With buildings, electricity consumption in construction, product manufacture and in the use phase is an important contributor to their environmental impacts. The forum will address electricity mix modelling issues in LCAs of buildings.

Several different models to represent the electricity consumed during the use phase of buildings are app¬lied in European countries: (1) the current national electricity consumer mix according to national statistics; (2) the electricity mix of the supplier, based on guarantees of origin (GO), (3) a (quasi dynamic) future electricity mix based on a national official energy scenario, (4) an individual electricity mix which covers the use profile of the building under assessment.

Companies in the supply chain of construction products purchase «green» electricity products to lower the environmental footprint of their products. These green electricity products are often based on GO or similar certification schemes. Physical production of electricity and electricity quality (GO) are then traded independently on different markets. This unique feature is a challenge for process based LCA.

The forum will discuss the following questions:

• What is the current state of electricity mix modelling for construction products and buildings’ use phases?

• How do different modelling approaches influence the transition of the electricity sector of a country to renewables?

• Which modelling approach is offered by leading LCA databases?

Breakout groups will allow for in depth discussions and identifying areas of consensus.

Programme: DF85-Programme.pdf

Videorecordings are available for free via this link: https://video.ethz.ch/events/lca/2023/autumn/85rd.html

A nice overview and summary of the event can be found in: Buildings & Cities.