The evolution of embodied energy in andean residential buildings. Methodology applied to Cuenca-Ecuador

Globally, the building industry has grown in the last decades. Furthermore, the new technological advances in construction materials with high embodied energy have been widely introduced in Latin American countries’ architecture. Over the last decades, the Ecuadorian Andean region has experienced these changes. To analyze the environmental impact of these construction transformations, this research quantifies the Specific Total Embodied Energy (STEE) of 40 houses built between 1980 and 2020. Additionally, this research addresses the Specific Total Weight (STW) of the study cases. The calculations of these two parameters consider three components: Structure, Envelope, and Finishes; however, these calculations disregard technical installations. This methodology was applied in Cuenca-Ecuador, where the results show that the STEE of the entire building has experienced an increase of 2.19 times in the last four decades. The component with the highest STEE and STW is the Structure, whereas the least representative is the Finishes, but it has the highest increase tendency. Despite the STEE Envelope component having had significant growth over the last decades, its STW has shown a decreasing tendency that can have thermal repercussions in interior conditions. Finally, these results can be used as architectural and construction guidelines in this region to reduce the energy impact of buildings from the design phase.
Postprint (published version)