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Influence of mechanical design on the evolution of the environmental impact of an induction hob

  • LCA FOR MACHINES
  • Published:
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

This paper studies the influence of the mechanical design of five different induction hob generations (G1 to G5), which are currently installed in several million homes, on the evolution of their environmental impact.

Methods

Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been applied using SimaPro 8.0.3.14 and EcoInvent v2.2 database. Samples of each design were obtained to generate a life cycle inventory. These induction hobs have been developed and produced in Zaragoza (Spain). The functional unit has been defined as all of the components influenced by the mechanical design of a cooktop with four induction hobs and a width of 60 cm, including every component except the electronic boards and the use phase, as they are not affected by the mechanical design. The limits of the LCA model include the production of the raw materials and energy, the manufacture and production processes, the distribution, and the end of life.

Results and discussion

This study has revealed that the differences in mechanical design highly affect the environmental impact, especially in the environmental categories of abiotic depletion and human toxicity due to the consumption of copper, steel, and plastics. The manufacturing phase highly affects human toxicity, mainly due to the variation in PPS use. There is a decreasing tendency in the environmental impact from the first (G1) to the last generation (G5), as G5 causes the lowest burden in 8 out of 11 analysed categories. The different generations analysed in this paper show that the compact designs of induction hobs help to decrease the environmental impact, especially thanks to the reduction in wiring lengths. It is also important to enhance the wiring separation at the end-of-life phase, avoiding designs that hinder recycling processes.

Conclusions

Compact designs and reduced wiring lengths help to reduce the environmental impact. The consumption of copper, steel, aluminium, and polymers creates considerable impact, although the end-of-life phase reduces the burden created by metals, thanks to recycling. Manufacturing processes such as injection moulding also produce a noteworthy impact, especially in ozone layer depletion due to the inclusion of solvents in EcoInvent’s injection moulding dataset. The impact caused by the distribution phase for this product is almost negligible in most categories.

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Acknowledgments

The research in this paper has been partially supported by the Spanish MICINN under Project IPT-2011-1158-920000 and by the Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group. The authors would like to thank BSH’s engineering team.

Compliance with ethical standards

ᅟ

Funding

The research in this paper has been partially supported by the Spanish MICINN under Project IPT-2011-1158-920000.

Employment

Carmelo Pina is an employee of BSH Electrodomésticos España S.A. and is currently finishing his Ph.D. on LCA and mechanical design.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. BSH Electrodomésticos España, S.A., Avda de la Industria, 49, 50016, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain

    Carmelo Pina

  2. i+, University of Zaragoza, C/ María de Luna, 3, 50018, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain

    Daniel Elduque & Carlos Javierre

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of La Rioja, C/ San José de Calasanz 31, 26004, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain

    Eduardo Martínez

  4. Department of Electrical Engineering, University of La Rioja, C/ San José de Calasanz 31, 26004, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain

    Emilio Jiménez

Authors
  1. Carmelo Pina
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  2. Daniel Elduque
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  3. Carlos Javierre
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  4. Eduardo Martínez
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  5. Emilio Jiménez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel Elduque.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Zbigniew Stanislaw Klos

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Pina, C., Elduque, D., Javierre, C. et al. Influence of mechanical design on the evolution of the environmental impact of an induction hob. Int J Life Cycle Assess 20, 937–946 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-015-0890-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-015-0890-y

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