Three Pathways towards a Sustainable Transition of Flemish Dwellings: What Are the Shifts in the Environmental Trade-Off?

Doctoral dissertation Yanaika Decorte

The existing building stock is a major contributor to global energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. To improve the energy performance of existing single-family dwellings, three pathways are possible: deep energy renovation, reconstruction, and step-by-step renovation. Each pathway has specific implications for material use, waste generation, and operational energy use, resulting in a distinct environmental impact. To evaluate the overall environmental impact, life cycle assessment (LCA) is commonly used. However, a systematic comparison of the three pathways from an environmental perspective is currently lacking. Moreover, there are little to no guidelines on how to compare their environmental impact in a fair and consistent way.

Therefore, this study develops a robust LCA framework that facilitates a fair comparison of the three pathways. The framework is then applied to a large dataset of single-family dwellings, considering a wide range of solutions for the building envelope and technical installations. The research identifies key parameters that could cause shifts in the trade-off between the three pathways. The study provides both methodological and practical recommendations to guide environmentally informed decisions in improving the energy performance of Flemish dwellings.

Project Info

Research group: Building Physics 
Duration: from 01-11-2020 to 28-11-2025
Researcher(s): Yanaika Decorte
Academic supervisors: Marijke Steeman and Nathan Van Den Bossche
Bibliography: PhD Thesis