Embodied carbon means all the CO2 emitted in producing materials. It is estimated from the energy used to extract and transport raw materials as well as emissions from manufacturing processes. The embodied carbon of a building can include all the emissions from the construction materials, the building process, all the fixtures and fittings inside as well as from deconstructing and disposing of it at the end of its lifetime.
It can be used to compare the environmental impacts of different building materials, designs and construction processes. It can help to identify elements which are carbon-intensive and promote alternative options which reduce the amount of CO2 released. It can be used to design policies that reduce the CO2 emissions from the construction sector.
Used together with the operational carbon (i.e. the carbon emitted due to use of the building for heating, cooling, equipment use etc), the embodied carbon can be included as part of a whole life cycle analysis (LCA) to understand the overall impact of the building on the environment over its whole life cycle.
DesignBuilder provides 2 methods to calculate environmental impact of the building construction (as opposed to its operation):
The recommended way to carry out a complete Building Life Cycle Assessment, is through our native integration with One Click LCA ®, a powerful yet easy to use LCA and LCC platform. The integration enables DesignBuilder users to:
Note: The One Click LCA integration uses the material names selected in the DesignBuilder model, mapping those to known certified data contained in the extensive One Click LCA database. The embodied carbon data entered in the DesignBuilder Materials database is not used in these analyses.
For more information on the integration see: DesignBuilder and One Click LCA: instant Life Cycle Assessment from DesignBuilder
Guidance on how to access One Click LCA from DesignBuilder can be found at: DesignBuilder - One Click LCA Guidance
Note: You should contact One Click LCA to obtain a licence to access their online system from DesignBuilder.
DesignBuilder also provides a basic report of the embodied carbon and equivalent carbon data for the building on the Embodied Carbon tab of the Cost and Carbon screen. The carbon data covers only bulk construction and glazing materials and not lighting, HVAC and other building services.
The calculation is made by summing the embodied carbon data for each surface in the model, calculated using construction material layers and the embodied carbon data for each material.
The materials and constructions inventories are equivalent ways of showing the same data, but broken down in different ways. The total for the building is shown at the bottom.
Note: Embodied carbon calculations for models where the zone multiplier is used are not always 100% accurate because the embodied carbon for internal surfaces between multiplied zones and adiabatic component blocks can be over-estimated.
Note: In order for the cost of renewable systems such as solar PV and hot water panels and wind turbines to be included in the Embodied carbon report (and any embodied carbon-related KPIs used in an optimisation) those generators must be specified in an Electric Load Centre.
An example Embodied carbon report is shown below.
