Embodied energy of building materials: a new parameter for sustainable architectural design

As the building sector has a strong impact in terms of energy consumption, the European and national regulations have recently promoted energy saving during the working-life of buildings, by means of more efficient thermal insulation and technologies for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC), as well as increasing use of renewable energy sources. However, this approach is presently insufficient, as the environmental impact of buildings must be reduced not only in the very building site, but also far from it, i. e. in a worldwide perspective. For this reason, the global environmental impact of building materials should be therefore considered in their whole life-cycle, or at least, in this transient phase, their embodied energy (EE), defined as the energy needed for materials production and transport. In this paper, the EE data are evaluated for their actual applicability in the architectural design process. Therefore, the technical information available on the Italian market of building materials are analysed, suggesting some ways for promoting the use of the EE parameter in actual design.