Carbon Footprint Calculation of House Construction with Solar Cell Installations.

Abstract

Greenhouse gases cause global warming. Carbon footprint is an indicator of the amount of greenhouse gases produced. This research therefore studied the carbon footprint of a 140 square meter house construction with a 3.27 kilowatt-hour (kWh) solar cell installed. The objectives are to study the source of carbon footprint and find ways to reduce it. The study found that house construction produced a carbon footprint of 513,839.96 kgCO2e, or 99.84 percent. The installation of solar cells produced 846.49 kgCO2e, or 0.16 percent. Water-based and oil-based paint produced the highest carbon footprints at 412,041.66 kgCO2e, or 80.13 percent of all work, followed by air conditioning and ventilation systems at 57,800.00 kgCO2e, or 11.24 percent. Therefore, there are methods to significantly reduce carbon footprints. That is, use other materials with lower Emission Factor values ​​than paint to replace it, such as changing the interior walls from painted to ceramic tiles, reducing the carbon footprint to 191,634.25 kgCO2e, or 62.73 percent from the original, or changing to wallpaper, reducing the carbon footprint to 351,064.96 kgCO2e, or 31.73 percent, while installing solar cells, after 20 years of use, reduces the carbon footprint by 48,583.21 kgCO2e, or 57.39 times the normal electricity usage.

Keywords: carbon footprint, housing construction, solar cell installation