To be truly environmentally friendly, the entire project should be taken into account including the life cycle of the supply systems, argues Simon Spridgeon.
Going green is the latest buzz phrase making its way through the construction industry and there's no doubt that, in order to protect our futures, we all need to consider the environment and our impact on it. This is particularly true when it comes to installing heating systems for the contract market, which can have a huge impact on the planet in the longer term.

While the credibility of placing so much emphasis on the 'green credentials' of heating appliances including boilers, heat pumps and so forth should never be questioned, what is disappointing is that the same importance is not currently placed on the whole supply system including
the pipework, which is often around for a lot longer than the heating appliance itself. Before proclaiming any heating system as being environmentally friendly, surely it makes sense for installers and specifiers to consider the whole life-cycle of the piping products chosen and how this contributes to the 'green-ness' of any individual installation?

Perhaps one of the reasons why this rarely happens is that, unlike a boiler or other appliance, pipework doesn't come with its own version of an energy rating attached, making it difficult to judge just how green an installation actually is.

However, life cycle assessments work in a similar way to an energy efficiency rating and are something that specifiers and installers should look out for in order to fulfill their eco credentials. Some supply systems manufacturers use life cycle assessments to help them make decisions on the development of environmentally-friendly products, ensuring that the pipework that specifiers and installers end up with is as green as it can be.

The calculation of life cycle assessments is governed by the international ISO 14040 standard. The lower the points, the lower the impact on the environment and the assessments consider environmental concerns ranging from climate change to resource use. The life cycle assessment is also used to compare the environmental impact of different materials and type of installation so that specifiers and installers can factor in the environmental impact of the pipework when choosing between plastic, multi-layer pipework or the various metals.

Entire life cycle

As the name suggests, the assessment covers the entire life cycle of the pipework, assuming that all pipework has an identical lifetime of at least 50 years, from extraction of raw materials and energy carriers, through to production of the pipes and their disposal at the end of their life.

From this, the life cycle assessment concludes that, ecologically, plastic and multi-layered plastic-aluminium piping systems display markedly better results than metal pipes including copper and stainless steel. Regardless of the fact that the life cycle assessment assumes that metal pipes are 100 per cent recyclable (and therefore have no impact on the environment once disposed of), several factors prevent copper and stainless steel piping systems from notching up the same green credentials as their rivals.

Not least is the fact that metal pipes with the same diameter are two to three times heavier than plastic pipes. Indeed, this is one of the reasons why multi-layered piping is increasingly being specified as an alternative to metal in the commercial plumbing environment, as its light weight also makes it easier to install. The extraction of metal from minerals also involves energy-intensive processing methods and this is really metal piping's downfall as it has a far greater impact on the environment than its production and disposal, particularly in the case of copper and stainless steel pipes.

As it contains a significant amount of recycled metal, plastic-aluminium piping has less impact on the environment, regardless of whether it is recycled or disposed of at a waste disposal incineration plant or disposal site at the end of its life. Furthermore, the plastic can be separated from the aluminium before disposal, enabling the majority of the metal to be recycled. Although this disposal method is currently rarely used, it is likely to become much more of a priority in the future as contractors and specifiers pay more consideration to the whole life-cycle of the piping systems they are choosing. The life cycle assessment is likely to become commonplace in the future as installers and specifiers and installers strive towards achieving greater levels of excellence in their eco-credentials and as we all chase the elusive mecca of greener ways of installing plumbing and heating systems.

•Simon Spridgeon is senior product manager at Geberit