Wouldn’t it be great if software was the result of a cooperation between lots of companies? If they all knew what was being worked on and could make their own modules for slightly different needs, their own reports that fit their internal standards? If they used a copyleft license they could be sure no-one will run off their hard work and start selling a commercial-only version. What a different world that would be.
But this isn’t what happens when a new challenge arrives and software is an obvious part of the solution. What happens is project silos and duplication of effort. A possible exception to this in Denmark is the LCAcollect project spearheaded by COWI. I know they have looked at using a libre software / free/libre open source software license, but I haven’t heard the results of that discussion.
I’ll continue these topic when I have more time. For now let’s collect some resources that are useful. Let me know if you have experience with them so we can help people choose the best software for their needs.
Sections
- Opensource LCA software
- Proprietary Danish LCA Software
- Other software
- Resources
Opensource LCA software
CarboLifeCalc
“Carbo Life Calculator is the perfect tool to calculate the embodied carbon in a building with a single press of a button. Using data from EPD’s or self-defined materials & values, the Carbo Life Calculator automatically interprets your Autodesk® Revit® model and presents you its embodied carbon.”
website
I’ve used CarboLifeCalc in Revit 2022 without problems on a small project. It can perform all the clculations we need to meet the requirements of the Danish Building Regulations 2023. You can select materials and products from a couple of databases and add others. Also you can enter EPD data manually. The reports it produces are not pretty, but they are thorough. The project looks a lot like OneClickLCA.
Actually the project looks so much like OpenLCA that I suspect it is the original basis for that project. I haven’t yet been able to confirm this. Since CarboLifeCalc uses a permissive (non-reciprocal) open source software license this is perfectly permissable. The MIT license used makes no requirement that other developers keep the project as open source or contribute code back to the original codebase. This would be a perfect example of the weakness of this type of license compared to a copyleft license which ensures reciprocity. This is why some call this type of permissive license a “doormat license” and I oppose their use. They allow commercial actors to ride free on the work of others – without contributing back to imrpove the project. That’s just my opinion – but I’m sticking with it.
OpenLCA
“The world’s leading, high performance, open source Life Cycle Assessment software. openLCA is an open source and free software for Sustainability and Life Cycle Assessment, with calculation of your Sustainability Assessment and/or Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), detailed insights into calculation and analysis results, best in class import and export capabilities; easy to share your models Life Cycle Costing and social assessment smoothly integrated in the life cycle model, and more.”
website
OpenLCA is for calculating the components of an LCA declaration, an EPD. So it is most relevant for product manufacturers.
The OpenLCA project is quite extensive with academic and industry involvement. They also includes a format converter, a collaboration server, and extensive learning material. The consultancy company GreenDelta is the main coordinator and original developers of OpenLCA.
BHoM Life Cycle Assessment Toolkit
The BHoM Life Cycle Assessment Toolkit is a Grasshopper node based tool for assessing the life cycle environmental impact of materials.
“The LifeCycleAssessment_Toolkit functions primarily as a suite of evaluation methods that work with EPDs. We’ve already taken a look at the dataset and how to create one. And you may have even skipped ahead to see how to map EPDs to your BHoM objects. In this section, let’s make the connection between datasets and EPDs abundantly clear. When you create a dataset node or container, you are actually accessing Environmental Product Declarations that have been saved within the BHoM as materials that can be applied to BHoM objects.”
LifeCycleAssessment Toolkit documentation
“This valuable new tool, an open-source endeavor, is an accessible and data-driven framework that allows design professionals to measure embodied carbon of all elements within building design. Supported by a network of architects, engineers, and software developers who have contributed code to it, the Buildings and Habitats object Model (BHoM) boasts an impressive range of functionality that spans multiple disciplines and represents a transformative and democratic approach to measuring embodied carbon in everyday construction materials.
American Institute of Architects [1]
BHoM itself is the object model structuring the data leveraged by the LCA Toolkit.
In Denmark I know that engineering consultancy firm Rambøll is working with Buro Happold investigating applications for BHoM. A major contributor to work on the LCA Toolkit is Michael Hoehn from Buro Happold.
A Carbon Tool (ACT)
“A Carbon Tool (ACT) is an open source web application that enables users to estimate embodied carbon equivalent (LCA) content from Building Information Models (BIM) – using Speckle to solve the challenge of data interoperability in the AEC industry. It is designed to provide quick and efficient feedback during the design process to enable users to identify carbon hotspots and reduce the impact their design has on the built environment.”
osarch.org website
Proprietary Danish Software
Koten
LCA skal være nemt
Det skal være gratis at gøre det rigtige. Derfor er CO₂ værktøjet hos Koten gratis og nemt!
1. Vælg om du vil benytte Kotens materialer i dit projekt
2. Vælg hvilke bygningsdele du vil eksportere
3. Importer direkte til LCAbyg
koten.dk
LCAbyg
Med LCAbyg kan du beregne et byggeris miljøprofil og ressourceforbrug. Du indtaster informationer om bygningsdelene og evt. bygningens energiforbrug. Værktøjet tager sig automatisk af LCA-beregningerne og samler resultaterne i udvalgte figurer og en rapport.
Det beregnes over hele bygningens livscyklus og inkluderer derfor fremskaffelse af råvarer, produktion af byggematerialer, energi- og ressourceforbrug ved drift og vedligehold, samt bortskaffelse og eventuelt genanvendelse af bygningsdele og byggematerialer.
LCAbyg
Real Time LCA
Med Real-Time LCA får I automatiseret, kontinuerlig indsigt i projektets CO2e, fra jeres 3D modeller og med data kalkuleret fra den mest omfattende, valide og brugervenlige miljødatabase til Danmark.
Arbejdsgangene for rådgiver er uændrede, men processen er meget mere simpel. Kunstig intelligens og automatisering frigiver op til 70 procent af tiden fra manuelt og repetitivt LCA-arbejde.
Gaiup, Capacit og ABC Rådgivende Ingeniører
DesignLCA
DesignLCA gør det muligt for rådgiverne at få overblik over deres projekters klimapåvirkning, og hermed bliver det lettere at designe klimavenlige projekter og sikre sig, at projekterne overholder de kommende LCA-krav i bygningsreglementet.
DesignLCA er integreret i den danske lokalisering som et plugin til Archicad 26, hvor hele LCA-beregningen færdiggøres direkte i Archicad. Indtil videre er DesignLCA-plugin’et tilgængeligt som en “public beta”, så giv os endelig besked, hvis der er noget vi skal rette eller ændre …
GRAPHISOFT Center Danmark
LCA Optimize
Med NTI TOOLS til Revit slipper du for de manuelle indtastninger i LCAbyg!
Vi har automatiseret det og lavet al forarbejdet for dig, så du kan komme fra Revit til LCAbyg med kun få klik.
Dine mængder på bygningsdele i Revit kan importeres direkte ind i LCAbyg.
NTI
Du sparer enorme mængder af tid, og slipper for at lave modellen om sent i processen.
NTI Tools is a Revit add-in. LCA integration was added around 2023.
I have heard that their NTI Connect platform which is a separate product can do more extensive calculations and reports. NTI Connect is similar to NBS Nordic.
I do not know if their rapports can be accepted by the municipalities as meeting the building regulation requirements.
LCAcollect
En helt ny digital platform, LCAcollect, skal gøre det lettere for alle i byggebranchen at indsamle ensartet LCA-data (Life Cycle Assessment data) for byggematerialer, som kan bruges til at dokumentere byggeriets klimaaftryk …
Arkitema og COWI er initiativtagere og primære udviklere på LCAcollect. Derudover består arbejdsgruppen af Green Building Council Denmark, Molio, Rambøll, FRI, Danske Ark, CG Jensen, Bygherreforeningen, DI og Bolig- og Planstyrelsen (som observatør).
LCAcollect stilles til rådighed for branchen i begyndelsen af 2023. Indtil da, kan du læse mere om baggrunden og følge med i den løbende tilpasning af værktøjet til branchen.
…
Det nye værktøj bruges til at indsamle oplysninger om bygningsdele, materialer og mængder, der kan eksporteres direkte til LCAbyg i JSON-format for at gennemføre selve LCA-beregningen.
LCAcollect
LCAcollect is described as open source software ( I haven’t seen the license). You can request a user account at the website of Molio. In Molios description they have reserved the right to restrict access, this would mean that it is not in fact open source software – maybe the text has not been updated?
There is a wide group of industry partners behind LCAcollect: COWI/Arkitema, Molio, Rambøll, Rådet for bæredygtigt byggeri, Foreningen for Rådgivende Ingeniører (FRI), Danske Arkitektvirksomheder, CG Jensen, Bygherreforeningen, DI Byggeri, BUILD og Bloxhub. I think this makes the product look very attractive and increases the chances that the product will continue to be developed.
NBS Nordic LCA Tools
LCA-beregninger med få klik
I dit NBS Nordic kan du løbende udregne og holde øje med CO2 udledningen for dit projekt. Du vælger selv, om det skal være manuelle mængder fra Revit eller begge ting. Eksporter til LCAbyg med ét klik.
LCA Nordic
NBS Nordic LCA Tools is an online tool originally developed as BIM Shark for managing dat of Revit model elements. LCA integration was added around 2023. NTI Connect is a similar solution.
I do not know if their rapports can be accepted by the municipalities as meeting the building regulation requirements.
Other software
| OneClickLCA(Revit extension) | Tortuga (Grasshopper extension) | CAALA
| eLCA | Simapro | Reduzer | GaBi (EPD database) | Ecochain (only consulting?)
| Umberto | Tally (Revit extension) |
Resources
Software is not enough – you need knowledge. I will focus here on free resources.
DiKon LCA-vejledning til supplement til bygningsdelsbeskrivelse
Vejledningen angiver principper for at definere en del af den nødvendige information, der skal være til stede i et projekt, for at kunne udføre LCA-analyser i løbet af projekterings- og udførselsfasen …
Det reelle informationsbehov for at kunne gennemføre LCA-
Dikon
analyser er større end det, der er repræsenteret via 3D-
modeller. Samtidig er det ikke alt 3D-materiale, der kan
anvendes direkte til LCA-analyser …
Aalborg Universitet: Introduction to LCA på Bygninger (.pdf)
Bag om bæredygtighed – Livscyklusvurdering (LCA)
Videncenter om Bygningers Klimapåvirkninger – VCBK
“VCBK hjælper byggebranchen med praktisk viden om klimakravene i bygningsreglementet og styrker branchens viden om og kompetencer i at dokumentere nybyggeriers samlede klimapåvirkninger.”
Circular Material Use
This list builds on a list made by Eiliv Andreas Myren Ribe for Henning Larsen Architects.
Loopfront “Circular Collaboration Platform” DE, EN, SE
Rehub “Connecting Supply & Demand of Reusable Building materials in a hub of supporting features.” NO
Madaster “In Madaster, all materials and products that are incorporated in an object are recorded. Madaster thus provides insight into the circularity of that object.” NE, BE, NO, DE, AT, CH
Case: Reuse and Recycling on the London 2012 Olympic Park (.pdf)
Case: Think twice before demolishing (.pdf)
Report: Insights on how circular economy principles can impact carbon and value (.pdf)
Website: Circular Economy Wiki (Part of Designing Buildings)
My Youtube playlist: Material reuse in buildings
Leave a Reply