03051 Embodied Energy

If it can't be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned or removed from production. — Pete Seeger

Wikipedia says —

Embodied energy is defined as the sum of energy inputs (fuels/power, materials, human resources etc.) that was used in the work to make any product, from the point of extraction and refining materials, bringing it to market, and disposal / re-purposing of it. Embodied energy is an accounting methodology which aims to find the sum total of the energy necessary for an entire product life cycle. This life cycle includes raw material extraction, transport, manufacture, assembly, installation, disassembly, deconstruction and/or decomposition.

This method of energy accounting allocates all energy costs to the end user. This isn’t an easy process. For example — how do we allocate the energy embodied in infrastructure such as highways, energy utility grids, and commercial and industrial buildings to end users?

Fortunately for me the author and you the reader . . . we are not here to develop embodied energy accounting. My purpose is to help people do practical design work that will benefit their lives and the ecologies in which they live, move, and have their being.

The design take away we need to know about embodied energy is that everything you buy — all of your stuff, kit, gear, whatever you care to call it, including services — has energy embodied in its manufacture and distribution. Energy conservation is therefore not only a matter of watching your miles per gallon and turning off the lights when you are not in the room and living in a small space. It is a matter of being prudent and temperate in your use of goods and services in general.

To illustrate this, check out the “Embodied Energy Calculator” at http://thegreenestbuilding.org/ . This is a site that encourages people to preserve existing buildings rather than tear them down. It provides a way to approximate the embodied energy in a building and to report that technical figure as “gallons of gasoline.” This is useful because most of us have a good idea what a gallon of gasoline will do for us. In my case, it will take me and my 1995 Geo Metro about 35 miles around town in stop and go traffic. On the highway it would take me about 50 miles.

I live in a house that has 1,548 sq.ft. According to the calculator, the energy embodied in the materials and construction of our house equals 1,083,600 million BTUs. If we divide this by 115,000 (the number of BTUs in a gallon of gasoline), the embodied energy of my house is the equivalent of 9,423 gallons of gasoline.

That’s a lot of energy. I could drive 329,805 miles on that much gasoline.

This is why their slogan is — The greenest building is the one that is already built.

A few best practices relating to embodied energy conservation:

Shop the aftermarket first. Thrift stores, flea markets, swap meets, and other kinds of second-hand shopping are friends of the planet and the cause of energy conservation.

Never build a new house or building. Or, if you must, have a damned good reason for any new construction. New construction should use as many recycled and locally sourced materials as possible to lessen the embodied energy burden of the new construction. “Damned good reason” does not include any feeling of entitlement you might have to build a brand new house just because, you know, you feel entitled to a new house because you are special and you can afford to build a new house. If a hurricane, earthquake, tornado, or fire destroys your house, that might be a good reason to build a new house. Or. . . you could decide to buy and renovate an existing house, which will embody less energy than new construction.

Use recycled materials. If you must buy new, look for products made with recycled materials.

Rent or borrow instead of buying. Think neighborhood equipment cooperatives, car share programs.

Be temperate in your needs and wants for stuff. If you live in a full size house, and rent a storage unit for storage, you may have Too Much Stuff. Putting surplus to work is a basic permaculture ethical concept! This doesn't mean that you shouldn't do things like food storage. It does mean that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing when it comes to stuff.

Think of ways to use invisible structures to help you use less new stuff. Local sharing programs, equipment cooperatives, and plain old-fashioned borrowing are ways to accomplish this goal.