United States Department of Transportation
i
Life-cycle energy implications of different residential settings : recognizing buildings, travel, and public infrastructure.
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2013-08-01
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Abstract:The built environment can be used to influence travel demand, but very few studies consider the relative energy
savings of such policies in context of a complex urban system. This analysis quantifies the day-to-day and embodied
energy consumption of four different neighborhoods in Austin, Texas, to examine how built environment variations
influence various sources of urban energy consumption. A microsimulation combines models for petroleum use (from
driving) and residential and commercial power and natural gas use with rigorously measured building stock and
infrastructure materials quantities (to arrive at embodied energy). Results indicate that the more suburban
neighborhoods, with mostly detached single-family homes, consume up to 320% more embodied energy, 150% more
operational energy, and about 160% more total life-cycle energy (per capita) than a densely developed neighborhood
with mostly low-rise-apartments and duplexes. Across all neighborhoods, operational energy use comprised 83 to 92%
of total energy use, and transportation sources (including personal vehicles and transit, plus street, parking structure,
and sidewalk infrastructure) made up 44 to 47% of the life-cycle energy demands tallied. Energy elasticity calculations
across the neighborhoods suggest that increased population density and reduced residential unit size offer greatest lifecycle energy savings per capita, by reducing both operational demands from driving and home energy use, and from
less embodied energy from construction. The results support the notion that transportation and the built environment
are strongly linked, and improving urban energy efficiency must come from policies and designs targeting embodied
sources, not just a household’s travel and daily energy consumption.
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