Comparison of Operational and Embodied Emissions of Insulation Material in a Toronto Laneway House

<p dir="ltr">The building envelope of a code compliant Laneway home in Toronto was evaluated for operational and embodied emissions and compared to three alternative high performance building envelopes. Although all three high performance envelope designs demonstrated 12-14% reduction in annual operational carbon emissions, the embodied carbon was increased by 13% in the design with polystyrene, reduced by 35% in assembly with mixed mineral wool and cellulose insulation, and reduced by 54% in the assembly with cork board insulation. The operational carbon savings in assemblies with polystyrene insulation are not realized for some time because of the increased embodied carbon emissions related to these types of insulation. It would take approximately 20 years for operational emissions savings to neutralize the embodied emissions related to the use of polystyrenes. Due to higher surface area to volume ratio of laneway homes, insulation selection is critical to ensure significant total carbon reduction.</p>