Dear openLCA users,
the next version of openLCA has now been released: openLCA 1.4.2! The focus this time was on several smaller optimizations rather than implementing major changes. Many improvements were made since the release of the last version in the beginning of this year.
What’s new?
In the new version of openLCA, we’ve included a Plugin Manager which allows installing additional software components. This follows the idea of making openLCA more modular, to better address different user needs.
The first plugin available in this version is the EPD Editor which makes it possible to create or edit EPDs according to the European Standard EN 15804 which is especially addressing products of the construction industry. More information on this new plugin, including a small example, is available on the openLCA website (English/German).
Furthermore, the calculation procedure in the analysis option was improved, especially the handling of rounding errors; as a consequence, now, both calculation options, Quick results and Analysis, always show the same results and do not differ (slightly) anymore.
When creating product systems, a cut-off can now be specified; every link below a threshold is excluded from the system. This is for one very much reflecting the cut-off idea of ISO 14040; it is also very useful when working with very large LCI databases. The cut-off threshold can of course also be set to zero, meaning that every link is included.
Next to these bigger changes, other useful improvements include:
- All tables can now be ordered, e.g. alphabetically or by amount.
- A “Save as” function for all elements in the database (processes, flows etc.) was included.
- Negative flow contributions are now shown in the “Flow contributions” tab.
- Expanding the “Contribution tree” and exporting it to Excel is now possible (via copy/paste).
- Several minor bugs have been fixed, e.g. in the SimaPro csv import, in the ILCD import and export, in the Quick results Excel export, usage of flow properties is now shown correctly.
All of the software changes mentioned here were carried out by the GreenDelta Team in Berlin; support from sponsors, including US EPA, US DA, KIT, TU Darmstadt, Circular Ecology is gratefully acknowledged.
A few other additions since the last openLCA release that are not in the software itself include:
- Besides the databases we offer on openLCA Nexus, we will provide others that do not (yet) meet our quality requirements, but could be of interest for LCA practitioners. These will be “offered” in the Download section of the openLCA website, in zolca format, for now this section includes the Danish LCA food database.
- See here for a Practitioner’s statement on using the EPD Editor in openLCA.
How do I get the latest version?
Version 1.4.2 is available at the openLCA downloads website. You don’t need to de-install your older version (i.e. 1.4.1) before installing 1.4.2, but simply download the new version and run the .exe file. Your databases will not be affected by the software update.
In case you have any questions or feedback, please write us at: gd@greendelta.com