Building decarbonisation calculator aims to help businesses achieve net zero goals

A new building decarbonisation calculator created by Schneider Electric is an online tool designed to enable building owners and operators to quickly test and explore a range of energy and carbon conservation measures (ECCMs), and to identify the most appropriate options based on simulated data.

The solution is designed to allow users to evaluate and prioritise retrofit scenarios, helping to balance cumulative costs and emissions from the present date to 2050, to plan a path to a goal of net zero emissions.

With a dataset of close to 500 000 building performance models that span various building types, sizes, and geographies, the tool allows users to assess the carbon and financial return on investment of ECCMs and compare their decarbonisation pathways to New York City's Local Law 97 fines or the carbon risk real estate monitor (CRREM) pathway.

“As regulatory requirements tighten, especially in cities like New York and Boston as well as in countries like France and the UK, the Building Decarbonisation Calculator is a powerful consultative tool that supports compliance with local mandates, while providing a clear path for operational improvements,” said Schneider Electric global VP: digital energy building Mike Kazmierczak.

The Building Decarbonisation Calculator can help in scenario planning in the following ways:

• Rapid assessments: Pre-loaded modelled data enables users to quickly evaluate potential energy savings and emissions reductions. The estimates are based on industry-standard methodology for simulating results based on the building type and location. 
• Return on investment (ROI) for upfront expenses: Assets within the tool can be evaluated across several retrofit scenarios that provide key metrics like ROI.
• Support for regulatory compliance: Estimations for costs of non-compliance and ROI for compliance enable building owners to compare plans that align compliance with regulations for planning and budgeting purposes.
• Prioritisation of retrofit actions: The tool highlights the impact of selected ECCMs, assisting users in prioritising retrofit plans based on both carbon and financial metrics. This includes running preset scenarios for light interventions, medium retrofits, and deep renovations. 
• Scalable functionality: The tool is scalable, allowing for tailored scenarios that reflect retrofit opportunities of individual buildings or entire portfolios, including support across retail, hotels, hospitals, and office buildings.

The calculator was built in collaboration with JLL, a Chicago-based provider of real estate services and solutions, and C.scale, an outgrowth of San Francisco-based architectural firm EHDD. Schneider Electric says that JLL is supporting the calculator by performing building performance modelling, and C.scale is working closely with the company on machine-learning models to support climate action at speed and scale.