About LCAbyg

LCAbyg is a tool that calculates life cycle assessments for buildings.

With LCAbyg, you can calculate a building's environmental profile and resource consumption. You enter information about the building parts and possibly the building's energy consumption. The program automatically computes the results in a table and generates figures and a summary report.

The calculations of environmental impacts are performed over the entire life cycle of the building, including the procurement of raw materials, production of building materials, energy and resource consumption during operation and maintenance, and disposal and possible recycling of building parts and building materials.

You can read more on the page About LCAbyg

News and updates

Updated version of LCAbyg with bug fixes

LCAbyg 2023 (5.3.1.0) was released on December 23rd, 2022, developed to be used as documentation of the BR requirement for climate impact. A new updated version has now been released, LCAbyg 2023.2. This version has solved many of the issues we have been made aware of on an ongoing basis and other minor improvements to the program.

LCAbyg 2023, the construction library and the manual is available in English.

The new version and the manual can be downloaded via the button below.
The version for Windows and Mac has been updated.

Read more about which errors have been corrected in the FAQ.

Support for the development of LCAbyg

The operation of LCAbyg 2023 and the further development of method and data are secured until 2025 through support from Villum Fonden and Realdania. This support has made it possible to publish the new version and continue to offer the Danish construction industry access to a research-based tool that can help the industry build competencies in LCA calculations in connection with the new building regulations.

PRESS RELEASE ON JULY 6, 2023

On 1 July, the Danish Social and Housing Authority withdrew the support for LCAbyg23, as the aid has proven to be in violation of the rules for state aid. Thus, the financial basis for LCAbyg23, as well as the operation of future versions that support future climate requirements in 2025 and 2027, disappears. This means that LCAbyg is seeking new funding to ensure a continued free and research-based tool for the Danish construction industry.

For further information please contact

About the agreement with the Danish Social and Housing Authority
Anne Kathrine Frandsen, Viceinstitutleder.
o T: 30460554
o E: akf@build.aau.dk

About LCAbyg
Harpa Birgisdóttir, Professor i bygningers bæredygtighed.
o T: 51904845
o E: hbi@build.aau.dk

General press contact
Kristoffer Soelberg, Kommunikationschef.
o T:61967373
o E: krso@build.aau.dk

New release: LCAbyg 2023-beta

We have just launched a new beta version of LCAbyg 2023, which is adapted to the upcoming requirements regarding the climate impact of buildings, which will be a part of the building regulations on 1 January 2023. LCAbyg 2023 has been released as a beta version for testing in the period 3.-28. October. This is not the final version of the program and it may therefore contain errors, which we ask you to report to our mailbox lcabyg@build.aau.dk.

Please note that due to an expectation of a large amount of emails during this period, emails relating to tests and feedback will not be answered. After the test period of the program, it will still be possible to report bug fixes in the program to the mailbox.

In connection with the release, we have held a webinar where we review the new functions in the program.
Watch the webinar at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6ctT9ftrlA&t=1s.

Recall of LCAbyg 5.2.1.0+DGNB

Due to feedback that the program crashes, we have chosen to recall LCAbyg 5.2.1.0+DGNB. This means that this version of the program will no longer be available for download on our site. The actual calculation of the buildings' environmental impact in LCAbyg 5.2.1.0+DGNB does not differ from LCAbyg 5.2.1.0. The only difference in the two versions was the DGNB module, which calculates the points that the project can achieve in DGNB by comparing the footprint against a reference building. It will still be possible to submit an LCA carried out in LCAbyg 5.2.1.0 for DGNB, the calculation of points simply needs to be done in DK-GBC's excel tool, which calculates the points by entering the results from the program.

If you have any questions regarding DGNB and/or calculation of points for DGNB, please contact DK-GBC.

New functions in LCAbyg version 5.2

We have been working on many new features and improvements in LCAbyg 5. So if you have not yet tried out the new features and want to hear more about them or have questions about them, sign up for our webinar.

Follow LCAbyg's YouTube Channel

Follow LCAbyg's Youtube channel, where we frequently post tutorials and webinars.

Follow the event calendar for updates on new webinars and how to sign up for them.

Research of the use of wood in construction

The project aims to investigate and document environmental and resource impacts associated with the use of wood in construction. The project develops a framework that can push the construction industry to become more climate-friendly and provide input to the Voluntary Sustainability Class.

Renovation

LCAbyg is primarily used for new constructions, but the tool must be expanded to assess existing buildings better.

The research group's efforts within renovation LCA include the development of the method and interface in LCAbyg.

Embedded CO2 in buildings

As the focus on climate impacts from buildings and the materials included in the buildings is greater, the embedded CO2 emissions in the building's life cycle is an area constantly explored in research. The research group for Building Sustainability has prepared several projects that delve into this.

EPD’s in LCAbyg

A project collaboration between BUILD and EPD Denmark has made it possible to import EPDs from EPD Denmark in LCAbyg v5. The format is .lb5epd and is only available for EPD Denmark's EDPs and can only be obtained in LCAbyg 5.

Excel tool for setting up building models

We have worked on simplifying the setup of building models in the early design phase. For this, we have developed an Excel tool, which is currently in the pilot phase. The pilot version is developed to include the existing construction library in LCAbyg 5.

Download LCAbyg 3.2 files in LCAbyg 5

It is now possible to transfer its projects and import its component libraries from LCAbyg 3.2 to LCAbyg 5. You can read much more about how this works in the updated user guide found here.

New update of LCAbyg

LCAbyg version 5.0 was launched on 19 October. As announced at the launch, there will be regular updates with the features and fixes. Download the newest version and fixes under Download.

Follow us here for the newest updates as well as fixes.
Sign up for our newsletter to always be up to date on changes in the program and upcoming webinars.

Update of Json guide for LCAbyg 5.2.1.0

In version 5.2.1.0 the category of stages has changed from the 5.2.0.1 version. Therefore, the import example for version 5.2.0.1 will not work in the new 5.2.1.0 version. The import example and Json guide have been updated and can be downloaded under the tab User manuals. You can check if your stages are correct by opening the project in LCAbyg_debug.exe version of LCAbyg. If the categories are visible and do not show any error messages, then the category to stages are modeled correctly.

CO2 requirements for new buildings from year 2023

On March 5, 2021, several political parties adopted the agreement on the national strategy for sustainable construction. From 2023, requirements for buildings' climate footprints will be phased into the building regulations. This means, among other things, that all new buildings in the future must have a life cycle assessment (LCA). In 2023, new CO2 requirements will be introduced step-by-step.

Find the national strategy here

The development behind LCAbyg

LCAbyg was developed by BUILD (former Danish building research institute), Aalborg University with financial support from various actors in Denmark.

LCAbyg has been developed for the Danish construction industry and has from the beginning had focus on a Danish context. The development was carried out by BUILD in a broad collaboration with a large number of stakeholders in the Danish construction industry from 2014 until today. The first version was launched in 2015 in collaboration between SBi (now BUILD) and the Danish Energy Agency, as part of a construction policy strategy from the government in 2014.

The development of LCAbyg was based on the Excel tool SBi (now BUILD) had developed for the Green Building Council Denmark for DGNB certification of construction in Denmark since 2011.

LCAbyg is a nationally freely available tool. The first version was launched in 2015 and since then there have been a number of changes in the user interface and calculation core. LCAbyg is in constant development, and work is constantly being done to improve the existing functions, as well as add new functions, in close cooperation with the industry.

LCAbyg is used for e.g. education, public and private bodies, and in the newest version of LCAbyg, LCAbyg v5, it is possible to apply for the voluntary sustainability class (FBK) and the requirement in the Building Regulations from 2023.

LCAbyg has former been financed by:
• BUILD, AAU
• Energistyrelsen, Trafik- Bygge- og Boligstyrelsen, Bolig- og Planstyrelsen
• Elforsk
• Green Building Council DK
• Grundejernes Investeringsfond

LCAbyg is currently financed by Villum Fonden og Realdania.