CO2 Emissions from Prefabricated Houses Down 16.6% in 2010 from 1990 Level

The Japan Prefabricated Construction Suppliers & Manufacturers Association released on October 24, 2011, a report on its achievement of the Environmental Activity Evaluation Program, or Eco-Action 21, for fiscal 2010. According to the report, the total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from production and occupancy of the detached houses supplied by the association in fiscal 2010 was 3,465 kilograms of CO2 per house per year, which is down 16.6 percent from the 1990 level.

As for the occupancy stage, the amount of CO2 emissions was reduced by 17.1 percent from the 1990 level. This reduction resulted from two factors. One is improvement of house quality: houses whose quality is equivalent to the grade 4 stipulated in the Energy Saving Measure Housing Quality Assurance Act of Japan accounted for 96.8 percent of the total new houses supplied. The other is the now-common use of photovoltaic generation systems, highly efficient water heaters, and household fuel cells.

As for the production stage -- which includes factory production, transportation, and on-site house construction -- the amount of CO2 emissions was reduced by 4 percent from the 2006 level. This is due to energy saving efforts such as improvement in the production process, introduction of highly efficient factory equipment, and installation of solar panels on its factory sites.

Posted: 2012/01/17 06:00:15 AM