Life cycle analysis and life cycle assessment

Low energy consumptions led to permanently low energy costs of a building. However, construction costs and operating costs for cleaning, maintenance work and repair work also influence the economic efficiency of a project.

An important tool for evaluation, here, is a life cycle costs analysis. Within the scope of a DGNB certification, select production costs of the cost groups 300 and 400 as well as select costs of utilisation according to DIN 18960 and VDI 2067 form the computational basis. Moreover, scenarios can be shown with dynamic developments for energy prices or interest.

In addition, a life cycle assessment offers the possibility to evaluate the ecological quality of a project. For instance, statements about measures for the reduction of the greenhouse effect and for the protection of the ozone layer and other parameters can be made for individual components or an entire building. Here, the computation is based on the materials database ökobau.dat of the BMVBS and the rules of the DIN EN ISO 14040 and 14044.