Life cycle assessment (LCA) of an innovative compact hybrid electrical-thermal storage system for residential buildings in Mediterranean climate

The buildings sector accounts for around 40% of the total energy demand worldwide and is therefore paramount to reduce its environmental impact. Accordingly, the use of renewable energy sources coupled with energy storage systems in buildings has been widely investigated in the last years and different solutions for cooling, heating and domestic hot water have been proposed, with the aim of reducing the building electrical consumption needed to keep comfort conditions. This study investigates the environmental impact of an innovative system proposed for residential buildings in the Mediterranean climate through a life cycle assessment. Results show that, due to the complexity of the system, the manufacturing and disposal stages have a high environmental impact, which is not compensated by the reduction of the impact during the operational stage.