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GBC Version Development

GBC Version 1 Features


  • Whole Building and Room-by-room schedule of accommodation:
    • add: dimensions: areas and volumes calculate automatically,
    • add: hours of operation, design temperatures inside and out
  • Room-by-room heat loss calculator:
    • determine radiator or underfloor heating requirements;
    • to size the boiler or insulate to meet the boiler size.
  • Analysis of Form Factor:
    • optimal U values to respond to them,
    • thickness of different insulation materials
  • Elements and secondary-elements:
    • select from ready-made lists to match the project;
    • dimensions are added by the user and their areas are automatically calculated
  • Schedules of windows, rooflights and doors:
    • Since they may come in a multitude of sizes
  • Building Performance Targets:
    • Users can compare and choose between:
    • Building Regulations Part L,
      • other national standards
    • Design Standards:
      • LETI, AECB CarbonLite, Passivhaus, EnerPHit,
      • Environmental Assessment Methods: BREEAM etc.
      • other national design standards,
    • including: U values, Airtightness, Form factors, Elevation glazing percentage and orientation
  • Automatically and instantly see what thickness of different k-value insulation materials is needed to meet targeted U values
  • Elemental Assemblies:
    • Allows user to choose a combination of functional components and then choose the materials or products for each component
  • Costs of insulation, windows and energy savings:
    • Helps users to persuade clients to spend money on insulation and higher performance windows and glazing (Version 1 only)
  • Bill of materials, quantities, labour and costs:
    • enables cost planning and proper value engineering (Version 2)
    • based on building fabric only (Version 2) services  in later versions
  • Element Summary: compare calculated U values with selected or target U values. highlighting ‘pass’ of ‘fail’
  • Summary of calculated energy losses or demands:
    • For each element, secondary-element and whole building
    • Totals elements and secondary elements as a percentage of the whole
  • Allows comparisons to be made, by the user, to prompt reconsideration of earlier decisions

GBC Versions 2 Features: launched April 2022


Green Building Calculator V2 is being developed now, including:

  • Bill of Materials, Quantities, Accessories, Products, Labour, Costs,
    • For Cost Planning, Quote collection, Tendering
  •  Retrofit:
    • Historic fabric element upgrades, inside or out
    • Add domestic furniture fixtures & equipment
    • Add solar shading, decking, pergolas,
    • Add hard and soft landscape
  • Embodied Energy, Embodied Carbon, Sequestered Carbon Calculator (EE EC SC)
    • ICE Database v1.6 > v3 (for EE EC)
  • Domestic Landscape Elements
  • Basic Civils & Infrastructure Elements
  • More Generic Material datasets

GBC Versions 3 to 50 Summary


The development order is subject to GBC user feedback:

Many versions are now planned to add to their functionality in the following years including:

  • Green Building Price Book
  • Green Building Product Data Collection
  • Green Building Robust Specification Generator
  • Green Building FM Specification Generator
  • Green Building Timber Carbon Calculator
  • LCA Calculator
  • Instructions sheet, instructions in worksheets,
  • Comments: indicating where cell content comes from
  • Instructions by video: worksheet purpose, worksheet instructions
  • Increase 200 to 2200 materials dataset
  • Develop more switches to interrogate more detail
    • Winter v Summer
    • Secondary elements v components
  • Air tightness & Energy Loss (Make much sooner)
  • Scenarios (developed in B2 & B6 Retrofit version)
  • House Types dataset (developed in B2 & B6 Retrofit versions)
  • Form factor: floor plan shape diagrams, roof shape diagrams (developed during B2 retrofit version)
  • Regulations & design standards updates
  • Lifestyle (clothing) and internal temperatures (developed in B2 retrofit version)
  • Hours, of operation, weeks, years, building life (developed in B2 retrofit version)
  • 892 elemental assemblies (from GreenSpecStudio)
  • MEP Services (not visible in V2 yet)
  • Decrement Delay (V3?)
  • Building Section Coding, Competent Application,
  • Manufacturer Accredited Bespoke Assemblies, Accessories,
  • Condensation Check,
  • Thermal Bridges
  • Green Building Secondary Element Calculator (Windows and Doors) (started in V2 and B3)
  • Thermal mass calculator
  • Landscape (much hidden in V2)
  • Civils and Infrastructure: (Much hidden in V2, Increase scope)
  • Waste Calculator (using WasteCost®Lite)
  • Plastic free v Recycled Plastic
  • Interiors: Scope increased, Ska fit-out. refit
  • Circular economy: Reclaim Reuse,
  • Materials Passport for reclaim and reuse
  • Self-build Interface
  • CAD BIM App (Make sooner with Firstplanit)
  • Whole Project Budget Calculations, full Fee bid calculation
  • EU and International versions (currency, products, (not metric unlikely))
  • Services Design Module: Occupancy level, Energy Sources and uses,
  • Lighting Design Module: Health & Wellbeing, Light Nutrition
  • Biodiversity Inclusion, Biodiversity Net Gain
  • Local Climate Appropriate construction and materials
  • Vernacular, local: materials, trades, economy
  • O&MM Operation & Maintenance Manuals
  • Local Procurement, Transport to site, distance search facility
  • On Site Construction Emissions
  • Design Life, Durability and Competent Products
  • Value Engineering Opportunities: in not out
  • Healthy Building
  • Screening Priorities
  • Indoor Air Quality
  • Natural Lighting Levels
  • Circular geometry buildings
  • Screeds calculator

GBC B Bespoke Versions

Discussions have started or bespoke versions are being developed

  • B1 Retrofit Window & Insulation Calculator
  • B2 Responsible Retrofit Carbon Calculator (led to B6)
  • B3 Window Calculator
  • B4 Screeds Calculator
  • B5 QS interface
  • B6 Interreg Energy Pathfinder (GRC)
    • Scottish Islands Case Study 6 building analysis
  • B7 Timber carbon calculator
  • B8 CobBauge additions (GBC)
  • B9 Schedule of Works Line item prices with carbon (GRC)

Future Development


  • GBC will maintain a stakeholder group to ensure we make what you want and need
  • Having a large number of users will help with:
    • error detection, feedback loops, encouraged by free upgrade versions
    • developing GBC Green Building Calculator with more features and stronger datasets
  • We will encourage customisation requests to be shared; ideas will be considered for development into the core file for the greater good
  • Users will be invited to review the 35 version’s order of development, in case users want something sooner, by popular demand

GBC Version Development C#534 End.

© GBE GBC GBL NGS ASWS Brian Murphy aka BrianSpecMan **
4th September 2021 – 13th July 2023

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