| Title | When to replace products with which (circular) strategy? An optimization approach and lifespan indicator |
|---|---|
| ID_Doc | 23401 |
| Authors | Hummen, T; Desing, H |
| Title | When to replace products with which (circular) strategy? An optimization approach and lifespan indicator |
| Year | 2021 |
| Published | |
| Abstract | A longer product use requires less resources, causing less environmental impacts. Even though this assumption may appear intuitive, it is not necessarily the case for all products. Consider a product that causes significant impacts during its service life and loses performance through wear and degradation. Its extended use may cause higher impacts overall than replacing it before it reaches its end-of-life with an evolved alternative. In this paper, we propose a method for finding the replacement time when impacts become minimal, i.e. the optimal environmental lifetime (OEL), taking into account non-linear dynamics of technological efficiency improvements and efficiency degradation during usage. Different replacement options, including lifetime extension strategies such as re-manufacturing, are considered. Based on this, we define an indicator to measure the environmental performance of an achieved lifetime in comparison to the optimum. This lifespan indicator. measures the relative achievement of the maximum possible impact savings, when replacing the initial product at OEL. It accounts for unsustainable throughput of materials and waste of resources when deviating from it. To illustrate the application of the method and lifespan indicator, the OEL of residential heating systems are calculated. It reveals that gas boilers shall be replaced in short intervals with evolved gas boilers or - more effectively - with a heat pump. This case study nullifies the common hypothesis that "durability is per se environmentally beneficial", requiring to evaluate OEL on a case by case basis. |
| https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105704 |
Similar Articles
| ID | Score | Article |
|---|---|---|
23159
|
Hummen, T; Hellweg, S; Roshandel, R Optimizing Lifespan of Circular Products: A Generic Dynamic Programming Approach for Energy-Using Products(2023)Energies, 16, 18 | |
| 20358
|
Alfieri, F; Cordella, M; Sanfelix, J; Dodd, N An approach to the assessment of durability of Energy-related Products(2018) | |
| 12832
|
Iraldo, F; Facheris, C; Nucci, B Is product durability better for environment and for economic efficiency? A comparative assessment applying LCA and LCC to two energy-intensive products(2017) | |
| 5792
|
Nishijima, D; Oguchi, M Measuring product lifetime extension potential by increasing the expected product lifetime: Methodology and case study(2023)Business Strategy And The Environment, 32, 4 | |
| 12280
|
Okumura, S Reuse-efficiency model for evaluating circularity of end-of-life products(2022) | |
| 2016
|
Kaddoura, M; Kambanou, ML; Tillman, AM; Sakao, T Is Prolonging the Lifetime of Passive Durable Products a Low-Hanging Fruit of a Circular Economy? A Multiple Case Study(2019)Sustainability, 11, 18 | |
| 10101
|
Richter, JL; Van Buskirk, R; Dalhammar, C; Bennich, P Optimal durability in least life cycle cost methods: the case of LED lamps(2019)Energy Efficiency, 12.0, 1 | |
| 6145
|
Bakker, C; Wang, F; Huisman, J; den Hollander, M Products that go round: exploring product life extension through design(2014) | |
| 16411
|
Nishijima, D; Oguchi, M Comparing Product Lifetime Extensions by Enhancing Consumers' Expected Product Lifetime Among Different Durable Products(2024)Journal Of Consumer Policy, 47, 2 | |
| 7307
|
Pasquali, FM; Hall, JF Computing Marginal Cost of Durability of Energy Systems Components by Structural Optimization With Fatigue Constraints(2022)Journal Of Energy Resources Technology-Transactions Of The Asme, 144, 6 |