A Framework for the Assessment of Energy Use of High-Rise Building Construction Processes

The energy use for materials and on-site construction assumes significance after we reach a threshold regarding building operational energy efficiency. Integration of energy use and emissions into construction planning and monitoring tools will enable planners to evaluate alternate construction schedules based on time, cost, productivity, and environment. Such integration requires a systematic understanding of technological and operational parameters that influence the construction processes. This study presents a conceptual framework to assess the energy use and emissions of on-site construction processes of high-rise buildings. Five major work items namely earthmoving, concreting, formwork, rebar bending and cutting, and masonry work are considered. Based on this, a generic framework is presented for integrating sustainability metrics into construction project planning.