Whats embodied energy anyways?
- Embodied energy is the energy consumed by all of the processes associated with the production of a building, from the mining and processing of natural resources to manufacturing, transport and product delivery.
Calculation
- average value of embodied energy
- calculating every step would be to difficult
- fresh mined materials -> more energy
- recycled energy -> less energy (the saved energy varies)
- direct energy doesn't count as embodied energy
Some Numbers:
- A human uses about 1'000 Tons of raw materials in his lifetime
- On top of that, he uses over 3 gWh [GWh] of embodied energy in his life. You could power the streets of Zurich for whole 2.5 Months with this energy
- The infrastructure of the internet in Switzerland weighs over 200'000 Tons
- Even if devices get more energy-efficient and use less raw materials, we still use more of them
- 1 kg of chocolate produces about 2.5 kWh of embodied energy
What is embodied energy?
- ) energy used while using a product
- ) energy used produce the product
- ) energy used to recycle the product
Source: https://www.yourhome.gov.au/materials/embodied-energy