A Whole-Life Carbon Assessment of a Single-Family House in North India Using BIM-LCA Integration
Deepak Kumar, Kranti Kumar Maurya, Shailendra K. Mandal, Nandini Halder, Basit A. Mir, Anissa Nurdiawati, Sami G. Al‐Ghamdi
Abstract
As the population increases, the growing demand for residential housing escalates construction activities, significantly impacting global warming by contributing 42% of primary energy use and 39% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study addresses a gap in research on lifecycle assessment (LCA) for Indian residential buildings by evaluating the full cradle-to-grave carbon footprint of a typical single-family house in Northern India. A BIM-based LCA framework was applied to a 110 m2 single-family dwelling over a 60-year life span. Operational use performance and climate analysis was evaluated via cove tool. The total carbon footprint over a 60-year lifespan was approximately 5884 kg CO2e, with operational energy use accounting for about 87% and embodied carbon approximately 11%. Additional impacts came from maintenance and replacements. Energy usage was calculated as 71.76 kWh/m2/year and water usage as 232.2 m3/year. Energy consumption was the biggest driver of emissions, but substantial impacts also stemmed from material production. Cement-based components and steel were the largest embodied carbon contributors. Under the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, the operational emissions reach approximately 668,000 kg CO2e with HVAC and 482,000 kg CO2e without HVAC. The findings highlight the necessity of integrating embodied carbon considerations alongside operational energy efficiency in India’s building codes, emphasizing reductions in energy consumption and the adoption of low-carbon materials to mitigate the environmental impact of residential buildings. Future work should focus on the dynamic modeling of electricity decarbonization, improved regional datasets, and scenario-based LCA to better support India’s transition to net-zero emissions by 2070.