Abstract Background Social life-cycle assessment (S-LCA) provides a framework to evaluate the social impacts of decisions made during the design phases of a product.Rooftop solar panels are considered an environmentally friendly renewable energy technology due to their ability to generate electricity without producing greenhouse gases while generating electricity.This study presents the application of a challenge-derived S-LCA framework to assess the social impacts of rooftop solar panels in the southeast region of the United States (U.S.
) during the use and end-of-life phases.Methods The challenge-derived S-LCA framework was developed based on a set of challenges to performing social assessments.The challenges were identified through a systematic mapping process and verified using expert feedback.Additional feedback is gathered through users from mechanical engineering capstone design students.
The case study application shown in this paper aims to identify the potential social “Are They Making Fun of Us?” The Politics of Development in Sabah, Malaysia impacts at a pre-implementation stage of the rooftop solar panel in residential applications.The framework follows the ISO 14040 LCA structure, and the analysis was performed based on impact indicators (Type-I framework) and performance reference points (PRP).Results The framework implements existing social impact assessment methodologies, and guides each of the assessment stages based on the type of analysis performed.The results highlight the workers as the stakeholder group with the highest social impacts.
The results also highlight the need for regulation to make rooftop solar panels accessible to low-income community members.Conclusions An S-LCA framework to assess the social impacts of product systems and technologies is implemented to evaluate the potential social impacts of residential rooftop solar panels.The framework presented applies to product systems and technologies at a pre- or post-implementation state, and it aims to guide novice and expert users alike.Nonetheless, further research is still needed to improve the methodology presented, Economic performance evaluation of natural gas vehicles and their fuel infrastructures and additional case studies should be performed to test the applicability of the framework across a broad set of fields.