Carbon Footprint Calculator

Carbon Footprint is evaluated from Car Miles Driven per Year, Car Fuel Efficiency and Flight Hours per Year. The calculation reports Driving Emissions, Flying Emissions and Home Energy Emissions.

Results

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About the Carbon Footprint Calculator

Carbon Footprint is treated here as a quantitative relation between Car Miles Driven per Year, Car Fuel Efficiency, Flight Hours per Year and Monthly Electricity Use and Driving Emissions, Flying Emissions, Home Energy Emissions and Diet Emissions.

The calculator uses a multi formula configuration. Each reported value is read as a direct evaluation of the stored rules with the declared field formats and units.

Formula basis:
Driving: (miles / MPG) x 8.89 kg CO₂/gallon / 1000
Flying: flight hours x 0.255 tons CO₂e/hr
Electricity: kWh/month x 12 x 0.386 kg/kWh / 1000
Natural Gas: therms/month x 12 x 5.3 kg/therm / 1000

Interpret the outputs in the order shown by the result fields. Optional inputs affect only the outputs that depend on those variables.

Formula & How It Works

The calculation applies the following relations exactly as recorded in the metadata:

Driving: (miles / MPG) x 8.89 kg CO₂/gallon / 1000
Flying: flight hours x 0.255 tons CO₂e/hr
Electricity: kWh/month x 12 x 0.386 kg/kWh / 1000
Natural Gas: therms/month x 12 x 5.3 kg/therm / 1000

Each output field is produced by substituting the supplied inputs into the relevant relation and then applying the declared rounding or text format.

Worked Examples

Example 1: Average American: 12,000 miles, 10 flight hours, 900 kWh/mo, 50 therms/mo, average diet

Inputs

miles_per_year: 12000 car_mpg: 28 flight_hours: 10 electricity_kwh: 900 natural_gas_therms: 50 diet_type: average
Driving Emissions: 3.81 tons CO₂e/yr. Flying Emissions: 2.55 tons CO₂e/yr. Home Energy Emissions: 7.35 tons CO₂e/yr. Diet Emissions: 2.5 tons CO₂e/yr. Total Carbon Footprint: 16.21 tons CO₂e/yr. vs. US Average: 0.2 tons above US average

With Car Miles Driven per Year = 12,000, Car Fuel Efficiency = 28, Flight Hours per Year = 10 and Monthly Electricity Use = 900 as the stated inputs, the result is Driving Emissions = 3.81 tons CO₂e/yr, Flying Emissions = 2.55 tons CO₂e/yr and Home Energy Emissions = 7.35 tons CO₂e/yr. Each value corresponds to the declared output fields.

Example 2: Low-carbon lifestyle: 5,000 miles hybrid, 2 flight hours, 600 kWh solar, 0 gas, vegan

Inputs

miles_per_year: 5000 car_mpg: 50 flight_hours: 2 electricity_kwh: 600 natural_gas_therms: 0 diet_type: vegan
Driving Emissions: 0.89 tons CO₂e/yr. Flying Emissions: 0.51 tons CO₂e/yr. Home Energy Emissions: 2.78 tons CO₂e/yr. Diet Emissions: 1.5 tons CO₂e/yr. Total Carbon Footprint: 5.68 tons CO₂e/yr. vs. US Average: 10.3 tons below US average

With Car Miles Driven per Year = 5,000, Car Fuel Efficiency = 50, Flight Hours per Year = 2 and Monthly Electricity Use = 600 as the stated inputs, the result is Driving Emissions = 0.89 tons CO₂e/yr, Flying Emissions = 0.51 tons CO₂e/yr and Home Energy Emissions = 2.78 tons CO₂e/yr. Each value corresponds to the declared output fields.

Example 3: High-emissions lifestyle: 25,000 miles SUV, 60 flight hours, 1500 kWh, 80 therms, heavy meat

Inputs

miles_per_year: 25000 car_mpg: 15 flight_hours: 60 electricity_kwh: 1500 natural_gas_therms: 80 diet_type: meat_heavy
Driving Emissions: 14.82 tons CO₂e/yr. Flying Emissions: 15.3 tons CO₂e/yr. Home Energy Emissions: 12.04 tons CO₂e/yr. Diet Emissions: 3.3 tons CO₂e/yr. Total Carbon Footprint: 45.45 tons CO₂e/yr. vs. US Average: 29.5 tons above US average

With Car Miles Driven per Year = 25,000, Car Fuel Efficiency = 15, Flight Hours per Year = 60 and Monthly Electricity Use = 1,500 as the stated inputs, the result is Driving Emissions = 14.82 tons CO₂e/yr, Flying Emissions = 15.3 tons CO₂e/yr and Home Energy Emissions = 12.04 tons CO₂e/yr. Each value corresponds to the declared output fields.

Example 4: Family of 4 per-person split: 8,000 miles, 5 flight hours, 300 kWh, 20 therms, vegetarian

Inputs

miles_per_year: 8000 car_mpg: 32 flight_hours: 5 electricity_kwh: 300 natural_gas_therms: 20 diet_type: vegetarian
Driving Emissions: 2.22 tons CO₂e/yr. Flying Emissions: 1.28 tons CO₂e/yr. Home Energy Emissions: 2.66 tons CO₂e/yr. Diet Emissions: 1.7 tons CO₂e/yr. Total Carbon Footprint: 7.86 tons CO₂e/yr. vs. US Average: 8.1 tons below US average

With Car Miles Driven per Year = 8,000, Car Fuel Efficiency = 32, Flight Hours per Year = 5 and Monthly Electricity Use = 300 as the stated inputs, the result is Driving Emissions = 2.22 tons CO₂e/yr, Flying Emissions = 1.28 tons CO₂e/yr and Home Energy Emissions = 2.66 tons CO₂e/yr. Each value corresponds to the declared output fields.

Common Use Cases

  • Calculate annual personal carbon footprint
  • Compare lifestyle emissions to US average
  • Identify largest sources of personal CO2 emissions