Thermal resilience and life cycle assessment of social housing: a discussion about limitations in Brazil

Reducing carbon emissions and energy demand in buildings is vital for addressing climate change, especially as extreme weather increases cooling and heating needs. Thermally resilient cooling in social housing is essential for protecting occupants and enhancing energy efficiency, but integrating embodied and operational emissions with thermal resilience analysis is challenging due to software limitations. This study uses building simulations and BIM-LCA tools to evaluate thermal resilience and carbon emissions in light, intermediate, and heavy structures for social housing in Curitiba, São Paulo, and São Luís, Brazil. The light-insulated envelope improves thermal resilience in Curitiba and São Paulo, achieving ∼90% thermal autonomy with low cooling loads. In São Luís, only light non-insulated envelopes achieve TA above 25%, yet all cases exceed 3°C IOD, and heavy envelopes increase cooling loads above 250 kWh/m². In São Luís, recovery times exceed >200 hours, with Tmax from 34–38°C. Trend analysis shows Tmax strongly correlates with thermal vulnerability (R² > 0.85). Operational emissions dominate in hot climates, while embodied emissions prevail in cold climates. Light envelopes show lower emissions and cooling loads but vary in resilience across climates. While insulation improves resilience in São Paulo and Curitiba, it is less effective in São Luís. Database comparisons reveal significant discrepancies in ceramic bricks and softwood between Tally and SIDAC, affecting emissions and PED. Ceramic tiles and concrete, show closer alignment, reducing overall uncertainty.