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Personal Emissions Calculator Assumptions and References
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Your Current Household Emissions Sources | What You Can Do to Reduce Your Emissions
Your Current Household Emissions Sources
Transportation
Pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent are calculated based on EPA's estimate of the greenhouse gas emissions from a typical passenger vehicle in the United States. Estimates of the typical values for fuel economy and miles driven per week are from the same source. Note that EPA's emissions estimates are lower than estimates obtained through fueleconomy.gov, because EPA's estimates are for tailpipe emissions only. The fueleconomy.gov site estimates emissions over the full fuel lifecycle (including extraction, processing, and transportation of fuel).
Electricity
National average emissions factor for electricity is 1.37 pounds CO2 per kilowatt-hour. Source: Energy Information Administration. Electric Power Annual 2005, Table 5.1 (October 2006).
"Typical" annual CO2 emissions are 16,290 pounds per household, assuming approximately 900 kWh per month. Source: EPA, 2004. Unit Conversions, Emissions Factors, and Other Reference Data (PDF, 16 pp., 152 kb, About PDF).
Natural Gas
Carbon coefficient for natural gas: 117 pounds of CO2 per million BTU, or 0.12 pounds per cubic foot of gas. Source: U.S. EPA, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2004, Annex 2, Table A-30.
"Typical" annual CO2 emissions of 11,000 pounds per household based on national average monthly consumption of 7,680 cubic feet of gas. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration 2004. A Look at Residential Energy Consumption in 2001.
Fuel Oil
Carbon coefficient for distillate fuel (fuel oil): 161.44 pounds of CO2 per million BTU, or 22.29 pounds per gallon. Source: U.S. EPA, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2004, Annex 2, Table A-30.
"Typical" annual CO2 emissions of 14,500 pounds per household based on national average monthly consumption of 55 gallons of oil. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration 2004. A Look at Residential Energy Consumption in 2001.
Waste Disposal
Estimates of greenhouse gas emission benefits from recycling newspaper, glass, plastic, metal, and magazines were developed using national waste data and life-cycle greenhouse gas emission factors for waste management. Calculations assume that it would be possible for households to recycle 100 percent of all recyclable materials generated as waste. For example, if you indicate that you recycle newspapers, this calculator assumes that you recycle 100 percent of the newspapers you receive.
EPA's annual Characterization Report was the source of per capita waste generation by material type (e.g., newspaper waste generated per person). Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2005. Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2003.
Carbon dioxide equivalent emissions associated with household waste management were calculated using the total emissions for landfills (including incineration, landfill gas-to- energy projects, oxidation, and flaring) from EPA's Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 1990-2004 and the United States population estimates from EPA's annual Characterization Report mentioned above. The emission factors for each material type were developed by EPA and presented in the Agency's report on greenhouse gas emissions from waste management and in the online WAste Reduction Model (WARM). These emission factors take into account the full material life cycle; i.e., not only emissions at the landfill, but also emissions and sequestration associated with production, manufacturing, remanufacturing, forest carbon storage due to reduced harvests, etc. The emission factor used for recycling materials in this calculator compares greenhouse gas emissions from recycling with those attributable to landfilling. This approach enables policy makers to evaluate, on a per-ton basis, the overall difference in greenhouse gas emissions between (1) recycling 1 ton of material and (2) manufacturing and then managing (post-consumer) 1 ton of the same material. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2006. Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases: A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and Sinks, EPA530-R-06-004. WARM is available in the Tools section of the Waste section of this Web site.
What You Can Do to Reduce Your Emissions
On the Road
Results are calculated based on EPA's estimate of the greenhouse gas emissions from a typical passenger vehicle in the United States.
At Home
Replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents: Assumes that lights are on for 4 hours per day. Source: ENERGY STAR.
Replacing old refrigerator with an ENERGY STAR® model: Assumes old model uses 820 kWh per year; ENERGY STAR model uses 440 kWh per year. Source: ENERGY STAR.
Turning up thermostat for central air conditioner: Assumes average household electricity use of approximately 900 kWh per month, and that air conditioners account for 16 percent of residential electricity consumption. Source: EIA 2001. End-use Consumption of Electricity.
Turning down thermostat in winter: Assumes 1 percent savings in energy use for a 1 degree decrease. Assumes thermostat is turned down for 8 hours each night November through March. Source: ENERGY STAR.
Replacing single-glazed windows with ENERGY STAR windows: Assumes 2000 square-foot house, 300 square feet of glass, gas heat, and electric air conditioning. Source: ENERGY STAR.
Replacing an old boiler or furnace with an ENERGY STAR model: Assumes a 20 percent savings on heating fuel costs. Source: ENERGY STAR.
Recycling
Calculations assume that it would be possible for households to recycle 100 percent of all recyclable materials generated as waste. The plastic material type used in the calculator includes PET and HDPE, and the metal material type includes aluminum and steel cans.