QubecTalk Reference: Commands

Assume

Purpose: Controls sales carryover behavior, particularly useful for bank tracking scenarios.

Syntax: assume [no|only recharge|continued] streamName during years startYear to endYear

Available Streams: domestic, import, export, sales, bank, equipment

Examples:

assume no domestic during year 2030
assume only recharge sales during years 2025 to onwards
assume continued import
assume only recharge bank during years 3 to onwards

Behavior:

• assume no - Sets stream to 0 kg (zero all sales)
• assume only recharge - Sales only cover recharge needs, no new equipment
• assume continued - Continue from previous year (default behavior)

Cap

Purpose: Limits consumption to specified levels, optionally with displacement to alternative substances.

Syntax:

cap streamName to amount during years startYear to endYear
cap streamName to amount displacing "substanceName"|stream during years startYear to endYear
cap streamName to amount displacing by volume "substanceName"|stream during years startYear to endYear
cap streamName to amount displacing by units "substanceName"|stream during years startYear to endYear

Examples:

cap sales to 80% during years 2027 to 2030
cap domestic to 0 mt displacing "R-600a" during years 2031 to onwards
cap import to 50% during years 2028 to 2032

# Equivalent displacement (default behavior)
cap sales to 80% displacing "R-600a" during years 2027 to 2030

# Volume-based displacement (always use kg, regardless of spec)
cap sales to 50 units displacing by volume "R-600a" during years 2027 to 2030
# Result: 50 units × 1 kg/unit = 50 kg displaced to R-600a

# Units-based displacement (always use units, regardless of spec)
cap sales to 100 kg displacing by units "R-600a" during years 2027 to 2030
# Result: 100 kg ÷ 1 kg/unit = 100 units displaced to R-600a

Change

Purpose: Applies growth or decline rates to consumption over time.

Syntax: change streamName by percentage % / year during years startYear to endYear

Examples:

change sales by 6% / year during years 2025 to 2030
change domestic by -3% / year during years 2031 to 2035
change import by 5% / year during years 2025 to onwards

Non-Negative Clamping: Change operations prevent streams from going negative. When a change would result in a negative value (e.g., reducing a 5 kg stream by 10 kg), the stream is clamped to exactly 0. The actual amount removed (not the requested amount) is used for downstream calculations.

Units Tracking Behavior: Change operations preserve the current tracking mode of the stream. If the stream is currently in units (equipment-based), the change will be applied in units. If the stream is in kg or mt (volume-based), the change will be applied in volume units. Change operations do not force a conversion between tracking modes.

Define

Purpose: Creates variables for use in calculations and conditional statements.

Syntax: define variableName as value

Examples:

define baseGrowthRate as 5
define phaseOutYear as 2030
define targetReduction as 80

Enable

Purpose: Activates specific supply streams for a substance.

Syntax: enable streamName

Available Streams: domestic, import, export

Examples:

enable domestic
enable import
enable export

Equals (GWP)

Purpose: Defines the Global Warming Potential and energy consumption for a substance.

Syntax: equals gwpValue [tCO2e|kgCO2e] / [mt|kg|unit] [energyValue kwh / unit]

Examples:

equals 1430 tCO2e / mt
equals 1430 kgCO2e / kg
equals 675 kgCO2e / kg 100 kwh / unit
equals 3 tCO2e / mt

Note: Both tCO2e (tonnes) and kgCO2e (kilograms) CO2 equivalent units are supported for GWP values.

Floor

Purpose: Sets minimum consumption levels to prevent unrealistic reductions.

Syntax:

floor streamName to amount during years startYear to endYear
floor streamName to amount displacing "substanceName"|stream during years startYear to endYear
floor streamName to amount displacing by volume "substanceName"|stream during years startYear to endYear
floor streamName to amount displacing by units "substanceName"|stream during years startYear to endYear

Examples:

floor sales to 10% during years 2030 to onwards
floor domestic to 5 mt during years 2025 to 2035
floor import to 100 units displacing by units "R-600a" during years 2028 to 2032

Floor supports the same displacement types as Cap. See Cap for detailed explanation of displacement behavior.

Units Tracking Behavior: Floor commands follow the same units tracking behavior as cap commands. When a percentage-based floor triggers (increases the stream value), it preserves units tracking from the last specified value if that value was in equipment units. If the floor does not trigger, tracking mode remains unchanged.

Get

Purpose: Retrieves values from streams for use in expressions and calculations.

Syntax: get streamName [of "substanceName"] [as units]

Available Streams:

• sales, domestic, import, export - Sales and trade volumes
• equipment, priorEquipment, bank - Equipment population
• age - Weighted average equipment age (read-only, Advanced Editor only)

Indirect Access (Cross-substance):

The of "substanceName" option allows you to access stream values from other substances within the same application. This is useful for creating dependencies between substances.

Examples:

# Direct stream access
define currentSales as get sales as kg
define equipmentAge as get age as years
retire (get age as years) * 1 % each year

# Age-dependent retirement example
define retirementRate as get age as years
retire retirementRate % each year during years 5 to onwards

# Cross-substance access with indirect option
define substanceADomestic as get domestic of "substance a" as kg
set domestic to (get domestic of "substance a" as kg) * 1.5 during year 1

# Unit conversion with indirect access
define substanceAInMT as get import of "substance a" as mt

Note: The age stream is a computed value that tracks the weighted average age of equipment. It starts at 0 years for new equipment and increases annually. This feature is only available in the Advanced Editor.

Initial Charge

Purpose: Specifies the amount of substance in new equipment per unit.

Syntax: initial charge with amount unit / unit for streamName

Examples:

initial charge with 0.15 kg / unit for domestic
initial charge with 0.20 kg / unit for import
initial charge with 1.5 kg / unit for domestic

Recharge

Purpose: Specifies servicing patterns for existing equipment including frequency and amount.

Syntax: recharge percentage % with amount unit / unit

Examples:

recharge 10% with 0.15 kg / unit
recharge 15% with 0.85 kg / unit during years 2025 to 2030
recharge 5% with 1.0 kg / unit in all years

Recover

Purpose: Implements recycling programs that recover and reuse substances from equipment.

Syntax: recover percentage % with reuse_percentage % reuse [with induction_percentage % induction] [at stage] [displacing "substanceName"] during years startYear to endYear

Examples:

recover 30% with 90% reuse during years 2027 to onwards
recover 50% with 80% reuse with 100% induction during years 2030 to 2035
recover 25% with 100% reuse with 0% induction at eol during years 2028 to onwards
recover 20% with 80% reuse with default induction at recharge during years 2026 to onwards
recover 15% with 85% reuse displacing "HFC-134a" during years 2025 to onwards

Replace

Purpose: Substitutes one substance with another in new equipment over specified time periods.

Syntax: replace percentage % of streamName with "newSubstanceName" during years startYear to endYear

Examples:

replace 50% of domestic with "R-600a" during years 2027 to 2030
replace 100% of sales with "HFC-32" during years 2025 to onwards

Retire

Purpose: Sets equipment retirement rates determining equipment lifespan.

Syntax: retire percentage % each year

Examples:

retire 5% each year
retire 7% each year during years 2025 to 2030
retire 10% each year

Set

Purpose: Sets consumption volumes or equipment units for specific streams and time periods.

Syntax: set streamName to amount unit during year year

Examples:

set domestic to 25 mt during year 2025
set import to 15000 units during year 2025
set priorEquipment to 1000000 units during year 2025

See Also

• QubecTalk Stanzas Reference
• QubecTalk Language Features Reference
• Return to Guide Index