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<br />Page 11 of 22 <br /> <br />12. How many tons of greenhouse <br />gas emissions will your project <br />reduce/avoid each year? <br />Please list any data sources <br />used and show the steps of <br />any calculations. Feel free to <br />submit in a separate document <br />if clearly labeled. <br />COB CLASSROOM <br />To calculate the greenhouse gas savings, we need to consider both the <br />embodied carbon and the operational carbon over a certain period. <br />We’ll estimate this over 50 years. <br />Determine Embodied Carbon for Both Structures: <br />o Conventional Building: Typically includes materials like <br />concrete, steel, insulation, and drywall. <br />o Cob Building: Primarily made from natural materials like clay, <br />sand, and straw, which have lower embodied carbon. <br />Embodied Carbon: <br />Conventional Building Materials: <br />• Concrete: ~400 kg CO₂ per cubic meter <br />• Steel: ~1.85 kg CO₂ per kg <br />• Insulation: ~1.8 kg CO₂ per kg <br />• Drywall: ~0.3 kg CO₂ per kg <br />Cob Building Materials: <br />• Cob (clay, sand, straw): Typically, much lower embodied <br />carbon, close to zero or even negative if considering carbon <br />sequestration by straw. <br /> <br />Embodied Carbon for Conventional Building: <br />Assuming an average embodied carbon of 400 kg CO₂ per square meter <br />for a conventional building. <br />400 sq ft×0.0929 sq m1 sq ft=37.16 sq m400 sq ft×1 sq ft0.0929 sq m <br />=37.16 sq m <br />37.16 sq m×400 kg CO₂/sq m=14,864 kg CO₂37.16 sq m×400 kg CO₂/sq <br />m=14,864 kg CO₂ <br /> <br />Embodied Carbon for Cob Building: <br />Assuming cob construction has very low embodied carbon, around 10% <br />of conventional: 37.16 sq m×40 kg CO₂/sq m=1,486.4 kg CO₂37.16 sq <br />m×40 kg CO₂/sq m=1,486.4 kg CO <br /> <br />Operational Carbon: <br />Conventional Building: For a 400 square foot building, typical annual <br />operational emissions can be estimated based on energy usage. The <br />average energy consumption for a home is around 10,000 kWh per <br />year, with an emission factor of about 0.92 kg CO₂ per kWh. <br />10,000 kWh/year×0.92 kg CO₂/kWh=9,200 kg CO₂/year 10,000 <br />kWh/year×0.92 kg CO₂/kWh=9,200 kg CO₂/year <br />Docusign Envelope ID: 61C3903E-05FE-49FE-A6AF-E50B7D61917E