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Thesis Defence: Evaluating the Energy and Environmental Performance of a Single-Family House Using Building Information Modelling and Life Cycle Assessment
January 2 at 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Mahsa Hojjatian, supervised by Dr. Sumi Siddiqua and Dr. Babak Tosarkani, will defend their thesis titled “Evaluating the Energy and Environmental Performance of a Single-Family House Using Building Information Modelling and Life Cycle Assessment” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Science in Civil Engineering.
An abstract for Mahsa Hojjatian’s thesis is included below.
Defences are open to all members of the campus community as well as the general public. Please email sumi.siddiqua@ubc.ca to receive the Zoom link for this defence.
Abstract
In Kelowna, British Columbia, rapid urban growth and regional wildfire risk increase the need for single-family housing that is low-carbon and wildfire-resilient. To address this need, a detailed single-family house was modelled in Autodesk Revit and configured into sixteen models by systematically combining roof, exterior wall, interior wall, and window assemblies selected from two categories: energy-efficient and fire-resistant. Operational energy was assessed as Energy Use Intensity (EUI) using Autodesk Insight 360, while the 60-year embodied Global Warming Potential (GWP) was quantified using the Tally plugin for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Across all sixteen models, EUI ranged from 194 to 288 kWh/m²/yr, and 60-year embodied GWP varied between 52,993.79 and 87,988.18 kg CO₂eq. The results indicated that EUI was primarily influenced by assembly R-value rather than by category labels. Although Thermal and Moisture Protection layers improved thermal performance and reduced EUI, they were the main contributors to GWP. Roof assemblies contributed 50.76% to 73.91% of total GWP, the largest share across all models. Changes to the roof affected total GWP more than changes to any other building assembly. The production stage accounted for the largest share of total GWP and created the largest difference between the highest and lowest GWP values. The findings of this study suggest that early decisions on material selection for a single-family house in Kelowna, with special attention to roof assemblies and materials for Thermal and Moisture Protection, can help reduce EUI and embodied GWP. In addition, selecting materials with lower GWP at the production stage can significantly decrease total embodied GWP.
