EVALUATION OF FLOOR COVERINGS FROM THE ECOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECT IN THE DESIGN STAGE

Abstract

Measures to reduce the impact of the construction sector on the environment and human health need to be taken at the design stage of the facility and evaluate building materials and products from an ecological and economic aspect. For the research needs, a comparison of floor coverings at the design stage was made to assess their impact during the life cycle. The research uses the life cycle analysis (LCA), a methodology that is the basis for analyzing the impacts during the life cycle of the analyzed construction products. The research covers the life cycle stages from A1 to C4, according to the standard ISO EN 15978: 2011. The software package BEES, the National Institute of Standardization and Technology (NIST), the United States of America is used for the turn. Five types of floor coverings were analyzed, from the aspect of their impact on the environment and human health, but also from the economic point of view. The research has shown that in the design phase, using software packages can be managed with the quality of the environment, and the project design, and hence the quality of the facility. The research also points to the need for a national software package that can analyze construction products and materials. Their application would improve the national
construction industry and favored materials that are environmentally and economically acceptable in relation to materials with unfavorable effects on the environment and human health.
Keywords: building materials, life cycle analysis, floor coverings, and environmental impact.