Edit Product Systems

EcoClass screenshot
with collapsed palette The central view of the workbench is by default occupied by the product system editor (PSE). The product system editor consists of an editor area and the palette, which is initially collapsed at the right edge of the PSE. The editor area is used to build the product system out of one or more process chain(s) and edit it.

When you have opened more than one PSEs, only the one you are currently editing is visible. You can switch between the PSEs by clicking on the tabs at the upper edge of the editor area. Each PSE has its own frame ("view") and can thus be moved across the workbench. You close the PSE by clicking on the "X" in its tab.

Palette

screenshot of the EcoClass
palette Clicking on the little triangle on the upper end of the "Palette" bar causes the palette to expand. It can be further enlarged by dragging the separation line to the editor area.

The palette has three sections:

  1. Systems tools are located in the upper section.
  2. Below these tools you'll find several utilization processes. Currently, these are labeled in German only. After selecting one of these, the mouse pointer changes to a small rectangle. When clicking on the editor area, the associated utilization process will be created.
  3. At the bottom of the palette you'll find processes representing electricity grids. Currently, these are labeled in German only. After selecting one of these, the mouse pointer changes to a small rectangle. When clicking on the editor area, the associated process will be created.

Editor area

Within the editor area you combine processes and flows to one or more process chains. Since the available editor area is usually bigger than your monitor screen, the left and upper border of the editor area contain a ruler for easier orientation, while the lower and right border have scrollbars to move the visible viewport. You may use the Zoom tool in the palette to adjust the size of the viewport. When clicking on the tab labeled "Outline" below the Navigator panel at the left edge of the workbench, the whole editor area will be displayed along with a small rectangle indicating the visible viewport.

Process chain

Each product system is made up of one or more process chains. Each process chain contains exactly one utilization process and one reference flow and represents the utilization of one vehicle. For electricity powered vehicles you may choose different forms of electricity generation by selecting from the electricity grid processes in the palette and connecting it to the electricity input connector of the vehicle utilization process. Furthermore, it is possible to display the processes needed to generate the vehicle and/or the fuel in use.

Reference flow

Each process chain requires a reference flow to be valid. The reference flow contains information on how many output units (i.e. person kilometers) shall be delivered by a particular vehicle. This requires to connect the input connector of the reference flow to the output connector of the utilization process via a flow arrow from the palette. After double clicking in the number field of the reference flow you can edit the value to the amount of person kilometers you want to travel.

Utilization process

screenshot of
the product system editor with processes Each utilization process box is split into two parts. The upper part displays the inputs (material/vehicles in pieces, and fuel/energy in Megajoule) necessary to generate one person kilometer (=output) with the respective vehicle. The arrow-like pentagons close to the number fields are called connectors; these are the places where the flow arrows between processes originate or end.

In the bottom part of the utilization process box various quantities and their current values are shown, which influence the energy use per person kilometer. Double clicking within the utilization process box opens a dialog box where some or all of these values can be edited. After committing these changes by clicking the "Ok" button, the effect on the energy use per person kilometer is displayed in the energy/fuel input field. The material/vehicle input field does not show any changes. When the user has no influence on some of the parameters (e.g. a passenger will not change the bus driver's style of driving), for some vehicles not all of the parameters are editable. For all vehicles the expected lifetime is shown for information only and cannot be changed.

In general, a utilization process needs to be connected to other processes that either produce the required input materials, or utilize the generated outputs. Connections are established via flow arrows between the respective connectors. In particular, the output of a utilization process must always be connected to a reference flow.

In ECOCLASS 0.3, however, the inputs of utilization are by default connected to generation processes that represent the average material or fuel mix in Germany. This means that you don't need to (and in fact cannot) build these connections by yourself. The purpose of this is to keep the system as simple as possible - otherwise this would mean that you would have to build the complete product chain, e.g. from iron ore extraction to car production with all intermediate steps, all by yourself.

The only exception are the electricity needed for some vehicles: although these are linked to a default average electricity mix, this may be changed by selecting one of the electricity grid processes form the palette and connecting it to the electricity input of the utilization process via a flow arrow. This will override the default electricity source.

Display upstream processes

Since ECOCLASS 0.2 it is possible to display the processes that are used to produce the input materials and fuels of a given process from the GEMIS database. Simply click the right mouse button on the process and select "Show Input Processes".

Please note: These upstream processes are shown for information only to visualize the amounts of material and energy needed to produce a good. Changes you make to these upstream processes does not have any effect on the calculated emissions.