Abbey, D., Arbabi, H. orcid.org/0000-0001-8518-9022 and Densley Tingley, D. (2025) Parametric contribution of building form to whole life carbon decision making. Royal Society Open Science, 12 (7). 241953. ISSN 2054-5703
Abstract
Existing buildings generate 30% of global emissions because of the energy required to heat, cool and power them. Mass improvements in building fabric efficiency and heating/cooling systems are therefore imperative. Fast-running modelling approaches are thus necessary to identify appropriate interventions for the global building stock. This paper presents a new parametric formulation to determine the best whole-life carbon intervention as a function of building form. We demonstrate that buildings of inefficient form have greater potential for energy savings, providing a useful prioritization tool for future planning decisions. We present results as a novel graphical tool, which can be used to identify the lowest carbon scenario for any building form across a combination of building storeys and glazing ratios. This is applied to a cool-temperate climate, comparing a retrofit scenario, to the option of replacement with new construction. Finally, we apply the formulation to a subset of the UK educational building stock, assessing 15 193 forms. For this scenario, we conclude that retrofit always results in lower whole-life carbon compared to replacement with attainable new construction standards. This work provides practical assistance with early stage decision-making and theoretical understanding of how form influences energy consumption and whole- life carbon emissions.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited. |
Keywords: | Building form; whole life carbon; retrofit; sustainable buildings |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council 2620314 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 09 Jun 2025 13:58 |
Last Modified: | 21 Jul 2025 08:45 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | The Royal Society |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1098/rsos.241953 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:227636 |