Estimate Embodied Energy/Carbon of Any Shelter

There is an increasing desire to minimise the environmental impact of our activities. This tool is a simple way of estimating the embodied energy (in MJ) or embodied carbon (in kg of CO2 equivalent) of any shelter.

The unique element of the tool is that the answer will be automatically compared to the results for a large number of other shelters that have been constructed around the world, thereby giving you an idea of how your design compares to those already in use. A list of these case-study shelters, along with links to the data sources can be found here.

In order to make the comparisons fair, the tool asks for the expected life-time of the shelter and the internal floor area. The life-time is largely a guess, so the results are reported both ignoring this, and taking it into account. For some materials (for example cement) there are many choices given. If you don't know the precise form of your material, choose the standard default value (labeled "std."). The +/- buttons allow you to add/remove more materials of the same type, for example two different types of cement.

If you find any issues, or have a comments to make, please email Paul Shepherd.