Digital Engineering

Calculating embodied carbon

Manually calculating carbon in large building projects is a long and arduous task. Here at Perega, our Net Zero Carbon working group has identified how project information stored within Revit can be easily used to calculate the embodied carbon within a structure.

Through understanding the Revit application programming interface (API), we have developed a Revit add-in that uses carbon factors applied to objects in models, to calculate embodied carbon. This can be done throughout many stages of a project’s lifecycle, for a total of four different carbon solutions.

Our findings are then interrogated and input into a PowerBI dashboard, specifically developed by our Net Zero Carbon team. A carbon report is then produced, providing our clients with a high-level overview and breakdown of the total embodied carbon associated with their project.

3D Modelling Software

Perega utilises the Autodesk AEC collection as our base modelling software package, which includes AutoCAD, Revit, and Civil 3D. This is further enhanced by various third-party applications such as Rhino, Grasshopper, Dynamo and Enscape.

This combination of software means we can evaluate design changes and advise on their implications quickly, allowing us to quickly produce several design options and demonstrate finished revisions in real time, for open discussion and optimise layouts to suit the end user. It allows us to identify opportunities to reduce cost whilst aligning the design with the goals of stakeholders.