Life cycle assessment of an elevator

Samu Salmelin, Saija Vatanen, Hannele Tonteri

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference article in proceedingsScientific

    Abstract

    An LCA study was performed to evaluate the environmental impacts of an elevator and to provide information for LCA studies of entire multi-storey buildings. The elevator studied is an energy-efficient, machine-room-less elevator for residential buildings. The study includes all stages from raw material acquisition to final disposal. The function of an elevator is to give people access to multi-storey buildings. The functional unit for the study was distance of 1km travelled by elevator. The LCA results for the whole service lifetime were also calculated (25 years, 150 000 starts per year, average travelling distance 9m). The LCA study also includes sensitivity analyses and the calculation of material distribution. For the inventory analysis an inventory inquiry form was provided for collecting data from companies. The calculation of LCA was done using KCL-Eco 3.0 software. Impact assessments were performed using the Eco-Indicator 95 and Swedish EPD methods. The life cycle interpretation shows that most of the environmental impacts of an elevator occur during its period of use. The environmental impacts of the period of use are from the electricity production. The amount of carbon dioxide emission during the lifetime of an elevator is almost 35 tons. Roughly 80% of CO2 emissions are generated during the use stage, as are about 71% of nitrogen oxide emissions and around 82% of sulphur oxide emissions. By comparison, during material production CO2 emissions are 15% and during component manufacturing 3% of the total.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationInternational Conference Sustainable Building 2002
    Subtitle of host publicationSummary Book and Proceedings (CD)
    PublisherInternational Council for Building Research Studies and Documentation CIB
    Number of pages6
    Publication statusPublished - 2002
    MoE publication typeNot Eligible
    EventSustainable Building Conference 2002 - Oslo, Norway
    Duration: 23 Sept 200225 Sept 2002

    Conference

    ConferenceSustainable Building Conference 2002
    Abbreviated titleSB02
    Country/TerritoryNorway
    CityOslo
    Period23/09/0225/09/02

    Keywords

    • Life Cycle Assessment
    • elevator
    • environmental impact
    • emissions
    • ISO 14040 standards

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