00. Introduction - DavidVeld/CarboLifeCalc GitHub Wiki
Introduction
The current version of Carbo Life Calculator is a powerful tool that can be used to calculate the carbon footprint in a building design.
The application uses the quantities and materials taken from your Revit model, or materials that you manually specify, to calculate the embodied, upfront or whole life carbon. Your Revit model is automatically converted, which means that you can get an instant result for the building's carbon cost.
Carbo Life Calculator is a free and open-source tool, which means that it is available to anyone. This makes it a valuable resource for architects, engineers, and other building professionals who are looking to reduce the embodied carbon of their designs.
What is embodied carbon?
Embodied carbon is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (often simplified to “carbon”) generated to produce a built asset. This includes emissions caused by extraction, manufacture/processing, transportation and assembly of every product and element in an asset. In some cases, (depending on the boundary of an assessment), it may also include the maintenance, replacement, deconstruction, disposal and end-of-life aspects of the materials and systems that make up the asset. It excludes operational emissions of the asset. Source: UK-GBC EC Developing Client
Why do we need to know this?
Like many other factors of a building (total area, build cost, volume, value, etc.), embodied carbon is becoming increasingly important to understand and calculate. This is because embodied carbon can have a major impact on the overall carbon footprint of a building.
There are a number of ways to reduce the embodied carbon of a building. One way is to choose low-carbon materials. For example, concrete and steel are high-carbon materials, while wood and masonry are low-carbon materials. Another way to reduce embodied carbon is to design buildings that are more energy-efficient. This can be done by using insulation, energy-efficient windows, and renewable energy sources.
It is important to calculate the embodied carbon of a building design early in the design process. This will help architects and engineers to make informed decisions about the materials and construction methods that they choose. It will also help them to identify opportunities to reduce the embodied carbon of the building.
There are a number of tools available to help architects and engineers calculate the embodied carbon of a building design. These tools can vary in complexity and accuracy. However, all of them provide a valuable starting point for understanding the embodied carbon of a building.
By taking steps to reduce the embodied carbon of their buildings, architects and engineers can help to mitigate the effects of climate change. They can also help to create buildings that are more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Here are some additional reasons why it is important to calculate the embodied carbon of a building design:
- To comply with embodied carbon legislation. Some countries and cities are now introducing legislation that requires buildings to be designed with low embodied carbon.
- To understand the environmental impact of a building. Calculating the embodied carbon of a building can help to quantify the impact that the building will have on climate change.
- To identify opportunities to reduce the embodied carbon of a building. By understanding the embodied carbon of a building design, architects and engineers can identify opportunities to reduce the amount of carbon that is emitted during the construction process.
Why use Carbo Life Calculator?
Carbo Life Calculator is a tool that offers users a free and open-source solution to calculate the carbon footprint of a building design. It's designed to link into Autodesk Revit. Making this tool freely available for all will be key in creating awareness in the build environment.