Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA.
J Environ Manage. 2012 Jun 30;101:75-81. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.02.010. Epub 2012 Mar 7.
Environmental impacts of energy and water demand and greenhouse gas emissions from three residential water-using appliances were analyzed using life cycle assessment (LCA) based approach in collaboration of economic input-output model. This study especially focused on indirect consumption and environmental impacts from end-use/demand phase of each appliance. Water-related activities such as water supply, water heating and wastewater treatment were included in the analysis. The results showed that environmental impacts from end-use/demand phase are most significant for the water system, particularly for the energy demand for water heating (73% for clothes washer and 93% for showerheads). Reducing water/hot water consumption during the end-use/demand phase is expected to improve the overall water-related energy burden and water use sustainability. In the analysis of optimal lifespan for appliances, the estimated values (8-21 years) using energy consumption balance approach were found to be lower than that using other methods (10-25 years). This implies that earlier replacement with efficiency models is encouraged to minimize the environmental impacts of the product.
采用基于生命周期评价（LCA）的方法，结合经济投入产出模型，分析了三种住宅用水设备的能源和水需求以及温室气体排放的环境影响。本研究特别关注每个设备的最终使用/需求阶段的间接消耗和环境影响。供水、水加热和废水处理等与水有关的活动都包括在分析中。结果表明，最终使用/需求阶段的环境影响对水系统最为显著，特别是水加热的能源需求（洗衣机为 73%，淋浴喷头为 93%）。减少最终使用/需求阶段的水/热水消耗有望改善整体与水相关的能源负担和水使用可持续性。在分析设备的最佳使用寿命时，发现使用能耗平衡方法估计的值（8-21 年）低于使用其他方法（10-25 年）的值。这意味着鼓励用效率更高的模型提前替换，以将产品的环境影响最小化。
