openbuilding

Name

openbuilding

Legal name

OpenBuilding, Inc.

Website

https://openbuilding.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Building Energy Modeling Software

NAICS

Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Regulatory & Disclosure Strategy (CSRD/ESRS, ISSB/IFRS S2, SEC, TCFD) (EUABAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Climate Risk Reporting & Disclosure Analytics (TCFD/ISSB, EU Taxonomy, CSRD, NAIC) (EUABALAG), Asset- & Location-Level Exposure/Vulnerability Analytics (Geospatial, Digital Twins, Critical Infrastructure) (EUABALAC)

Keywords

• Building energy modeling
• Carbon emissions rating
• Open-source AEC software
• Building performance tools
• Energy efficiency design

Headquarters

HQ city

Algonquin Highlands

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Product Sales (Software & Materials): Sale of OBJECTIVE spreadsheet software ($100 suggested), case studies, educational materials, and event tickets through the website shop.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: $5,000 annual corporate sponsorship with benefits including homepage badge, article mentions, and link placement. Supports research, development, hosting, and advisory costs.
3. Workshop & Events: The OpenBuilding Roadshow 2-4hr professional workshop facilitated by Andy Thomson, M.Arch, OAA, priced at $2,000. Includes continuing education credits.
4. Free Tool with Donation Option: Core OBJECTIVE tool available free at objective.openbuilding.ca; Excel version purchase is considered a donation to support nonprofit operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

OpenBuilding develops and distributes OBJECTIVE, an open-source Building Energy Modelling (BEM) framework that combines TEUI (Total Energy Use Intensity), TEDI (Thermal Energy Demand Intensity), and wbLCA (whole building Life Cycle Assessment) calculations. OBJECTIVE is available as a free web application (OBJECTIVE 4.012 BETA) and as a pay-what-you-can spreadsheet version (suggested $100). The organization also offers supporting calculators (Carbon, TEDI, Simple TEUI, Affordability Pie, Donut LCA, Geometry Explorer), case studies, and the OpenBuilding Roadshow professional workshops that count toward OAA/PEO continuing education hours.

Product overview

OpenBuilding is a Canadian Not for Profit (est. 2024) providing a low-cost, high-fidelity, open-source framework for OBJECTIVE rating of carbon emissions and energy performance of buildings. The core offering is the OBJECTIVE tool, available both as a free web application (OBJECTIVE 4.012 BETA) and a paid spreadsheet version ($100), which serves as a Building Energy Modelling (BEM) tool for architects and engineers. Supporting the core OBJECTIVE platform are multiple specialized calculators: TEDI Calculator, Carbon Calculator, Simple TEUI Calculator, Affordability Pie, Donut LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), Geometry Explorer, and the OAA TEUI v1.0. The organization also offers educational services including The OpenBuilding Roadshow workshop ($2,000) and Best Practices from Denmark events ($10). Corporate sponsorship opportunities are available at $5,000 annually. All tools require membership with Professional Engineers of Ontario or Ontario Association of Architects with professional liability insurance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OBJECTIVE: Free open-source Building Energy Modelling (BEM) framework and TEUI calculation tool for rating carbon emissions and energy performance of buildings.

Products and services

• OBJECTIVE Web Application A free, full-stack Building Energy Modelling (BEM) web application for rating carbon emissions and energy performance of buildings, featuring wbLCA, BIM, and BEM workflows with 50+ user inputs for early-stage energy modelling. Available globally at no cost.
• OBJECTIVE Spreadsheet (v3) Open-source Building Code Review, Targeting and TEUI measurement tool in spreadsheet format (Excel/Apple Numbers/LibreOffice) with a suggested $100 pay-what-you-can price. Features carbon impacts worksheet, Sankey visualization, energy balance, and IPCC AR6-aligned lifetime carbon targeting methodology.
• TEDI Calculator Ventilation calculator for studying the outsized influence of ventilation rates on Thermal Energy Demand Intensity (TEDI) metrics, supporting analysis of the dynamic interplay of key ventilation variables.
• Carbon Calculator Calculator for carbon emissions analysis and benchmarking of buildings, comparing embodied and operational carbon against IPCC-aligned targets.
• Simple TEUI Calculator Just Energy/Area calculator for TEUI (Total Energy Use Intensity) measurements, providing a simplified entry point to the OBJECTIVE framework's energy intensity methodology.
• Affordability Pie Interactive calculator modeling housing affordability breakdown including developer costs, builder costs, buyer costs, finance costs, maintenance, energy costs, and demolition-by-neglect scenarios.
• Donut LCA Ecological boundary visualization tool for Life Cycle Assessment, supporting whole-building carbon analysis alongside the OBJECTIVE framework.
• Geometry Explorer Tool for exploring building geometry for energy modelling purposes, hosted externally at ARTexplorer.
• OAA TEUI v1.0 Ontario Association of Architects TEUI calculator tool, the predecessor calculator to OBJECTIVE, hosted at teui1.ca.
• OBJECTIVE Case Studies Case study document bundle featuring 12 buildings comprehensively reviewed and reported in OBJECTIVE tool (v.3.036), adjusted for accurate DHW/SHW methods. Sold via the website shop.
• The OpenBuilding Roadshow 2-4 hour professional workshop facilitated by Andy Thomson on the OBJECTIVE TEUI Building Energy Rating System, sold to societies, schools, or private companies for $2,000 per session. Counts towards OAA Continuing Education Structured Hours.
• Best Practices from Denmark (Hybrid Event) Hybrid event on LCA as Part of Building Codes, drawing lessons from Denmark's mandatory LCA requirements since January 2023. Priced at $10.

Quantifiable outcome

• Canada wastes $44.6 billion annually on building energy inefficiency
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ontario Association of Architects (OAA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024OAA provided public sponsorship grant to develop OBJECTIVE TEUI calculator. OAA endorses the tool and offers continuing education credits for workshop participation. Project made possible thanks to OAA support.
• Formfaktor (Denmark)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDanish BIM-focused software developer presented at Best Practices from Denmark event. Developed DesignLCA tool for Life Cycle Assessments in Danish building codes.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• One Click LCA: Life cycle assessment software for buildings that overlaps directly with OpenBuilding's wbLCA / Donut LCA / Carbon Calculator modules and embodied carbon focus.
• DesignBuilder: Energy modeling software built on EnergyPlus for architects and engineers. Comparable on building energy simulation, envelope analysis, and code compliance benchmarking.
• cove.tool: Building energy performance and daylighting analysis platform for architects. Direct overlap on early-stage energy modeling, code compliance checks, and AEC practitioner workflows.
• Sefaira: Energy modeling tool focused on architects during early design. Competes on the same target persona and the same 'free accessible energy modeling for designers' positioning.
• Passive House Institute (PHPP): Develops PHPP, the canonical Passive House energy modeling tool that OpenBuilding explicitly differentiates against. Both serve architects and engineers evaluating building energy performance using gains/utilization methodologies.

Emerging players

• Formfaktor (DesignLCA): Danish BIM/LCA software firm that co-presented with OpenBuilding at the Best Practices from Denmark event. Direct overlap on whole-building LCA methodology integrated with code frameworks.
• EC3 (Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator): Open embodied-carbon tool for construction materials; intersects with OpenBuilding's carbon impacts worksheet and lifetime carbon targeting work.
• Tally (by KT Innovations): BIM-integrated LCA tool for architects using Revit. Adjacent to OpenBuilding's wbLCA module, with overlap in architectural practitioners measuring embodied carbon.

Broad incumbents

• Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES): Commercial BEM and energy analysis suite (IES VE) widely used by architects and engineers. Overlaps with OBJECTIVE on building energy modeling, TEUI/TEDI-style outputs, and code compliance workflows, but at significantly larger scale.
• Autodesk Insight: Building energy and daylighting analysis built into Autodesk's AEC ecosystem. Competes for the same architectural workflow but with vastly deeper integration and funding.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/andyrossthomson

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about openbuilding