Carbon footprint of thermal efficiency construction solutions applied as home improvement in temperate climate zones of Southern Chile

Air pollutants emission is a problem that affects various industries around the world, and, among these, the construction industry is one of the most polluting. In recent years, several measures have been taken to reduce the impacts of pollution. One of the first actions has been to identify and to quantify the carbon footprint generated by different activities. This research aims to quantify the carbon footprint generated by construction solutions based on one Atmospheric Decontamination Plan (ADP) of Chile. This ADP considers the thermal improvement of houses among its action. For this, the PAS 2050 methodology is used to calculate the carbon footprint of nine constructive solutions for exterior walls with thermal insulation. The results allow identifying the most polluting materials and construction systems. The construction solution F3, which is made up of glass wool insulation supported by galvanized steel partitions and covered with a fiber cement in a masonry wall, is the least polluting of the nine solutions under study. Construction systems that include expanded polystyrene and EIFS are the more polluting.