Project OP1: A Life-Cycle Cost Model for Green Commercial Office Buildings with Optimal Green Star Credits

PhD Candidate

Ms. I. M. Chethana S. Illankoon

Chair Supervisor	Co-Supervisor	Co-Supervisor

Dr. Khoa N. Le	Prof. Vivian W.Y. Tam	Prof. Liyin Shen

Green building is a widely discussed topic worldwide as a solution to the increasing adverse impact on the environment. This paradigm shift from conventional buildings to green buildings expected to bring environmental, social and economic benefits. However, green building implementation is adversely affected by the initial cost premium. Therefore, there is a clear need to look into the initial stages of green building development regarding life-cycle impacts considering the massive saving in energy, water and so on. Selecting inappropriate technologies in initial decision making stages can be cheaper, but more importantly, it may preclude the life-cycle savings and desired outcomes of green buildings. In order to help the initial decision-makers with the selection of credit points considering the life-cycle cost of the green building, this research developed a life-cycle cost model that incorporates constraints of the developers while maximising the number of credits points achieved in using Green Star Design and As-Built version 1.1 rating tool.

Life-cycle cost is calculated based on ‘Building and construction assets – service life planning – Part 5: Life-cycle costing standard’ published by the International Organisation for Standards (ISO) considering six main central business districts (CBDs) of Australia. The net present value (NPV) technique is used to calculate life-cycle costs. Further, a sensitivity analysis is also carried out for selected credits to identify the changes to life-cycle cost to the changes in discount rate. Once all the life-cycle cost data is calculated, the proposed model was developed.
The proposed model is developed considering a set of rules for exclusions, selections, and inter-dependencies. It initially collects user information and user constraints. Based on the user information, the model provides customised solutions to the users. The user can define the discount rate and even select the regional areas, and based on that information, the life-cycle cost is calculated by the proposed model. The user constraints select or eliminate credits, consider inter-dependencies, and calculate the optimum solutions for a specific green certification level. This model can provide optimum solutions for four-star or five-star certification levels considering Green Star rating.

Sources of Funding

Financial support from the Australian Research Council (ARC), Australian Government (No: DP150101015).

Publications

Refereed Journal Publications

Illankoon, I. M. C. S., Tam, V. W. Y., Le, K. N., & Shen, L. (2018). Life cycle costing for obtaining concrete credits in Green Star rating system in Australia. Journal of Cleaner Production, 172, 4212-4219. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.11.202
Illankoon, I. M. C. S., Tam, V. W. Y. & Le, K. N. (2018). Analysis on life-cycle costing for insulated external walls in Australia . International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, 9(1), 1-6.
Illankoon, I. M. C. S., Tam, V. W. Y., Le, K. N., Wang, X. & Wang, J. (2018).Optimal selection of roofing solutions for green buildings: a life-cycle cost perspective Proceedings of ICE - Engineering Sustainability (Accepted)
Illankoon, I. M. C. S., Tam, V. W. Y., Le, K. N., & Shen, L. (2017). Key credit criteria among international green building rating tools. Journal of Cleaner Production, 164, 209-220. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.206
Illankoon, I. M. C. S., Tam, V. W. Y, & Le, K. N. (2016). Environmental, economic, and social parameters in international green building rating tools. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, 143(2).

Book Chapters

Illankoon, I. M. C. S., Tam, V.W.Y. & Le, K. N., 2018. Life-cycle costing as a tool for selecting optimum solutions for insulated floors in Australia. In: Zou, P. X. W., Sanjayan, J., Alam, M., & Xu, X., eds. Proceedings of the 22^nd International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (pp. 981-993). CRIOCM, Australia.
Illankoon, I. M. C. S., Tam, V.W.Y. & Le, K. N., 2016. Life-cycle costing for insulated pitched roof structures. In: Chau, K. W., Chan, I. Y. S., Lu, W. & Webster, C., eds. Proceedings of the 21st International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (pp. 981-993). Springer, Singapore.

Refereed Conference Paper Publications

Illankoon, I. M. C. S., Tam, V. W. Y., & Le, K. N. & Weerakoon S.V. (2018). ‘Life-cycle cost model for Green Star office buildings in Australia’, International Conference on Sustainability in Energy and Buildings (SEB18), Gold Coast, Australia.
Illankoon, I. M. C. S., Tam, V. W. Y. & Le, K. N., Optimum solutions for green buildings: A life-cycle cost perspective considering transport and land use and ecology credits. Proceedings of the 23^rd International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (Accepted).
Illankoon, I. M. C. S., Tam, V. W. Y., & Le, K. N., Coung N.N. Tran. (2017). ‘Review of green building rating tools used in Australia’, International Conference on Innovation Production and Construction (IPC), Perth, Australia.
Illankoon, I. M. C. S., Tam, V. W. Y., Le, K. N., & Shen, L. (2016). ‘Environmental, social and economical parameters of sustainability in green building rating tools worldwide’, Australasian Universities Building Education Association Conference (AUBEA), Cairns, Australia.
Illankoon, I. M. C. S., Tam, V. W. Y., Le, K. N. & Shen, L. (2016). ‘Cost premium and the life-cycle cost of green building implementation in obtaining Green Star rating in Australia’, Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors Congress (PAQS), Christchurch, New Zealand.

Refereed Journal Publications

Tam, V. W. Y., Le, K. N., Wang, J. Y., & Illankoon, I. M. C. S. (2018). Practitioners recycling attitude and behaviour in the Australian construction industry. Sustainability (Switzerland), 10(4). doi:10.3390/su10041212
Ding, Z., Fan, Z., Tam, V. W. Y., Bian, Y., Li, S., Illankoon, I. M. C. S., & Moon, S. (2018). Green building evaluation system implementation. Building and Environment, 133, 32-40. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.02.012
Tam, V. W. Y., Le, K. N., Zeng, S. X., Wang, X., & Illankoon, I. M. C. S. (2017). Regenerative practice of using photovoltaic solar systems for residential dwellings: An empirical study in Australia. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 75, 1-10. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.10.040
Tam, V. W. Y., Senaratne, S., Le, K. N., Shen, L. Y., Perica, J., & Illankoon, I. M. C. S. (2017). Life-cycle cost analysis of green-building implementation using timber applications. Journal of Cleaner Production, 147, 458-469. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.01.128.
Chong, H. Y., Tam, V. W. Y., Lai, W. C., Sutrisna, M., Wang, X., & Illankoon, I. M. C. S. (2017). Cost implications for certified Green Building Index buildings. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Waste and Resource Management, 170(1), 29-40. doi:10.1680/jwarm.16.00019
Gan, Y., Shen, L., Chen, J., Tam, V., Tan, V. W. Y., & Illankoon, I.M.C.S. (2017). Critical factors affecting the quality of industrialized building system projects in China. Sustainability, 9(2), 216.
Perera, B. A. K. S., Illankoon, I. M. C. S., & Perera, W. (2016). Determinants of operational and maintenance costs of condominiums. Built-Environment Sri Lanka, 12(1).
Britto, A.D., Perera, B. A. K. S. and Illankoon, I. M. C. S. (2013), ‘Factors affecting the accuracy of pre tender estimation of road construction in Sri Lanka’’ FARU Journal, 5(1).
Meegahakotuwa, M. G. A. L. I. B., Perera, B. A. K. S. and Illankoon, I. M. C. S. (2013), ‘The effects of globalization on multidisciplinary consultancy firms in Sri Lanka’, FARU Journal, 5(1).

Refereed Conference Paper Publication

Tam, V. W. Y., Le, K. N., Coung N.N. Tran, & Illankoon, I. M. C. S. (2017). ‘An exploratory model on Greenhouse gas emissions and costing assessment in building operation stage’, International Conference on Innovation Production and Construction (IPC), Perth, Australia.
Gunawardena, D. A. S., Illankoon, I. M. C. S. & Ranadewa, K. A. T. O. (2014). ‘A literature review on marketing green buildings; Use of 4C marketing mix approach’, Proceedings of the Third World Construction Symposium, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Illankoon, I. M. C. S., Waidyasekara, K. A. G. S. & Karunadasa, W. P. S. (2013). ‘Use of sustainable material in the construction industry: contractor’s perspective ’, Proceedings of the Second World Construction Symposium, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Ahamad, M. H. S., Perera, B. A. K. S. & Illankoon, I.M.C.S., (2013). ‘In-house versus Outsourcing facilities management: a framework for value-added selection in Sri Lankan commercial buildings’, Proceedings of the Second World Construction Symposium, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Sudeha, H. M. C. K., Perera, B. A. K. S. & Illankoon, I. M. C. S. (2013). ‘Utility factors affecting for selecting delay analysis technique’, Proceedings of the Second World Construction Symposium, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Seneviratne, L. D. I. P. & Illankoon, I. M. C. S. (2012). ‘Knowledge transfer between the training supervisors and trainees of B.Sc. Quantity Surveying undergraduates in Sri Lank’, 16^th Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors Congress, Brunei.