Assessment models and dynamic variables for dynamic life cycle assessment of buildings: a review

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is widely used to quantify the environmental performance of buildings. Recently, the potential temporal variations in the lifetime of buildings and their influences on assessment results have attracted considerable attention. Dynamic LCA (DLCA) is an emerging research topic. This study provides an overview of the current scenario of DLCA studies in the building field. A literature survey was conducted by searching through scientific literature databases; 48 articles met the inclusion criteria. Eleven dynamic variables as well as their addressing approaches were summarized and analyzed. A few typical dynamic assessment models were synthesized and compared to present the methodology progress. Finally, considering the existing limitations, a few research directions were recommended: setting cutoff criteria for dynamic variables, developing a dynamic database, and considering the interactions between dynamic variables. The analyses in this study indicate that research on the DLCA of buildings needs interdisciplinary cooperation. This review promotes in-depth understanding about DLCA research of buildings and offers valuable implications for environmental practice. The highlighted future research directions facilitate further explorations in this research area.