What matters the most in designing low-carbon buildings in Canada? Exploring the tradeoff between embodied and operational carbon in early stage design
| dc.contributor.author | Torabi, Mahsa S. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Simonen, Kate | |
| dc.contributor.author | Evins, Ralph | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-09-09T23:05:25Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-09-09T23:05:25Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Reducing global greenhouse gas emissions is a crucial sustainability objective around the world. The ambitious sustainability targets that have been defined for the building sector can only be achieved through carbonsensitive design from the beginning. Multiple design parameters, their impacts on building performance, along with embodied and operational carbon tradeoffs makes it difficult for architects to compare design alternatives in the uncertain context of early-stage design. Tools and methods often focus more on either operating efficiency or material selection rather than assisting architects in making holistic carbon-sensitive design decisions. In this research, a design-compatible methodology for low-carbon buildings was developed by using design exploration methods and parametric calculations of whole-life carbon emissions. The model was run for seven Canadian cities, resulting in over 20,000 design scenarios to capture a broad range of potential solutions. The study investigates the most influential design parameters in relation to the varying carbon intensity of local grid electricity. The results show that despite the significant impact of climate, local grid carbon emission intensity plays the most crucial role in defining building design priorities in order to optimize for total life carbon impacts. The results also indicate that mechanical and structural systems play a significant role in building carbon footprint. The results also show that in cities with high grid carbon factors, optimizing window-to-wall ratio, level of insulation and geometry can contribute the most to reducing carbon footprint. Conversely, in cities with low local grid carbon emission intensity, structural material and mechanical systems selection are highly impactful and all other factors play a marginal role. | |
| dc.description.reviewstatus | Reviewed | |
| dc.description.scholarlevel | Faculty | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | This research was made possible through the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada through ALLRP566285. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Torabi, M. Simonen, K. Evins, R. (2025) What matters the most in designing lowcarbon buildings in Canada? Exploring the tradeoff between embodied and operational carbon in early stage design. Energy and Buildings (334). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.115482 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.115482 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1828/22743 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Energy & Buildings | |
| dc.rights | Attribution 4.0 International | en |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | |
| dc.subject | Institute for Integrated Energy Systems (IESVic) | |
| dc.subject | Energy in Cities | |
| dc.subject | life cycle assessment | |
| dc.subject | embodied carbon | |
| dc.subject | operational carbon | |
| dc.subject | building carbon footprint | |
| dc.subject | early-stage LCA | |
| dc.subject | design parameters | |
| dc.subject | design space exploration | |
| dc.subject | sensitivity analysis | |
| dc.subject.department | Department of Civil Engineering | |
| dc.title | What matters the most in designing low-carbon buildings in Canada? Exploring the tradeoff between embodied and operational carbon in early stage design | |
| dc.type | Article |