I am new to RealTimeLCA and trying to get a better grasp of how everything works. I have gone through some of the documentation but I still have a few question.
I am trying to understand the best way to structure my data for accurate LCA results. There are any best practices or common mistakes I should avoid? Also, how customizable is the system when it comes to adding my own parameters or factors?
I want to hear from experienced users—what tips that made your workflow smoother? Are there any hidden features or shortcuts that I should know about?
I am also curious if anyone has experience integrating RealTimeLCA with other tools like Power BI. Does it work well for reporting and visualization or are there better alternatives?
If you have used other LCA tools before, how does RealTimeLCA compare in terms of usability and features?
The short answer is: The more detailed your 3D model is, the easier it is to make LCA’s in RTLCA. This also makes the gap between time used for making LCA’s in RTLCA vs other LCA software larger.
That being said, RTLCA also works great for less detailed models. Just remember that there is ALWAYS something you need to adjust manually. I haven’t seen a model yet, where all needed LCA information was contained in a Revit model. So the most important is to go through and verify your constructions and add whatever components aren’t contained in your model.
We haven’t gotten there ourselves yet, but I believe that the key to use the potential of RTLCA is to create a Revit Catalog as described here:
Being able to use auto-mapping is an incredible time saver!
The ability to make inhomogeneous layers is also an awesome feature that I haven’t seen in other LCA software.
Another thing I believe you should heed attention to is generic data vs. EPD’s. It is awesome that you have a large library of industry and product EPD’s, but one should still read an EPD before using it blindly. Some EPD’s contain certain assumptions that makes them non-applicable for specific projects. But this would be the case no matter what software you use.
Hope the answer gives some clarification The community is usually fairly swift at answering questions, so just ask around (but remember to search the forum first and see if someone else has already asked your question. I see people not doing that which is annoying )
The community is usually fairly swift at answering questions, so just ask around (but remember to search the forum first and see if someone else has already asked your question. I see people not doing that which is annoying 
)