Reducing Carbon Emissions With Embodied Carbon

As architects and glaziers work to design and construct building projects more sustainably, the consideration of embodied carbon has become a bigger factor in understanding the overall impact of a project’s carbon footprint.

FREMONT, CA: Reducing carbon emissions from building operations must be balanced with embodied carbon emissions, which result from the manufacture and installation of building materials. Environmentalists are urging the Government to pass laws that will cut the amount of carbon dioxide released during the manufacture of architectural items, including glass. It's critical to first comprehend the role embodied carbon plays in glass production to comprehend the effects these initiatives will have on the architectural glass sector. The energy-intensive process of heating the melting furnace to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit to transform raw materials into flat glass is where the majority of the embodied carbon in glass comes from. Although to a lesser extent, the procedures of tempering, laminating, and manufacturing flat glass into insulating glass units all contribute to the glass's GWP. In reality, the production of the flat glass lites is responsible for around 75 per cent of the embodied carbon in each insulating glass unit (IGU). According to estimates, of the remaining embodied carbon in an IGU, 13 per cent comes from heat strengthening or tempering the glass, ten per cent comes from the actual production of the IGU, and only two per cent comes from the application of low-E coatings.

Glass producers may think about taking some of the following actions to lower overall energy consumption in glass production to further minimise the amount of carbon embodied in architectural IGUs:

• Enhancing furnace control systems' performance to lessen the fluctuation of melting temperatures and fuel usage.

• Designing plants for low burners.

• Using variable frequency motor on cooling fans to save energy.