Energy use for bulding construction: supplement. Final report, February 1, 1977--October 31, 1977

This supplement amplifies the information contained in the basic report, Energy Use for Building Construction (December, 1976). With the addition of the information on energy per unit of component in major areas not covered by the original report, broad audits of energy embodied in buildings can now be made. Major areas added are metal doors and windows, plastics, plumbing fixtures, plumbing fittings, heating equipment, electrical equipment, copper pipe and wire, aluminum pipe and wire, and asphalt. An examination of energy distribution in typical 1-family residential construction shows that a greater percentage of the total energy required is in the general construction (as opposed to plumbing, heating, ventilating, and electrical) than in the dollar percentage divisions. The largest single category of energy use in new building construction is direct energy (the energy brought to and expended on the job site). It is almost totally in the form of refined petroleum, which represents almost 15 percent of all energy required to build buildings. Of this, 59 percent is in asphalt, 14 percent in gasoline, 23 percent in diesel fuel, and the balance in fuel oil and liquid petroleum. In broad categories, building construction is more labor-intensive per dollar than non-building construction, and alterations and additions are more labor-intensive per dollar than new building. This is in reverse order from energy intensivity in these categories. These relationships do not apply consistently in examining detailed examples. In two specific comparisons of assemblies meeting equal performance standards, the more energy-intensive were also the more labor-intensive.