Environmental Footprint OpenLCA database - issue with connectors

Question

Hi all,

I am working on a EF project and trying to add the electricity use of some processes. When selecting the appropriate product flow for electricity, there is either no provider available (this is the case for 'Electricity DK' , for example), or I can only select connectors (this is the case for 'Electricity grid mix 1kV-60kV; EU+EFTA+UK').

The problem with the connectors is that there are way too many options and seemingly no way to know which one to select. When I tried a few randomly, each of the connectors had a different provider process for 'Electricity grid mix 1kV-60kV; EU+EFTA+UK'.

Does anybody know how to work around/with this?

Answer 1

Hi, the connectors are a technical workaround to relect GaBi-made product systems, or "plans" in GaBi; GaBi allows to connect apples with oranges (a process produces apples, the next needs oranges, you can connect both, in these plans), openLCA does not allow that and requires the same flow on input and output side.

To overcome this, we have created "connector" processes which basically have one product on the input side and the other on the output side (so they connect e.g. apples with oranges).

This is not terribly nice and also the product system models (where these links occur) are maybe not too useful, therefore we have removed the product systems in the "lite" version that we have released recently in addition to the normal EF release, and removed the corresponding connector processes too. So maybe you can try this version of the database.

It will not help you to find processes and products that are not contained in the database of course, which is not exactly complete yet.

Answer 2

Just to add up the prior answer. We highly recommend working with drag and drop of processes from the navigation panel to your process. Hence, you go to the Input/Output section of your modelled process, then you search in the navigation bar for the system process for 'Electricity...', drag and drop the icon into your process. This will add the reference flow for 'Electricity ..' as well as the provider directly. With this, you are on the safe side and also saves a lot of time for not searching the respective flow.

The wild flow situation is indeed not on us..