The energy efficiency and carbon footprint of temporary homes: a case study from Japan

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the energy efficiency and life cycle carbon footprint of temporary homes in Japan after the Great Eastern Tohoku Earthquake in 2011. Design/methodology/approach An energy simulation and life cycle assessment have been done for three alternative she...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of disaster resilience in the built environment 2017-09, Vol.8 (4), p.326-343
Main Authors: Kuittinen, Matti, Takano, Atsushi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Architectural engineering
Architecture
Building construction
Carbon
Carbon cycle
Carbon footprint
Climate change
Computer simulation
Containers
Disasters
Displaced persons
Earthquake construction
Earthquakes
Emissions
Energy consumption
Energy demand
Energy efficiency
Environmental assessment
Environmental impact
Fossil fuels
Green buildings
Greenhouse effect
Greenhouse gases
Human settlements
Industrial plant emissions
Life cycle analysis
Life cycle assessment
Life cycle engineering
Life cycles
Natural gas
Nuclear power plants
Paris Agreement
Power efficiency
Prefabrication
Refugees
Residential energy
Seismic activity
Seismic engineering
Shelters
Temporary housing
Tsunamis
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the energy efficiency and life cycle carbon footprint of temporary homes in Japan after the Great Eastern Tohoku Earthquake in 2011. Design/methodology/approach An energy simulation and life cycle assessment have been done for three alternative shelter models: prefabricated shelters, wooden log shelters and sea container shelters. Findings Shelter materials have a very high share of life cycle emissions because the use period of temporary homes is short. Wooden shelters perform best in the comparison. The clustering of shelters into longer buildings or on top of each other increases their energy efficiency considerably. Sea containers piled on top of each other have superb energy performance compared to other models, and they consume even less energy per household than the national average. However, there are several gaps of knowledge in the environmental assessment of temporary homes and field data from refugee camps should be collected as part of camp management. Originality/value The findings exemplify the impacts of the proper design of temporary homes for mitigating their energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions.
ISSN:1759-5908
1759-5916
DOI:10.1108/IJDRBE-08-2015-0039