Buildings and construction contribute to about 39% of total carbon emissions in the world.
Innovative technologies are being considered to reduce carbon emissions from buildings and construction.
Modular construction has been identified as one of the main methods for sustainable off-site construction in the past few years.
Sustainable construction addresses the project’s entire life cycle. They use recyclable materials, decrease energy consumption and reduce waste when constructing new buildings. The main aim of sustainable construction is to reduce its impact on the environment.
Off-site construction technology has been popular in the recent past. Various studies have also stated the benefits of such construction technology in terms of achieving sustainability.
MODULAR CONSTRUCTION
Modular construction is an off-site construction technology where several modules are built in the manufacturing area and later transported to the final project site to assemble the modules to form a building.
Some benefits involved in this type of technology compared with traditional construction technology are reduced project time, better product quality and limited environmental effects.
Currently, only 3% of residential construction in the United States are constructed using this technology because of less awareness and less knowledge about modular construction among construction practitioners and the public.
But according to fortune insights, the value of the global modular construction market is expected to be US$107.21 billion by 2026 which is more than US$64.85 billion in 2018. Among other sectors, the application of modular construction is expected to be largely seen in the commercial sector due to the increase in start-ups.
The wider adoption of modular technology can induce sustainable practices in the construction sector.
Here are some of the sustainable factors of modular construction technology.
1) Reduction in energy use
The technology requires less energy when compared with conventional construction. When the modules are produced in a controlled factory environment, external factors such as weather does not disrupt the process which means less energy is wasted.
Compared to on-site construction, the factories can control energy use and emissions much better. On-site energy use including transportation, accommodation for employees, on-site equipment and lightings are reduced.
Modular construction also has a role in the production of zero-energy buildings.
2) Reuse and recycling
Modular construction offers great flexibility in moving and recycling the modular units. This makes the building adaptable since it can disassemble and modified for future purposes.
Moreover, the units can also be deconstructed easily for recycling.
When modular units are reused, the amount of waste sent to landfill is reduced.
3) Reduction in material wastage
Modular construction is capable of reducing waste in half compared with the traditional building methods.
Professionals use Building Information Modelling (BIM) to create the project efficiently with information on various types of sustainable materials that can be used in the project.
Due to controlled and optimized factory facilities along with BIM software, the occurrence of errors and accidental damages are less. This reduces the output of waste which is normally high in on-site construction.
Modular construction technology is a flexible and adaptable method of constructing buildings that offer various sustainability benefits such as less energy use, less material wastage and reusable units. The environmental impact of this technology is much lesser compared to conventional construction. To reduce carbon emissions from the building and construction sector, the adoption of modular construction technology could lead to an eco-friendly construction process of buildings.
