SRCosmos:

Order of appearence	Full citation	SRCosmos Link
1	Rebitzera G, Ekvallb T, Frischknechtc R, Hunkelerd D, Norrise G, Rydbergf T, Schmidtg W, Suhh S, Weidemai BP, Penningtonf DW, (2004), “Life cycle assessment Part 1: Framework, goal and scope definition, inventory analysis and applications”, Environment International, vol.30 (2004), p.701– 720.
2	Penningtona DW, Pottingb J, Finnvedenc G, Lindeijerd E, Jolliete O, Rydberga T, Rebitzere G, (2004), “Life cycle assessment Part 2: Current impact assessment practice”, Environment International, vol.30 (2004), p.721– 739.
3	Goedkoop M, Effting S, Collingo M, (2000), “The Eco-Indicator’99 – A damage oriented method for Life Cycle Impact Assessment – Manual for Designers”, Pre Consultants, April 2000.
4	Tsilingiridis G, Martinopoulos G, Kyriakis N, (2004), “Life cycle environmental impact of a thermosiphonic domestic solar hot water system in comparison with electrical and gas water heating”, Renewable Energy, Vol.29/8 (2004), p.1277-1288.
5	Oko Institute, (2003), “Global Emission Model for Integrated Systems Manual”, 2003.
6	Pre Consultants, “SimaPro 5 Manual”, 2003.
7	Duffie JA, Beckman WA, (1991), “Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes”, Wiley Publ., 1991.
8	Pelekanos A, (1982), “Meteorological Data for implementation of solar applications in various cities in Greece”, Proceeding of 1st National Conference for the Renewable Energy Sources, Volume A’, Institute of Solar Technology, Thessaloniki 1982.

Keywords	Solar energy, Domestic Solar Hot Water Systems, Life Cycle Analysis, Eco –Tools, Environmental performance
Abstract	Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a procedure used as an analytical tool for the evaluation of the environmental impact caused by a material, a manufacturing process or product. For an end product, LCA requires both the identification and quantification of materials and energy used in all stages of the product’s life, together with their environmental impact. It requires therefore a huge amount of data about materials, components, manufacturing processes, energy consumption and the relevant environmental impacts. For this reason, a number of software and databases has been developed, in order to facilitate LCA users. These are the so-called Eco-Tools, used in an effort to minimize the environmental impact of a product from the materials and the energy used for production. In this paper, LCA is conducted for solar thermosyphonic systems, with the aid of three commercially available Eco-Tools, usually used by LCA practitioners, namely: Eco-It, GEMIS and SimaPro, and the results are compared. Although all three tools claim accordance with the international standards and guidelines, some differences do exist. Eco-It is the simplest of all and its use is restricted solely as a tool for designers in their search for more environmental friendly designs. A small database of materials and processes is included while the values used originate from the Eco-Indicator 99 methodology and can be regarded as dimensionless figures. GEMIS on the other hand, was developed as a tool for the comparative assessment of environmental effects of energy and it includes an extensive database of materials and processes. It can perform complete life-cycle computations for a variety of emissions, and can determine resources used; it allows also for cost analysis and environmental assessment. Emission standards, various material process chains and transport services data are available in the GEMIS database. SimaPro includes several inventory databases with a large variety of materials and processes, plus the most important impact assessment methods. It can be used either as a tool for designers, like the Eco-It, or as a tool for the comparative assessment of environmental effects, like GEMIS. In the current analysis SimaPro results are used as comparison basis. A typical solar thermosyphonic system (DSHWS) with a 4 m2 collector area and a capacity of 150 lt that covers the hot water needs of a three person family in Thessaloniki is used as case study. The results of the three tools are compared for each component of the solar system as well as for each material used and for the conventional energy substituted by the system.
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Name	Affiliation	Home page	e-mail	Total pubs
Kyriakis N	Process Equipment Design Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering AUTH P.C. 541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece		nkyr@auth.gr	10
Martinopoulos G	Process Equipment Design Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering AUTH P.C. 541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece		martin@meng.auth.gr	8
Tsilingiridis G	Laboratory of Applied Thermodynamics, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aristotle University		tsil@eng.auth.gr	21