The current release is ATHENA^® Impact Estimator for Buildings 4.1.11
(Version 4.1 Build 11)

Click here to see what is new in Version 4.1

Click here to see what was new in Version 4.0

Overview

In North America, the ATHENA® Impact Estimator for Buildings is the only software tool that is designed to evaluate whole buildings and assemblies based on internationally recognized life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology.

Using the Impact Estimator, architects, engineers and others can easily assess and compare the environmental implications of industrial, institutional, commercial and residential designs — both for new buildings and major renovations. Where relevant, the software also distinguishes between owner-occupied and rental facilities.

The Impact Estimator puts the environment on equal footing with other more traditional design criteria at the conceptual stage of a project. It is capable of modeling 95% of the building stock in North America, using the best available data.

The Estimator takes into account the environmental impacts of:

Although the Impact Estimator doesn’t include an operating energy simulation capability, it does allow users to enter the results of a simulation in order to compute the fuel cycle burdens, including pre-combustion effects, and factors them into the overall results.

Complex Results in a User-friendly Format

Although LCA is a complex process, the Estimator has been designed for ease of use.

The first step is to enter required information such as geographic location (the user selects the most representative North American city), building life and occupancy/type, and, if desired, annual operating energy values by energy form.

Pre-set dialogue boxes prompt users to describe the different assemblies — by requesting the width, span and live load of a floor assembly, for example — that together form a conceptual building design. The Impact Estimator then instantly provides cradle-to-grave implications in terms of:

Simplified Tracking

As design data is entered for each assembly, the software builds a “tree” of information so that each individual assembly can be identified and viewed easily. The tree can also display, as a value or percentage, the impact of each assembly in terms of a selected measure such as global warming potential. This allows users to track the effects of each assembly as it’s added, or to quickly pinpoint what is causing a particular environmental effect.

Detailed LCA Results

Results from an individual design can be seen in summary tables and graphs by assembly group and life cycle stage. Detailed tables and graphs show individual energy use by type or form of energy, and emissions by individual substance.

Flexible Comparison of Alternate

Accommodating multiple comparisons at once, the Impact Estimator allows users to change the design, substitute materials, and make side-by-side comparisons for any one or all of the environmental impact indicators. It also lets users compare similar projects with different floor areas on a unit floor area basis.

System Requirements

The Impact Estimator is a Visual C# (C-Sharp) application. It is PC-compatible but can also be run on a Mac system with appropriate Windows capability. For more detailed hardware requirements, click here.

‘Inner Workings’ of the Software

Provided on our website in the interests of transparency, the Inner Workings document presents an overview of the Impact Estimator, illustrating what it does and how it does it. The software’s embedded databases are also explained, highlighting their use within the tool. Click here to go to the Inner Workings web page.

Free Trial

Morrison Hershfield has collaborated with the Athena Institute in the development of version 4 of the Impact Estimator for Buildings, and is also the software distributor. To download a free trial copy of the Impact Estimator or to order the full version, please visit the following url: http://www.morrisonhershfield.com/sustainability/OurPartnerAthena .

Highlights of Version 4

The Impact Estimator’s greatly increased functionality and flexibility allows design teams to:

 

Other important features of Version 4:

• More impact measures. The Impact Estimator generates both a detailed life cycle inventory for an entered design and a set of summary impact indicator reports in either graphical or tabular form. The software supports the following characterization measures based on mid-point impact estimation methods developed by the US EPA and reported in their Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and Other Environmental Impacts (TRACI, 2007 version):
  • primary energy
  • acidification potential
  • eutrophication potential
  • global warming potential
  • human health respiratory effects potential
  • ozone depletion potential
  • weighted raw resource use**
  • photochemical smog potential
  
  
• Enhanced graphics. The new Impact Estimator will feel familiar to current users, but its colour scheme, graphics, input boxes, text styles, and graphing have been enhanced. We have also added a new toolbar that provides users with a short list of commands to further improve functionality.
• Updated LCI data. A number of the underlying LCI profiles for common fuels, electricity and transportation energy have been updated using the more detailed USLCI Database Project data.
• New flexible layering feature. In preparation for future exporting of envelope data to energy simulation tools, a new feature has been added that allows for flexible layering of envelope components to meet the needs of energy simulation tools that may have different results depending on the specific envelope component layering order.

Known Issues

For a discussion of known issues, please click here.

More Information?

To see how user–friendly the software really is, click here to learn how to download a copy of the free trial version of the Impact Estimator.

The Inner Workings of the Impact Estimator for Buildings
The Athena Institute has prepared this report in an effort to provide an indication of the inner workings of the Impact Estimator, i.e., what the software does and how it does it. The report illustrates the relationships between building materials, components and assemblies, how they were arrived at and how they are called upon in the software. It also outlines the various life cycle stages the software supports and the methods used to derive a complete building environmental life cycle inventory and impact assessment profile. The software’s embedded databases are also explained, highlighting their use within the tool. To view or download the report, click here .

Companion LCI Database Reports
As part of the release of Version 4 of the Impact Estimator, we have decided to make the background reports whose data populates the software freely available. This decision reflects our desire for increased transparency; please also see the Inner Workings document mentioned above. These 19 reports were previously available on our LCI Database Reports CD, which was available for purchase as a companion CD to the Impact Estimator. The reports provide examples of how the Athena Institute develops its datasets. To see a list of reports which can be viewed or downloaded click here.

How to order

Click here to learn how to order the complete version of the Impact Estimator.

Training

We are now offering Impact Estimator online training in conjunction with EarthShift.

Click here to find out more.

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*The Athena Institute would like to acknowledge the support of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in the development of LCI data for the New York City region.

**The weights reflect a valuation of ecological carrying capacity effects.

Note:
The Impact Estimator is not an engineering design tool. It is a tool that allows users to express a design in simple terms in order to assess the environmental implications of their choices..

Software sold subject to a license agreement.