Abstract
Blinds and shutters create privacy in residential and commercial buildings; they can also be used to keep rooms cool when sunny and to minimise heat loss at night or in winter, which reduces use of air conditioning and heating, associated energy inputs, carbon and other outputs and costs. In addition to controlling temperature, they also reduce glare and control light levels, all of which contribute to general health and well-being. In many instances however these products are not used correctly and consequently their potential is not fully realised. Consequently a streamlined LCA was undertaken to measure overall environmental impact and to promote the value of blinds as passive and sustainable energy saving products in a typical house in the UK. The LCA also shows that recycling has a lower impact than other end-of-life scenarios although at present the majority of blinds and shutters are either landfilled, down-cycled with construction waste, or incinerated with energy recovery. The materials used in conjunction with component design, assembly, and disassembly processes indicate that it is technically feasible to develop a Circular Economy for this industrial sector to conserve resources and energy although there are a number of barriers to its development; therefore this paper concludes by discussing these barriers and drivers for change in order to help businesses to develop a Circular Economy and to bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Publication status | Published - 8 Nov 2016 |
Event | 5th International conference on Life Cycle Assessment: Life Cycle Thinking for leading managers - Duration: 11 Aug 2016 → … |
Conference
Conference | 5th International conference on Life Cycle Assessment: Life Cycle Thinking for leading managers |
---|---|
Period | 11/08/16 → … |