, Endrik & Kalamees, Targo, 2014. "Analysis of energy economic renovation for historic wooden apartment buildings in cold climates," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 540-548.

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