Environmental impact
From Electrical Installation Guide
Environmental impact
Taking into consideration environmental constraints in the installation design. This takes account of: consumption of natural resources, Joule losses (related to CO2 emission), “recyclability” potential, throughout the installation’s lifecycle.
Different levels of priority
- Non significant: environmental constraints are not given any special consideration,
- Minimal: the installation is designed with minimum regulatory requirements,
- Proactive: the installation is designed with a specific concern for protecting the environment. Excess cost is allowed in this situation. E.g.: using low-loss transformers.
The environmental impact of an installation will be determined according to the method carrying out an installation lifecycle analysis, in which we distinguish between the following 3 phases:
- manufacture,
- operation,
- end of life (dismantling, recycling).
In terms of environmental impact, 3 indicators (at least) can be taken into account and influenced by the design of an electrical installation. Although each lifecycle phase contributes to the three indicators, each of these indicators is mainly related to one phase in particular:
- consumption of natural resources mainly has an impact on the manufacturing phase,
- consumption of energy has an impact on the operation phase,
- “recycleability” potential has an impact on the end of life.
The following table details the contributing factors to the 3 environmental indicators (Fig D7).
| Indicators | Contributors |
| Natural resources consumption | Mass and type of materials used |
| Power consumption | Joule losses at full load and no load |
| «Recyclability» potential | Mass and type of material used |
Fig D7: Contributing factors to the 3 environmental indicators
