BEAM Estimator
The construction sector is responsible for 39% of global carbon emissions, more than any other industry.
It's a statistic that has been taken lightly in the last few months, but it needs to be addressed. Carbon emissions pose a real threat to life as we know it today, and with this in mind, businesses need to start making serious changes to the way they operate.
As a result, businesses are increasingly looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint and lower their impact on the environment. The BEAM Estimator is a great tool that constructors can use to measure carbon emissions and reduce their carbon footprint.
Learn more about this tool.
What is a BEAM Estimator?
The Building Emissions Accounting for Materials Estimator (BEAM) estimates emissions from building materials and operations in a building. BEAM can be used to approximate the embodied carbon footprint of a building and the operational carbon footprint.
BEAM may be used by any organization, industry, or individual that wants to estimate the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of buildings. The tool is meant to help organizations with the following:
Incorporate sustainable practices into their business models.
Acquire credits for low-carbon building materials to meet green building standards such as LEED® or Green Globes®.
Estimate and report greenhouse gas emissions using GHG protocols.
The BEAM Estimator is designed to be user-friendly; it uses default values based on international best practices integrated into the tool's algorithms to calculate emissions or removals. These calculations provide a consistent basis for comparing the performance of different projects across sectors and regions.
It determines the carbon emissions associated with each project stage. The results can be used to quantify carbon emissions and support carbon accounting. It is also intended to provide information on ways to reduce carbon emissions which will help the design team develop a low carbon building.
In order to achieve low carbon construction, it is necessary to ensure that the building's life cycle carbon emissions are reduced. This can be accomplished by implementing steps that reduce energy consumption during building operations and substituting materials with less carbon-intensive ones. The BEAM Estimator assists you in determining how to attain carbon neutrality in your organization.
Types of BEAM estimators
Generally, there are two types of BEAM estimators:
BEAM Plus Existing Buildings (EB)
BEAM Plus Existing Buildings (EB) allows stakeholders to assess existing buildings.
It is specifically tailored for evaluating existing buildings, including residential and commercial properties. The assessment criteria under the BEAM Plus EB scheme will be structured around the following categories:
Water Efficiency
Energy Efficiency
Waste Management
Indoor Environmental Quality
Building Operation and Management
Innovation
2. BEAM Plus New Buildings (NB)
BEAM Plus New Buildings (NB) allows stakeholders to assess new building projects.
It considers the design, construction, and post-construction stages of a building. This type of assessment is meant for buildings planning to get a pre-certification from BEAM Plus NB before construction starts.
What is Carbon Neutrality?
Carbon neutrality, often known as having a net-zero carbon footprint, is the achievement of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by balancing a measurable amount of carbon emitted with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset or by purchasing enough carbon credits to make up the difference.
It is used in carbon-emitting operations such as transportation, energy production, and other industrial processes such as the creation of carbon-neutral gasoline. It is also employed in biological processes such as biological sequestration.
Carbon neutrality can be achieved through actions including energy conservation, green power, sustainable transport, recycling, and renewable energy. Carbon neutrality is usually achieved by "combustion of biogases and biofuels or their conversion into other energy carriers."
Why should we rely on the BEAM estimator to make decisions about carbon neutrality?
BEAM estimator has developed to be a reliable reference for the industry and policymakers. It was created by combining the knowledge of several international experts and organizations, which have carefully reviewed and validated its results.
Furthermore, the BEAM estimator has undergone several quality assurances and validation processes before being released to the public. An expert panel thoroughly reviewed the CO2e-Calculator's algorithm from various car rental companies and other stakeholders.
How do I calculate my carbon emission numbers?
To determine your carbon emission numbers, you must first determine the amount of energy you are using. You can do this by using a BEAM estimator or energy modeling software. This will tell you the amount of energy consumed in your building and where it is being used. You can then calculate the carbon emissions by looking at the GHG (greenhouse gas) Emissions Intensity Rate.
GHG Emissions Intensity Rate = GHG Emissions / Total Energy Use
GHG Emissions = [(Total Energy Use x (GHG Emission Factor)] + [CHP Fuel Use x (Stationary Combustion Rate)] + [Fuel Oil Use x (Stationary Combustion Rate)]
How does the BEAM Estimator help in keeping our carbon footprint small?
The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method is used by the Building Emissions Accounting for Materials Estimator to calculate the amount of CO2 released during the production of building materials.
LCA calculates the total energy and raw material inputs and all waste outputs related to the life cycle of a product or service. This kind of accounting helps you identify ways to reduce the environmental impacts associated with your products or services--in this case, building materials commonly used in residential and commercial construction.
The estimator is intended for architects, designers, and engineers. It's also ideal for anyone involved in designing and constructing buildings who wants to know how their decisions regarding building materials will affect carbon dioxide emissions.
Planners and policymakers can also use the estimator to assess and compare the relative carbon impacts of different material choices for new construction.
What are the benefits of a BEAM Estimator?
Calculating embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from building materials can be a daunting task, especially for those who do not have access to building information modeling (BIM) software. Fortunately, BEAM is an alternative solution designed to be simple and easy to use and comes with the following benefits:
An intuitive interface that does not require specific training in GHG accounting practices or BIM software.
A flexible input format allows measuring building materials by volume, weight, or cost.
The ability to export results in a spreadsheet-friendly format for simple data manipulation.
The ability to export results into a project's BIM file for further analysis or comparison between different scenarios.
The unique functionality of measuring the embodied impact of recycled content in building materials.
Conclusion
The biggest takeaway from the Building Emissions Estimator is that materials are responsible for a considerable portion of the emissions produced in the building process. And you can always go leaner—designers can always do better. We're not suggesting that designers go out and try to figure out every possible way to reduce emissions, but we do hope that this tool helps shed some light on potential areas for improvement.
