Abstract

Traditionally, the annual energy used for the operation of buildings is estimated and optimized during the design process using one of the many available energy analysis tools. Today, building designers must consider as well minimizing the fossil fuel energy use and emissions of greenhouse gases throughout the buildings life cycle. Data, methods, and tools necessary for this task are available in the literature but are not easily accessible to designers. Hence, a prototype tool, Energy and Emission Estimator (EEE), was developed within the framework of this research project in order to meet the needs of designers and provide them with a tool that estimates the life cycle energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and cost of Canadian houses. EEE is coupled with an existing energy analysis tool HOT2000, through the collaboration of Natural Resources Canada. The tool uses for its calculations, data and methods selected from the literature for their relevance and applicability to the Canadian context. EEE has a user-friendly interface and is easy-to-use. It is also time and effort effective since it requires little inputs from its users. The tool imports the description of the house envelope and its annual energy consumption and cost directly from the HOT2000 program. Detailed results are generated from the tool and are presented in an Excel file in order to allow flexibility of interpretation to its users. The EEE tool was applied to study some sustainability indices of a one-storey single-detached house located in Montreal. The life cycle energy use, emissions, and cost of the house were evaluated and the impacts of different design parameters were compared including different levels of insulation of the exterior envelope, different locations, and use of different energy sources for space heating and domestic hot water supply