In order to reach the goal of a zero emission building (ZEB), CO2 emission data has to be made available and verified for traditional building materials, new ‘state-of-the-art’ building materials and the active elements used to produce renewable energy. However, an initial literature review found that although there are databases of embodied carbon values for most building materials, the range in results for some materials are varied and inconsistent.

This paper follows on from previous work on the development of a transparent and robust method to calculate CO2eq emissions of the materials used in the concept analysis of the ZEB residential model, single family house. The aim of the concept analysis was to investigate if it was possible to achieve an "all-electric" ZEB-building by balancing operational and embodied emissions by PV-production on the building. The analysis has not considered minimising the embodied emissions but is rather a documentation of the embodied carbon dioxide emissions using traditional materials in the envelope and in the ventilation and heating systems, as well as, those associated with the renewable energy system, such as the photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors. Material inventories have been imported from the Revit BIM model, via MS Excel. The material inputs are structured according to the Norwegian table of building
elements, NS 3451-2009 and emission factors (kgCO2eq per functional unit) for the calculations are sourced from SIMAPRO/ Ecoinvent version 2.2.

The goal of these calculations is to estimate, and thus provide an overview of the materials and components in the ZEB residential model, which contribute the most to the embodied carbon dioxide emissions. The calculations are based on the principles of environmental assessment through life cycle analysis. It should be noted that in this first round of calculations, not all life cycle phases are included. In the next stage of the calculations, the model will be optimised and the impact on emissions recalculated accordingly