Building area functions as a denominator of your calculation results.
Press 'Input data' and open 'Building area'. Enter the Gross Internal Floor Area (GIFA) and optionally define additional areas as required by the client or by regulation. GIFA is used to calculated the LCA impacts per floor area and for benchmarking. The building area figures are always given excluding parking and motor vehicle circulation areas, but including basements.
You may mark further detail on the basis of the area definition in the comments and provide additional national area definitions. Using additional national definitions allows for national level benchmarking.
What to include for each of the building area definitions?
(The table below is a simplification, to be sure check your certification manual)
Country
Internal Walls
External walls
Internal Floors
Basement
Attic
Stairs
Use Area
Technical Area
Traffic Area
Parking Area
Gross Volume
Agarage (Parking Area)
Sweden
YES
NO
NO
YES
NO
YES
NA
NA
NA
YES
NA
Atemp (Internal Area) Only if area is heated above 10 ° C
Sweden
YES
NO
YES
YES
NO
NO
NA
NA
NA
NO
NA
BRA (Oppvarmet bruksareal)
Norway
YES
NO
YES
NO
NO
NO
NA
NA
NA
NO
NA
BRI (Brutto-rauminhalt)
Germany
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
YES
BTA (Bruttoareal)
Norway
YES
YES
YES
YES
NO
NO
NA
NA
NA
NO
NA
BVO (Brutovloeroppervlak)
Netherlands
YES
YES
YES
NO
NO
NO
NA
NA
NA
NO
NA
GFA (Gross Floor Area)
Worldwide
YES
YES
YES
YES
NO
NO
NA
NA
NA
NO
NA
GIFA (Gross Internal Floor Area, IPMS/RICS)
Worldwide
YES
NO
YES
YES
NO
YES
NA
NA
NA
YES
NA
GIFA (Gross Internal Floor Area, ASHRAE)
US/Canada
YES
NO
YES
YES
NO
YES
NA
NA
NA
NO
NA
NRF (Netto-raumfläche)
Germany
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NO
YES
YES
YES
NO
NA
OA (Opvarmet etageareal) Only if area is heated above 15 ° C
Denmark
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
NO
NA
NA
NA
NO
NA
SBA (Samlet bruttoareal)
Denmark
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
NO
NA
NA
NA
NO
NA
N-M² (Heated Net Area) Unheated spaces not included
Finland
YES
NO
YES
YES
YES
NO
NA
NA
NA
NO
NA
NA = Not Applicable
Most commonly used building area definitions to fill in on the build area query explained
GIFA - Gross Internal Floor Area
is used inBREEAM, LEED, most other LCA tools.
In the UK construction industry the standard metric for the floor area of buildings is Gross Internal Floor Area (GIFA). It is important for benchmarking and estimating and cost planning purposes in the construction and FM industries that the measurement of floor area is consistent across all building types.
Total interior floor area of a building’s spaces, measured from the inside surface of the exterior walls or from the interior surface of walls in common with adjoining buildings. The area of interior columns and pillars is included in this measurement. This metric is measured on a floorby-floor basis and consists of all enclosed spaces, including the area of interior walls, basements, mezzanines, penthouses, equipment rooms, vertical penetrations on each floor (such as elevator shafts, and stairwells), and interior parking. It does not include open covered walkways, courtyards with no roof, balconies, and canopies. For GIFA ASHRAESee: https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy06osti/38600.pdf
GFA - Gross Floor Area
is used in Carbon Designer, the Green Star tool (AU/NZ), General LCA tools.
According to the Green Star manual (AU/NZ) it is the sum of the fully enclosed covered floor area and the unenclosed covered floor area of a building at all floor levels, but excluding: Any areas not directly associated with the office or industrial process, e.g. retail space, External wall cavities, Toilets, Showers, Locker facilities, External decks and balconies, Fire reel cupboards, Cleaners cupboards, and, Lift lobbies.
Gross floor area (GFA) is often the total floor area inside the building envelope, including the external walls, and excluding the roof.
BTA - Bruttoareal
is used in the NS3720 tool for Norway. Same as GFA According to NS3720, the BTA is the area including exterior walls and is summed for all planes in a building.
BRA - Oppvarmet bruksareal
is used in the NS3720 tool for Norway.
According to NS3720, the BRA is the usage area for a level or a floor in the area of the plane that lies within enclosing walls. (including interior walls).
BVO - Bruto Vloeroppervlakte
is used in the MPG tool for the Netherlands. Same as GFA
BVO consists of the floor area of the room(s) of a property object measured (according to NEN 2580) at floor level along the outer perimeter of the (outer) ascending partition construction, which encloses the room (s) in question. Additionally the following applies:
1. If an interior space borders on another interior space, measurements must be made up to the center of the relevant partition construction. 2. If a building-bound outdoor space adjoins an indoor space, the ground surface of the partition construction must be fully attributed to the gross floor area of the interior space.
The BVO of a covered building-related outdoor space, which is not or only partially enclosed and therefore has no fixed outside boundary, is equal to the vertical projection of the covering component, regardless of the floor construction or the method of paving. The calculation of the BVO does not include; a hatch hole or a void, if the base thereof is larger than 4 m². When determining the boundary line, an incidental recess or recess and an incidentally protruding building part must be ignored, if the ground surface thereof is smaller than 0.5 m².
BRI - Brutto-rauminhalt (DIN 277)
Is used in the DGNB DE tool for Germany The gross volume (of buildings) is according to DIN 277-1 (as of January 2016) the volume of a building, bounded by the outer boundary surfaces of the building, formed by the lower surface of the constructive structural sole (underside of the subfloors and floor panels, not the foundation serve), the outer edges of the outer walls and the surface of the roof coverings, including dormers or roof skylights.
BGF - Brutto-Grundfläche (DIN 277)
Is the same as GFA The Brutto-Grundfläche consists of the Netto-Raumfläche (usable net room area) (NRF) and the Konstruktions-Grundfläche (construction area) (KGF) according to DIN 277.
NRF - Netto-Raumfläche (DIN 277)
is used in the DGNB DE tool for Germany. According to DIN 277, the NRF consists of the pure area of use, Nutzungsfläche (NUF), Verkehrsfläche (the traffic area) (VF) and the technische Funktionsfläche (technical area) (TF).
The gross base area (GFA) (according to the external dimensions of the building, including the walls)
NGF - Netto-Grundfläche (DIN 277)
Was used in the DGNB DE tool for Germany.
With the 2016 amendment in DIN 277, the term "Netto-Grundfläche (net floor area) (NGF)" has been changed to "Netto-Raumfläche (net floor area) (NRF)" and "Nutzfläche (floor area) (LF)" has been renamed "Nutzungsfläche (floor area) (NUF)".
SBA - Samlet bruttoareal
is used in the DGNB DK tool for Denmark. Same as GFA
According to the DGNB DK manual, the SBA is calculated as the sum of gross areas for each floor, including possibly the basement and attic.
OA - Opvarmet etageareal
is used in the DGNB DK tool for Denmark.
According to the DGNB DK manual, the heated area, consists of the total area of the floors or parts thereof heated to at least 15 ° C, including any glass rooms, basements and covered rooms. The heated floor area is determined as described in BR10 Annex 1.1.3.
Atemp - Internal Area
is used in MB3 & NollCO2 for Sweden.
According to the Miljobyggnad MB3 manual, Atemp consists of the interior area for floor, wind floor and basement floor that is heated to more than 10 ° C in the building. Atemp is the area for which the building's specific energy use is to be calculated. Standard: The National Board of Housing
Agarage - Parking Area
is used in MB3 & NollCO2 for Sweden. According to the Miljobyggnad MB3 manual, Agarage consists of the area of the floor and basement floor used for garage and which is limited by the inside of the climate screen. Area occupied by inner walls, openings for stairs, shafts and the like are included.
Heated Net Area (N-M²)
is used in certification tools for Finland. The heated net area is the sum of the heated floor level areas, based on the inner surfaces of the outer walls surrounding the planes. Alternatively, the heated net area can be calculated from the heated gross area minus the area of the outer walls. The heated net area of the new building is derived from the building's design or the energy test of the building.
The heated net area of an existing building is determined by up-to-date documents, such as building drawings or data models, or assessed with sufficient accuracy in the context of building inspection. If there are no up-to-date documents on the building or if the assessment of the areas by measurement proves difficult to implement, the heated net area of the building can be estimated to be 90% of the gross heated area. The gross area of the building can be estimated according to the external dimensions of the building and the number of floors if the gross area is not known. The gross heated area is obtained by subtracting the area of unheated premises from the gross area. If an energy certificate is made for a part of a building, the above rules will apply to determine the net area of the building part.
Other spaces, such as the attic and storage rooms in the building, are treated as warm spaces. Unheated spaces are not included and their surface area is not included in the calculation. Source: Ympäristöministeriön asetus
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