Analyze Scenarios

Scenarios can be analyzed using the following charts found within the This Scenario tab.

Emissions Over Time

This figure describes the cumulative carbon emissions of a building over time. As a chart of cumulative emissions, the height of the bar in each year is the total emissions associated with the building up to and including that year rather than only the emissions associated with that year.

This figure shows cumulative emissions over time. Looking at effects over time facilitates an understanding of how different carbon emission reduction strategies perform over a building's lifetime.

This chart has a number of elements:

• Reduction from Baseline. Cumulative reduction in emissions of the current scenario as compared to the baseline.

• Refrigerant Emissions. Cumulative emissions associated with the refrigerant use in the building services.

• Electricity Emissions. Cumulative emissions associated with the energy use from the electrical grid.

• Fossil Fuel Emissions. Cumulative emissions associated with onsite fossil fuel use.

• Embodied carbon emissions. Cumulative emissions associated with building materials, their replacements, and with landscape maintenance.

• Biogenic Carbon Storage. Sequestered emissions from building structure and landscape planting.

• Avoided Energy Emissions. Avoided emissions from onsite energy generation in excess of use.

• Net Emissions. Operational, embodied, and refrigerant emissions minus biogenic carbon storage and and avoided energy emissions.

• Climate Positive Threshold. When the net emissions of a project crosses the zero line, the crossing point is marked as the Climate Positive threshold.

Hovering over a bar gives the summary of emissions in that year. This is useful for determining how the project is performing against time-based targets (e.g. a 2030 net zero target). Hovering over the final year in the chart gives the total emissions across the analysis period. Note that these numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred and may not sum to net emissions in all cases.

Emissions by Scope Category

This chart breaks down the building's contribution to operational carbon emissions (B6), embodied carbon emissions (A1-A3, A4-A5, B1, B2-B5, C1-C4, D), and biogenic carbon storage by scope category. This figure represents the total cumulative emissions associated with the scenario across the entire analysis period.

When comparing C.Scale results to wbLCA results at later project phases, this breakdown can be helpful in confirming if designs are within the carbon budget for a particular scope cateory for the project as a whole.

This figure shows total emissions by scope category. Comparing the relative contribution of each scope category can help in identifying the largest contributors and targeting reduction strategies accordingly.

Each of the scope categories breaks carbon emissions into the following Life Cycle Stages:

• A1-A3. Total upstream product emissions associated with the scope category.

• A4-A5. Total construction jobsite emissions associated with the scope category.

• B1. Total in-use emissions associated with the scope category.

• B2-B5. Total replacement and refurbishment emissions associated with the scope category.

• B6. Total energy use emissions associated with the scope category.

• C1-C4. Total end-of-life emissions associated with the scope category.

• D. Total benefits beyond the system boundary (typically from recycling materials) associated with the scope category.

• Biogenic Carbon Storage. Total carbon stored by biological materials.

Emissions by Life Cycle Stage

This chart breaks down the building's contribution to operational carbon emissions (B6), embodied carbon emissions (A1-A3, A4-A5, B1, B2-B5, C1-C4, D), and biogenic carbon storage by LCA stage. This figure represents the total cumulative emissions associated with the scenario across the entire analysis period.

When comparing C.Scale results to wbLCA results at later project phases, this breakdown can be helpful in confirming if designs are within the carbon budget for a particular LCA stage for the project as a whole.

This figure shows total emissions by LCA stage. Comparing the relative contribution of each LCA stage can help in identifying when emissions occur in the lifecycle and targeting reduction strategies accordingly.

Each of the LCA stages breaks carbon emissions into the following scope categories:

• Energy Use. Sources and use of energy in the building.

• Structure. Substructure and superstructure, including both lateral and gravity systems.

• Enclosure. Solid exterior wall, transparent exterior wall, and roofing.

• Interior. Interior construction and fit-out.

• Services. Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) services and PV Array.

• Refrigerants. Refrigerants used in building services (e.g., HVAC+R).

• Sitework. Hardscape and landscape surrounding the building.

• Jobsite. Construction-related processes.

• Biogenic Carbon Storage. Total carbon stored by biological materials.

Emissions Summary

This donut chart displays the proportional relationship of the scenario's emissions over the analysis period.

The Total emissions bar chart and a tabular summary of the scenario's emissions.

This chart has a number of elements:

• Refrigerant Emissions. Cumulative emissions associated with the refrigerant use in the building services.

• Electricity Emissions. Cumulative emissions associated with the energy use from the electrical grid.

• Fossil Fuel Emissions. Cumulative emissions associated with onsite fossil fuel use.

• Embodied carbon emissions. Cumulative emissions associated with building materials, their replacements, and with landscape maintenance.

• Stored Carbon. Sequestered emissions from building structure and landscape planting.

• Avoided Energy Emissions. Avoided emissions from onsite energy generation in excess of use.

• Net Emissions. Operational, embodied, and refrigerant emissions minus biogenic carbon storage and and avoided energy emissions.

• Reduction from Baseline. Cumulative reduction in emissions of the current scenario as compared to the baseline.

• Energy Use Intensity (EUI). Energy use by the building per area per year.

• Embodied Carbon Intensity (ECI). Embodied carbon emissions from the building over the analysis period divided by the building area.