Hello,
I want to perform building LCA for Indian buildings.
I need guidance on which option should be selected in the building type, while creating a new project.
Also, I am looking forward to using the Indian Life Cycle Inventory database.
Please suggest.
Thank You.
Good morning and welcome to the One Click LCA Community!
It’s great to hear you are looking into performing LCA for buildings in India. When starting a new building project you have a range of building options you could start a calculation for. It’s best to pick the building type that closest resembles the building you want to assess.
There is only one Indian materials database which is suitable for building LCA calculations as of today, however there are many EPDs which you would be able to find.
The database in question is what we call a ‘generic’ database and you can find it in e.g. the global carbon tool. (it only has data on GWP).
You can, however, find plenty of EPDs from India by setting your country filter to India.
In my example I used the materials compass, the data can also be found in the calculation tools that support the data.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Thanks for your response.
Which option should I choose while starting the new project? (For the purpose stated in the previous mail.)
Thank you. Regards
To access a large portion of the building materials database, including data for Indian generic materials:
- Option 1: Start a trial for Australia and New Zealand. This trial includes access to the Indian materials data as well.
To specifically access data commonly used for LEED assessments in India:
- Option 2: Start a trial focused on LEED assessments. This trial will give you the relevant data for LEED projects in India (including Indian EPDs), a commonly pursued certification in India.
Thank you for your response. I am working on it.
Regards
Good afternoon,
I need guidance on how to use the Bill of Quantities of a particular building for the conducting LCA. I have attached a BoQ for your reference. I have such bills in which dimensions and quantity, both are mentioned.
Please guide on:
- How to use this information in the OneClick LCA? (I am facing difficulty in choosing materials for various sections of building).
- Can the quantity be entered directly (in cubic meters) instead of defining the parameters and entering their dimensions ?
Looking forward to your response.
Thank you. Regards
(Attachment Bill of Quantities - 1.pdf is missing)
Good afternoon,
I need guidance on how to use the Bill of Quantities of a particular building for the conducting LCA. I have attached a part of BoQ for your reference. I have such bills of quantities, in which dimensions and quantity, both are mentioned.
Please guide on:
- How to use this information in the OneClick LCA? (I am facing difficulty in choosing materials for various sections of building).
- Can the quantity be entered directly (in cubic meters) instead of defining the parameters and entering their dimensions ?
Please find attached next in sequence…
Looking forward to your response.
Thank you. Regards
Hi! The best way to upload such a BoQ is to use our new import process, which allows you to ensure the columns are assigned correctly.
Please find that information in the following article: Import Process in One Click LCA
In general (as the article describes) you will need to know what material it is, e.g. from your screenshot it could piles, we need to know the class of the material and the quantity. If we have this information then we can reliably map it to options in the database.
Regarding quantities, it is recommended to use total quantities like cubic meters. Regarding items like piles, unless you know the product has an EPD for a set dimension, it is better to go for cubic meters or weight when including the products.
Thank you for the response.
Entering the quantities in cubic meters would be best, as I have that in the BoQ and it will bypass the need to import as well. Please guide on:
- Where to enable such an input. Currently, I am able to enter the quantity in square meters (PFA the screenshot)
- Also, on entering the column, my required dimensions are 250*300 sq mm, but there are limited options and it is not there in the database (PFA the screenshot). Can I enter it manually?
I would like to connect in person regarding the new import process and other similar tools. Please let me know.
Thank you. Regards
Hi! If you want to input such items, you are not restricted by just those choices. If you want to input materials in cubic meters then you should pick a product (e.g. normal ready mix concrete) of the strength class you need, and input it in cubic meters. Ensure you add reinforcement as appropriate. The following articles may help:
Some resources are reported based on set dimensions, like the ones you have in your screenshot, and others can manually be included.
Unfortunately, we are not able to offer in-person support for educational users.
Good afternoon,
Thank you for your previous responses.
Please clarify on these too:
- I want to change the scope of my LCA to “Cradle to Gate” only; and do not want to include the B, C, and D categories. Is there any option to change the scope? If so, please tell me how.
- I need to change the plaster mortar ratio/ cement mortar ratio. In the database, there are fixed options. Can it be modified?
- Can we take input from another database too, like EcoInvent?
Thank you. Regards
Hi! It is possible to change scope by turning off specific settings in your ‘LCA parameters’ or omitting inputs. Please check the article here: LCA Parameter Setup
- If you do not set a calculation period in your project, it will not calculate B-stage emissions.
- If you turn off end-of-life settings, it will not generate C and D stage emissions and then you virtually have a cradle-to-gate assessment.
The fixed options cannot be modified, however, you can pick an option that suits you best, or group materials to form a new material with the desired ratio of choice. I’d recommend reading this article on how to group materials: Grouping materials as constructions
Ecoinvent data cannot be used for building assessments, as the format of the data is uncharacterized, and therefore the emissions do not match the standard of data required for assessments. Ecoinvent data is solely used for e.g. product LCA where it is chosen as the basis of assessments and characterized, generating outputs that can be used in building assessments.
Let me know if you have any further questions.
Greetings,
I am on another project where I have to use a bill of quantities in LCA. The interface has been changed to a newer one, which is a bit complex. The previous version showed options on entering the building element, material. Need guidance on how to use this one.
I am also looking to put my data into excel sheets so that I can directly feed excel sheets as input and can do multiple analysis quickly.
Please guide me.
Thank you.
The interface has been updated, and while it might take a little time to adjust, it’s now significantly faster. You can upload your Excel sheet directly (you no longer need to use our existing templates). In your case however, I would do minor edits.
- Regarding your Bill of Quantities (BoQ), I recommend separating the “Room,” “Kitchen,” and “Verandah” sections. These sections have different quantities. You can either combine the total quantities for all three elements or list them separately (one after the other), resulting in a list of 31 items with their respective materials.
- If your project is outside of the United States, then I would also recommend converting the units of measurement, as you now have a list of metric and imperial units, which in practice do not go together well.
For guidance on the new import process, please see this article: https://oneclicklca.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10798081009052-Updated-Import-Process-in-One-Click-LCA
Thank you for the response.
I uploaded the Excel file and the results were good, but I found that I was unable to restrict the data from a particular country only. My work is based in India and needs India-specific inputs only. I saw the alternative and related options too on clicking on those inputs, but there were datasets from other regions and not India. Can I restrict it to only India separately?
Also, earlier I used to enter the material and it used to appear in the drop-down list; but now, I can’t find it. Has it changed? or some items removed? (as I can see only limited entries for the Indian region)
Thank you
During the uploading process, specifically when assigning materials, you can filter by country. However, the materials displayed also depend on your project’s location settings.
For instance, if you’ve set your project location to India, you’ll have access to localized generic materials from One Click LCA, which expands your selection of regionally relevant options.
It’s important to acknowledge that the availability of manufacturer-specific Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) from India is currently limited due to market factors. Nevertheless, the ‘Indian construction materials DB’ provides a generic database of Indian materials.
We do not remove materials from the database; when an EPD expires, it is marked with a symbol indicating its validity status. This ensures that your material choices remain consistent.