Title: Use of an energy-saving concept to assess life-cycle impact in engineering

Authors: Hua Li, Hong-Chao Zhang, John Carrell, Derrick Tate

Addresses: Texas Tech University, Department of Industrial Engineering, 2500 Broadway, Lubbock, TX, 79409-3061, USA. ' Texas Tech University, Department of Industrial Engineering, 2500 Broadway, Lubbock, TX, 79409-3061, USA. ' Texas Tech University, Department of Industrial Engineering, 2500 Broadway, Lubbock, TX, 79409-3061, USA. ' Texas Tech University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2500 Broadway, Lubbock, TX, 79409-3061, USA

Abstract: Energy and environmental issues are worldwide concerns in the 21st century. The authors propose that the best way to solve the energy-use problem is to account for all of a product|s energy consumption information at the beginning of product design. Therefore, with the objective to promote energy-saving throughout the entire life cycle of general products or systems, the authors develop a new product design method by integrating the engineering design theory and two new concepts. A case study based on a typical energy-consuming product, a commercial hair dryer, will be presented in the paper for demonstrating the new design concept.

Keywords: energy saving; product design; life cycle assessment; LCA; sustainable manufacturing; sustainability; environmental impact; energy consumption; commercial hair dryers; engineering design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSM.2010.031622

International Journal of Sustainable Manufacturing, 2010 Vol.2 No.1, pp.99 - 111

Published online: 15 Feb 2010 *

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