Embodied carbon is quantities times carbon factors. The model gives the quantities; you make sure they're the right ones, mapped to the right materials, at a stage when the answer can still change the design.
Embodied carbon is the greenhouse gas emitted to make, transport, install, maintain and eventually dispose of a building's materials. It is measured in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (kgCO₂e). For many new buildings it is as large as the carbon from decades of operation, and almost all of it is fixed by design decisions: frame, foundations, façade.
The calculation is simple: for each material, multiply its quantity (m³, m², tonnes) by its carbon factor (kgCO₂e per unit), then add them up. Factors come from environmental product declarations (EPDs) for specific products, or from generic databases. The model supplies the quantities.
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