Stephen moved to Singapore from his native Scotland 6 months ago to work at the SUTD-MIT International Design Centre. His research at the IDC is based upon investigating uncertainty quantification in life cycle assessment (LCA) and design for environment. He has a background in ecology and environmental science, previously working at the University of Edinburgh conducting LCA and uncertainty analysis in biological and agricultural systems.
Presentation Title
Quantification of Uncertainty in Use-Phase Parameters: Life Cycle Assessment of Building Cooling Systems
Abstract
The life cycle environmental profile of energy-consuming products is dominated by the use phase. Different user behaviour patterns can yield large differences in the results of a cradle-to-grave assessment. Although this inherent variation and uncertainty is increasingly recognized, it remains often poorly characterised in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies. Today, pervasive sensing presents opportunities to collect high resolution datasets, facilitating quantification and reduction of the uncertainty in LCA. We examine the case of building cooling systems in Singapore. Use-phase parameters for occupant behaviour and energy demand are propagated in the life cycle and simulated by way of Monte Carlo analysis.