Comparison Between Domestic Water Heating Systems Based on Either Solar Heaters or Electrical Boilers by the Life Cycle Assessment Approach

Abstract

The construction sector is one of major consumers of energy in the world. In this paper, the domestic water heating systems was compared based on solar heaters and electrical boilers by the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. We considered both energy spent and emissions related to the production and use of these systems. The results indicate that the use of solar water heaters is a more attractive choice. Higher energy and economic savings are obtained when they are used, especially in Brazil, where occurred an expressive increase of the electrical energy costs over the past years. This option also has a shorter payback period than electrical boilers. However, it observed that the environmental impact associated with solar water systems is higher because of the flat plate collector’s production. The findings exhibited in this work can provide a useful way to help the consumer to make his decision.