Embodied Carbon Report, A1 to A3
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House plans or supplier product sheets (EPDs), one or several at once, a whole design package as a .zip or .rar, or photos of the plan sheets. Use Open drawings or paste a link in the bar above. Everything runs in your browser; files never leave this computer.
Project details
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Suggestions
Changes applied
All substitutions, ranked
Each swap uses a like-for-like A1 to A3 factor from the factor database. Apply one and every result on this page updates.
Embodied carbon, A1 to A3 (cradle to gate)
Contribution by material category
Contribution by assembly
Reference checks
Report summary
Scope, method and results set out the way the NRC National Guidelines for Whole-Building LCA and the City of Vancouver Part 9 embodied carbon submission ask for them, so the page can go to a reviewer, a lender or a buyer without being rewritten.
Ready for embodied carbon rules?
The embodied carbon rules that apply in the region chosen in the top bar, and where this design stands against them.
Compare design options
Save the current set of materials as an option, apply swaps or edits, save again, and compare side by side. This is how a carbon number changes a decision inside the design cycle.
Bill of quantities
Every line shows where it came from. MEASURED read from the drawings. INFERRED calculated from measured values. ASSUMED filled by a stated default where the drawings are silent. USER corrected by you. Edit any quantity and results update.
Foundation estimate
Foundations are often the least drawn part of a set, so every foundation dimension is shown here with where it came from: read from the drawings, or a research-based default from the building code and local frost depth. Defaults can be changed in the bill of quantities.
Geometry read from the drawings
Change a value to correct the reading. All quantities rebuild from these.
Drawing intake
Each page is identified by its sheet number and discipline. Pages with no readable text are flagged, because the tool cannot see inside scanned images.
Plan library
Every drawing set you run is added here, ranked from lowest to highest carbon intensity. Production builders can see their whole catalogue at a glance. Stored only in this browser.
How it works
1. Reads the text layer of each vector PDF page and identifies sheets. When a CAD export draws its notes as lines instead of text, the tool renders those pages and reads them with an in-browser text reader (Tesseract), including vertical labels. A set with no text layer at all (fully outlined or scanned, up to 90 pages) is read entirely this way, at about 15 seconds per page. Building length and width come from the plan's dimension strings: the segments along each side are added up and checked against the overall dimension, the way a plan checker does it. When those dimensions are drawn as lines, the floor plan alone is read as a sharpened high-resolution image (about 45 seconds), and a footprint found another way is cross-checked against any dimension string that confirms it. 2. Pulls geometry, assemblies, schedules and structural notes with rules that record the sheet and the exact text they matched. 3. Where drawings are silent, fills the gap with a stated default (National Building Code Alberta Edition minimums, or common Part 9 practice) and labels it ASSUMED. 4. Multiplies each quantity by an A1 to A3 factor from a separate factor database. Factors are never written into the calculation code. Each carries its source, declared unit, geography, module scope and validity, and the database can be swapped or extended, including from EC3 or other EPD libraries. 5. The headline is A1 to A3 (product stage), the scope of the challenge and of the Vancouver Part 9 limits. A4 transport to site and A5 construction waste are added on top as an A1 to A5 figure, so results can be compared with published A1 to A5 studies such as the CMHC Building Performance Reports. Biogenic carbon is reported separately and not netted.
Path to a professional assessment. The module structure (A1 to A5), separate biogenic reporting and EPD-based factors follow the approach of EN 15978 / ISO 21930 used in the NRC National Guidelines for Whole-Building LCA. The LCA-ready export hands the full takeoff, masses, distances and sources to a qualified practitioner for import into tools such as Athena Impact Estimator or One Click LCA, where use stage (B), end of life (C) and beyond (D) are completed and the study is reviewed and signed. Factor choice follows the Vancouver EPD hierarchy: regional (Alberta) industry averages first, then Canadian, then North American, then a similar product-specific EPD. The rules check uses Vancouver's Part 9 element scope (Appendix II, December 2025), which leaves out cabinetry, stairs, trim, finishes and decks. Why these A4 and A5 numbers
Accuracy check. Quantities read from the PDF drawings were compared against the BIM models CMHC publishes for the same homes. AB ADU 01: windows exact, slab area within 2 %, roof area within 1 %, interior wall length within 1 %, exterior wall area within about 6 %. AB ADU 02 (two storeys): exterior wall area within 2 %, slab area within 2 %, interior wall length within 1 %, window area 8 % low. The interior stair allowance comes from the ADU 02 BIM stair. Cabinet runs, deck area, stoops and screw pile size are not dimensioned in the drawing text, so they use typical values labelled ASSUMED that the user can edit.
Scope: prototype takeoff for a single home plan, not a certified LCA. Figures are estimates for design decisions and must be reviewed by a qualified professional.