Characterizing the essential materials and energy performance of city buildings: a case study of Macau

Abstract

The lack of a clear understanding of the consumption of materials and energy in construction activities and by existing buildings has hindered sustainable urban development in Macau. This study is therefore designed to quantify the consumption of building materials and energy in Macau over past 16 years, from the perspective of life cycle analysis. The results show that there has been rapid growth in the annual consumptions of both materials and energy throughout the entire lifetime of buildings. In 2016, the construction of buildings contributed to almost all materials use during their lifetime, which in 2015 was approximately 10 times greater than in 1999, but the energy consumption of buildings only accounted for 7.8% of their total energy consumption. The amounts of material and energy consumption in the construction of buildings are about 1.375 tons/m2 and 1176.72 MJ/m2, respectively. Most energy was consumed during the operational lifetime of the buildings however, constituting 92.2% of the total energy consumption; this is particularly the case in the gaming industry. In 2016, the average energy consumption of residential buildings was 264.97 MJ/m2·year, which actually increased. However, the management and recycling of building waste in Macau is still an area that is underdeveloped. Actually, nearly all building materials and energy are imported from neighboring regions in mainland China, resulting in potential resource and energy supply risks for Macau. The findings obtained in this study will enable policy makers, designers, and building users to make more sensible judgments in promoting the development of sustainable buildings in Macau and elsewhere.