Goal and Scope
Goal
C.Scale provides directionally accurate guidance for specific projects by helping to identify which carbon reduction strategies a project should pursue, and helps to guide decarbonization of portfolios and portions of the building stock where C.Scale assumptions have been tested (i.e., in North America and the EU).
Scope
C.Scale is a whole life carbon model, integrating assessments of embodied and operational emissions in a data model to capture the entire carbon footprint of the project: from raw material extraction and manufacturing of construction materials through use to end of life. The tool also separately estimates the benefits and burdens beyond the system boundary of the project in future lifecycles and product systems.
A C.Scale model can cover the following building categories: structure, enclosure, interiors, MEP, sitework, and landscape. By default, all emissions associated with the building are included in the model's scope of analysis.
Geographic Coverage
C.Scale covers the following geographies:
Where country-level data is not available, we use generic regional background data. Background data sets currently include:
North America (NAM)
Europe (EU)
Rest of World (RoW)
Time Horizon
C.Scale is a time series model and can calculate emissions over a time horizon of either 30 or 60 years. Support for additional time horizons is under development.
Reference Service Life
C.Scale assumes a building's reference service life of 60 years.
Life Cycle Stages
C.Scale covers life cycle stages (sometimes called "life cycle modules") A1-A5, B1, B2-B5, B6, and C2-C4. These correspond to the impacts of the materials used in the project, emissions from construction, their replacement over time, and the project’s operational energy use. End-of-life (C2-C4) emissions for structure are only assessed when a 60-year time horizon is selected.
C.Scale also reports the benefits associated with the export of renewable energy to the grid (D2) and carbon storage in durable wood products (Stored Carbon).
Embodied Carbon Scope
C.Scale includes an assessment of embodied carbon from the following sources:
Building structure and substructure
Construction activities
Cladding, glazing, and roofing assemblies and their replacement over time
Interior fit-outs and their replacement over time
MEP systems (including on-site photovoltaic arrays) and their replacement over time
Sitework and landscape elements, including planting, paving, and regular landscape maintenance activities
Operational Carbon Scope
C.Scale considers operational emissions from the following sources:
Emissions from the combustion of methane gas in the building
Upstream leakage of methane gas as a proportion of methane gas combusted in the building
Upstream emissions from the generation of electricity delivered to the site
Refrigerant leakage during equipment installation, annually during the equipment's operation, and at the end of the equipment's life.
Stored Carbon
C.Scale includes an estimate of carbon storage from bio-based construction materials and landscape elements.
The tool estimates the carbon content of structural wood products permanently installed on the project at the time of initial construction. C.Scale's method for calculating carbon storage in timber structural systems is detailed in the section on Stored Carbon.
The C.Scale model also includes quantification of the carbon content of landscape elements over the project lifecycle. C.Scale’s methodology for calculating sequestration, storage, and emissions of site and landscape elements is detailed in the section on Site and Landscape.
Adjusting the Analysis Scope
In C.Scale, you can include or exclude analysis scope by selecting life cycle modules, building components, and processes in the application’s interface or directly in the API request body. When comparing results between C.Scale and other tools, or between any estimates of carbon emissions, the scope of each analysis must be identical.
Uncertainty
The inclusion of an uncertainty estimate is coming soon to the public web application.
Anecdotal evidence has put C.Scale results (modeled without any customization) within 5-30% of the estimates generated by whole building Life Cycle Assessment and hourly operational carbon assessment for buildings where C.Scale was used either in early project stages or post facto.
Customizing any model parameters will remove them from the calculation of uncertainty. We assume that custom data represents commitments made by the project team.
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