Timber Sector Carbon Calculator Proposal

GBE > Encyclopaedia > Code > Issues > Proposal > G#15015

Timber Sector Carbon Calculator Proposal
About:

Timber Sector Carbon Calculator APP

Objective

On a mobile phone or tablet
With a customer/designer/purchaser
Within a reasonably short time with some interaction
For timber components of an installation
Total carbon or carbon saving
Total up, calculate and display results
- embodied carbon
- sequestered carbon
- Total carbon

Future Development

Costs (already exists in Sarah’s app)
CO2 Compare with alternative materials
CO2 saving
Embodied energy
Embodied water
Design notes
Specification clauses populated by tool

Primary issue for development

How accurately do you want calculations?
Accuracy dictates price of development
Is there a budget to work to?
Where are the drivers for the information coming from?
What level of accuracy is required by?
- BREEAM?
- EcoHomes?
- Code for Sustainable Homes: is gone
- Ska?
- Sustainable Procurement?
- Enterprise Carbon Accounting?

Issues dictating accuracy

Density
No need to know species but can work from species via density too Moisture Content:
normally timber is specified to a MC
Quantity calculation or weigh in
Carbon calculation approach v LCA

Accuracy Levels:

Density: Choose Hardwood or Softwood Density ranges
Species specific densities
Moisture content
- Green
- Air dried
- Kiln dried %
- range %
Quantity
- Ex Size
- Wrot size
- Planed size
- Profiled cross section area
- Minimum length
- Actual length
- Weight
Carbon calculation Via LCA along whole supply chain
- Quoted Carbon calculation at end of line
- Combination Based on what you sell
- Sequestered carbon
- Based on what is wasted as well
- Embodied & Sequestered carbon
Calculate
Choose profile of section: drop down menu words & images
Choose Size of section Drop down menu or type
Choose or type Length of piece
Type Number of pieces
Calculate Volume of timber
Choose Moisture Content from ranges Drop down menus or type in
Choose density or Species from drop down menu/look up table
Add weight if known or Calculate Weight in kg
for LCA calculations for carbon/C02 calculation
Equation for kg to Carbon/CO2
Wastage Factors
Utilisation of log % v % wastage
Milling, cutting and planning losses
Profile losses
Damage in transport and storage

Out of scope

Application wastage
Data needed
Data assembled as drop down lists
For consistent entries
For all available options
Filtered by users or supplier according to their stock
Species dataset ICE database including hardwood & softwood
NGS has created timber dataset excluding carbon
RICS has launched a Carbon Database
TTF have developed a Timber Dataset with Carbon
____ has an LCA database of timber species
Timber component section dataset
EcoChoice Ltd. may have one
English Woodlands Timber has one
British Standards have some

Future Development/Optional Extras

Alternative materials dataset

ICE but inconsistent
NGS & CAPEM have created Generic materials dataset
May need completing from other sources
RICS has launched their Carbon Database

Configuration of Assemblies as look up table

To add data to all cells to enable calculations

Special Profile data set

Standard profiles in market
Need to be collected
Or create a calculator to work out
Determine wastage to create profile

Costing datasets

English Woodlands Timber has one
EcoChoice Ltd. must have one
Could there be an interface for all suppliers to add their own?
Or bespoke it to their current or normal stock?

Installation configuration

Basic configuration with 3D illustration

Examples:

Bridge Pier
Deck Groyne Revetment
Retaining wall
Crib wall
Fencing
Weatherboarding & battens
Flooring/Decking
Stud wall
Timber framed building
Lock Gates
Post and Beam building

Installation quantities

Overall Size of installation

Components

Sections
Spacing
Length(s)

Accessories

Fasteners

Bespoke configuration

Calculator Collator
Not easy
Needs intervention by us to capture and reuse as basic installation configuration

Save function

For repeat of process with variables
To user
To core for other users

Report function

To present to others in design team

Print function

Email function

Other considerations

Timber sector needs this to compete with other materials

Ideally should not be developed for EcoChoice alone

Bespoked by each supplier according to stock
Could be online for all to access
Useable by all
Make it an APP for tablet and mobile, etc.
Sell cheaply to many
Bespoke it for a fee
Train in use of it
LCA may take into account: (Andrew to advise if included in calculations or not)
Land use change
Forestry/Plantation impacts
Transport on land at forest/plantation end
Transport in rivers
Transport across oceans by tanker
Transport locally rail and/or road
Where in the supply chain is machining?
Energy and carbon in timber mills
Biomass waste to energy at mills

Future Development/optional extra

Water consumption Embodied water
Durability Life expectancy as species for application
Need or avoidance of preservative treatment
Important for LCA Less important for embodied carbon?
Need or avoidance of kiln drying
- Important for embodied energy
- Could be important for embodied carbon depending on fuel

Species selector

Choose species based on
- performance requirements
- properties
- appropriate characteristics
- appropriateness to application
- Colour and appearance,
- figure and grain
- Application
- Report on why species shortlisted are suitable
- And why chosen species are not suitable
- Guidance on choosing and reserving logs

Partners and Prior experience

Sarah Farmer @ English Woodlands Timber
- Timber in the blood
- Created timber stock and price calculator for supplier (employer at the time)
- Used on tablet
- Fast selection species, sizes, quantities
- Delivers price instantly
- Willing to introduce us to Director to consider sharing core of tool with a different output for the wider benefit of the sector
Dr Andrew Norton @ Renuables
- Timber & Biobased in the blood
- LCA expert (for carbon and other outputs)
- Timber and Biobased expertise
- CAPEM Compass experience
Brian Murphy @ Green Building Encyclopaedia
- Green blood
- Data hoarder/Excel champion
- CAPEM compass experience
- GreenSpecSTUDIO experience
- Fast learning about crowd funding
- Request from EcoChoice to fulfill if UEA fail
- Website to disseminate results
- CPD and promotion opportunities
- Future Development/Optional Extras
Dan Ward @ Archisan Architect runs own practice
- Green aspiration
- Graphics champion
- Sketchup Champion: 3D Models, BIM Ready
- Can create a BIM library of installation objects with Carbon & LCA Data
Paul Jary @ BIM Systems UK
- ITC in the blood
- BIM Level 3 user
- Has integrated CAPEM outputs into BIM
- Has BIM Library online

Costs:

Have not even started thinking about it
Accuracy level dictates level of development and costs
Keep it simple meet EcoChoice Ltd. requirement and no more
EcoChoice Ltd. will fund what they want.
Future development optional extras: later not now
Optional extras may be of interest for EcoChoice Ltd. later
Sarah has done something very like this already but focuses on costs
May be able to work out rough time spent Weeks Months?
Need some prices from front end interface developer
Upgrade to mobile as well as tablet
Start with Excel function, first prove it works
Then put a good front end on it
Then price the other activities
By doing test runs
Need to work out some costings for activities
Need to determine any data licences
We can barter with CAPEM datasets
Funding further developments
Need to approach TSB/InnovateUK/LEP about R&D funding
Need to consider Crowdfunding as match funding to develop further

Video for TRANSECO: to be developed Involvement in project in abeyance

Revisions

Revision Comment Author Org Date

A00 %%% Created file after Peterborough B2B 2014 exhibition in readiness for meeting with Grant Fund agencies BRM NGS 26/10/2014

A00 %%% Had meeting with EcoChoice who want Carbon calculator APP for his business discussed with Sarah Farmer BRM NGS 28-30/10/2014

A00 Issue 5 pages on Carbon calculator to SF & AN BRM NGS 30/10/2014

A01 Updated after call to Andrew Norton BRM NGS 30/10/2014

A01 Issue to EcoChoice for consideration BRM NGS 30/10/2014