NEWS SCOPE LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS
The Excel format model calculates life cycle factors for concrete, steel or wood structural materials. Berkeley Lab developed B-PATH under Portland Cement Association sponsorship.
amount of these building materials mini- mizes the energy required to manufacture them and helps to keep building costs down. In the final phase of a building's life cycle,
demolition and materials removal, the B- PATH model can help determine how im- proved reuse and recycling can reduce the
energy costs of the structural materials in new buildings. Using the correct structural materials to maximize reuse and recycling helps minimize energy use, because using recycled building materials requires less en- ergy than manufacturing new materials. The report "Life Cycle Evaluation of Con-
crete Building Construction as a Strategy for Sustainable Cities" by Alexander Stadel, Petek Gursel, and Eric Masanet can be downloaded from the B-PATH website: en- ergy.lbl.gov/staff/masanet/bpath.html. A copy of the report is also available through PCA at www.cement.org/DC/SN3119.pdf.
Berkeley Lab has programmed the model to provide uniform calculations for steel, con- crete and wood. B-PATH generates embodied energy for each material, as shown with the sample wood calculation at left.
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