Shrivastava, S (2012) Development of an energy information system for the construction phase of buildings: A contractor’s perspective. PhD thesis, University of Florida, USA.
Abstract
The life cycle of a building can be divided into various phases. Each phase demands energy, materials, and other resources to produce the required input for the next phase. Therefore, each phase must be studied in order to provide an energy efficient building. Although conclusions about energy and the environmental performance of a building should be based on the results of a whole life cycle analysis, opportunities are always present to explore each phase separately, in order to recommend energy saving measures, collect detailed information, and strengthen the database.This research examined energy consumption during the construction phase of buildings from a contractor’s perspective. The study focused on energy consumption due to transporting labor and material, equipment use, and management setup during the construction phase. The research proposed the Contractor’s Energy Information System (CEIS) framework to assist a contractor in estimating and recording energy consumption. A Bill of Quantities (BOQ) sheet was used to provide the required inputs to the framework. Energy information was generated in order to identify energy intensive activities. An EXCEL-VBA based CEIS tool was developed to demonstrate the implementation of the framework using a three-story office building. The reports were generated for the office building, and recommendations were made to reduce energy consumption. In addition, it was found that collecting energy consumption data during construction and updating the database would significantly increase the accuracy of energy estimation, and provide insight into the project’s energy use. The case study demonstrated that while average data can estimate overall energy consumption, project-specific data could better serve to quantify and map the energy consumption of a project. A data collection mechanism and an implementation mechanism to apply the framework on a project were suggested. The need for including energy saving measures as a pre-qualification in selecting contractors was noted, and understanding the importance of collaboration among various parties to promote energy efficient construction was emphasized.Future recommendations were made to extend the framework to a decision support system, in order to find the least expensive combination of various measures to save energy on a project.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Chini, A R |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | accuracy; decision support; energy consumption; equipment; collaboration; construction phase; estimating; information system; life cycle; pre-qualification; energy use; environmental performance; life cycle analysis; case study |
| Index terms: | pre-qualification, energy-saving, energy consumption, implementation, estimate, bills of quantities, energy use, construction phase, energy-efficient building, environmental performance, case study, whole life cycle, life cycle, database, office building, estimation, collaboration, information system, estimating, decision support, life cycle analysis, accuracy |
| Subjects: | sustainable design, sustainability assessment, tendering, contractual arrangements, environmental impact, construction type, information systems, data management, decision analysis, professional development, management, energy systems, project delivery, financial and cost management, value management, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Information Management, Research Practice, Cost Management, Construction Technology, Digital Applications, Organizational Design, Project Management, Sustainability, Procurement, Risk Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here