How can I better understand my personal energy consumption?
December 3, 2019 11:13 AM Subscribe
I'm 40 years old, and I'm concerned about climate change, but it strikes me that I know f***-all about how much energy is consumed by all of the various things I buy and do. How does a short drive in the car compare to turning the thermostat down for the afternoon, or drying a load of laundry on the line instead of the dryer, or buying a new shirt? Know what I mean? What resources exist for me to start figuring these things out?
I just requested How Bad Are Bananas?: The Carbon Footprint of Everything by Mike Berners-Lee, brother of Tim, from my library system. It's from 2011 but I hope it gives me some ideas about just what you are asking.
posted by Botanizer at 11:35 AM on December 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Botanizer at 11:35 AM on December 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
Read Section 5 of Physics for Future Presidents.
posted by caek at 11:53 AM on December 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by caek at 11:53 AM on December 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
Your utility accounts may have comparison tools online, where you can also see your daily use stats.
Measure the Impact of Your Energy Use on the Environment, tools at the EPA.
The Oroeco app for tracking your carbon footprint.
Energy consumption analyzer app.
Dropcountr, for water consumption.
Climate change food calculator at the BBC; shows equivalent energy consumption by item: "Over an entire year your (daily) consumption of (a glass of) almond milk is contributing 51kg to your annual greenhouse gas emissions... Your consumption of almond milk also uses 27,042 litres of water, equal to 416 showers lasting eight minutes." The Good Place will never steer you wrong.
(Guardian article you might find interesting, on the impact of personal consumption vs. corporate consumption on climate change, which I'd linked in a February AskMe.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:02 PM on December 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
Measure the Impact of Your Energy Use on the Environment, tools at the EPA.
The Oroeco app for tracking your carbon footprint.
Energy consumption analyzer app.
Dropcountr, for water consumption.
Climate change food calculator at the BBC; shows equivalent energy consumption by item: "Over an entire year your (daily) consumption of (a glass of) almond milk is contributing 51kg to your annual greenhouse gas emissions... Your consumption of almond milk also uses 27,042 litres of water, equal to 416 showers lasting eight minutes." The Good Place will never steer you wrong.
(Guardian article you might find interesting, on the impact of personal consumption vs. corporate consumption on climate change, which I'd linked in a February AskMe.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:02 PM on December 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
David MacKay's book "Sustainable Energy – without the hot air" might be a good read -- it estimates energy consumption of the average person in the UK, and then compares the estimated total energy consumption to energy production from all conceivable renewable energy sources. The book is available to read for free online: www.withouthotair.com
To tailor it to your situation, you could look at MacKay's estimates of the "average" personal energy consumption, then see if the assumptions behind those estimates are optimistic or pessimistic for your situation and adjust accordingly: https://www.withouthotair.com/c18/page_103.shtml . Starting with the "average" personal energy consumption is a good idea as it may highlight significant sources of energy consumption that you might not realise when wondering about e.g. car energy consumption versus the clothes dryer.
E.g. MacKay assumes the average person takes 1 jet flight a year, a return trip from London to Cape Town in an 80% full 747 -- this single flight accounts for 30 kWh/d of energy consumption (about 15% of estimated personal annual energy consumption). If you fly more frequently / less frequently / shorter distances it should be reasonably easy to come up with a personalised estimate accordingly. https://www.withouthotair.com/c5/page_35.shtml
The component with the largest estimated energy cost is "stuff" + "transporting stuff" (about 30% of energy consumption) followed by car travel (20%) then heating/cooling (18%) then jet flights (15%). Consume less stuff! Prefer to consume longer-lasting stuff (e.g. houses with 100 year lifespans)!
posted by are-coral-made at 12:23 PM on December 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
To tailor it to your situation, you could look at MacKay's estimates of the "average" personal energy consumption, then see if the assumptions behind those estimates are optimistic or pessimistic for your situation and adjust accordingly: https://www.withouthotair.com/c18/page_103.shtml . Starting with the "average" personal energy consumption is a good idea as it may highlight significant sources of energy consumption that you might not realise when wondering about e.g. car energy consumption versus the clothes dryer.
E.g. MacKay assumes the average person takes 1 jet flight a year, a return trip from London to Cape Town in an 80% full 747 -- this single flight accounts for 30 kWh/d of energy consumption (about 15% of estimated personal annual energy consumption). If you fly more frequently / less frequently / shorter distances it should be reasonably easy to come up with a personalised estimate accordingly. https://www.withouthotair.com/c5/page_35.shtml
The component with the largest estimated energy cost is "stuff" + "transporting stuff" (about 30% of energy consumption) followed by car travel (20%) then heating/cooling (18%) then jet flights (15%). Consume less stuff! Prefer to consume longer-lasting stuff (e.g. houses with 100 year lifespans)!
posted by are-coral-made at 12:23 PM on December 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
This study looked at the most effective individual actions re climate. From the abstract:
We recommend four widely applicable high-impact (i.e. low emissions) actions with the potential to contribute to systemic change and substantially reduce annual personal emissions: having one fewer child (an average for developed countries of 58.6 tonnes CO2-equivalent (tCO2e) emission reductions per year), living car-free (2.4 tCO2e saved per year), avoiding airplane travel (1.6 tCO2e saved per roundtrip transatlantic flight) and eating a plant-based diet (0.8 tCO2e saved per year). These actions have much greater potential to reduce emissions than commonly promoted strategies like comprehensive recycling (four times less effective than a plant-based diet) or changing household lightbulbs (eight times less).
The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices is old but gives a good introduction to how to think about this. Here's a carbon footprint calculator.
posted by pinochiette at 12:33 PM on December 3, 2019 [4 favorites]
We recommend four widely applicable high-impact (i.e. low emissions) actions with the potential to contribute to systemic change and substantially reduce annual personal emissions: having one fewer child (an average for developed countries of 58.6 tonnes CO2-equivalent (tCO2e) emission reductions per year), living car-free (2.4 tCO2e saved per year), avoiding airplane travel (1.6 tCO2e saved per roundtrip transatlantic flight) and eating a plant-based diet (0.8 tCO2e saved per year). These actions have much greater potential to reduce emissions than commonly promoted strategies like comprehensive recycling (four times less effective than a plant-based diet) or changing household lightbulbs (eight times less).
The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices is old but gives a good introduction to how to think about this. Here's a carbon footprint calculator.
posted by pinochiette at 12:33 PM on December 3, 2019 [4 favorites]
In terms of your direct energy use, your electricity use in your home may be outdone by your heating needs, but this depends on where you live. Hot places will need a lot of cooling but this goes to your electrical load, while heating does not for most of the developed world. IIRC the stat for the typical EU household is that 79% of energy use in the home is for heating, that includes, space and water heating and cooking.
Typically the things that use a lot of energy in the home are items where there is a lot of movement involved and anything that involves a lot of heating or cooling. There are exceptions to this but its a fair rule of thumb.
A key home solution is to see whether you can make easy efficiency gains by putting in lagging, reducing draughts, etc. Hang clothes instead of tumble drying them if you can.
Prefer to consume longer-lasting stuff (e.g. houses with 100 year lifespans)!
This is an interesting one. The UK average turnover for housing is 100 years, which means 1% per year of housing turnover. The problem with this is that upwards of 75% of housing that will exist here in 2050 (i.e. key year for CC reduction) already exist. And typically they suck in terms of energy performance. So getting a long lived house is good but try to make sure it is energy efficient when you get it. Retrofitting is expensive. The UK estimates adding good quality lagging and a heat pump costs around £20k for retrofit but only £5k in a new build. I don't have any figures for comparative performance over building lifetime.
posted by biffa at 1:32 PM on December 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
Typically the things that use a lot of energy in the home are items where there is a lot of movement involved and anything that involves a lot of heating or cooling. There are exceptions to this but its a fair rule of thumb.
A key home solution is to see whether you can make easy efficiency gains by putting in lagging, reducing draughts, etc. Hang clothes instead of tumble drying them if you can.
Prefer to consume longer-lasting stuff (e.g. houses with 100 year lifespans)!
This is an interesting one. The UK average turnover for housing is 100 years, which means 1% per year of housing turnover. The problem with this is that upwards of 75% of housing that will exist here in 2050 (i.e. key year for CC reduction) already exist. And typically they suck in terms of energy performance. So getting a long lived house is good but try to make sure it is energy efficient when you get it. Retrofitting is expensive. The UK estimates adding good quality lagging and a heat pump costs around £20k for retrofit but only £5k in a new build. I don't have any figures for comparative performance over building lifetime.
posted by biffa at 1:32 PM on December 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
Check out Joro! It's pretty easy to setup and gives you a nice personalized breakdown of what you do that causes emissions (based on financial data from your card as well as your daily habits).
posted by pando11 at 10:32 PM on December 3, 2019
posted by pando11 at 10:32 PM on December 3, 2019
See if there are ways that you can help other people have a shorter and less car-ful commute.
posted by ClimateCal at 7:05 AM on December 4, 2019
posted by ClimateCal at 7:05 AM on December 4, 2019
Part of what you are looking to understand is the "embodied energy" of the objects you use and not just the "operational energy." For example:
Instead, maybe pick a top three areas of impact, and then change behavior on those three areas for six months, or however long it will take to integrate those changes into your life. There might be new data on the emissions/water footprint of x, y, z in six months, so you can consider if there are additional shifts in consumption or behavior that you want to consider. The new textile economy report is horrifying, so this is something I am now adding to as an area of concern and education.
Currently, my two areas of action and change for me: "low carbon academia" and food. This has meant shifting 10% or so of my in-person classes onto online synchronous platforms to reduce students' commuting burden. I am also shifting my personal protein consumption away from beef, so I choose fish or plant protein when available, but if I'm celebrating a friend's birthday at a Korean restaurant I am going to eat the galbi. On the other hand, I still get take-out for dinner and boba tea on the weekends. My brain cannot compute all the different embodied and operational energies, so I focus on a few key areas.
posted by spamandkimchi at 9:28 AM on December 4, 2019
It was thought until recently that the embodied energy content of a building was small compared to the energy used in operating the building over its life. Therefore, most effort was put into reducing operating energy by improving the energy efficiency of the building envelope. Research has shown that this is not always the case.Given that professionals, engineers, materials scientists, etc are still struggling with how to calculate embodied energy (previously on the green, concrete's carbon impact), I would suggest not stressing about how much you understand (and get paralyzed as I have done on "but what is the BEST practice." Satisficing instead of maximizing.
Embodied energy can be the equivalent of many years of operational energy. (source)
Instead, maybe pick a top three areas of impact, and then change behavior on those three areas for six months, or however long it will take to integrate those changes into your life. There might be new data on the emissions/water footprint of x, y, z in six months, so you can consider if there are additional shifts in consumption or behavior that you want to consider. The new textile economy report is horrifying, so this is something I am now adding to as an area of concern and education.
Currently, my two areas of action and change for me: "low carbon academia" and food. This has meant shifting 10% or so of my in-person classes onto online synchronous platforms to reduce students' commuting burden. I am also shifting my personal protein consumption away from beef, so I choose fish or plant protein when available, but if I'm celebrating a friend's birthday at a Korean restaurant I am going to eat the galbi. On the other hand, I still get take-out for dinner and boba tea on the weekends. My brain cannot compute all the different embodied and operational energies, so I focus on a few key areas.
posted by spamandkimchi at 9:28 AM on December 4, 2019
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posted by Slinga at 11:26 AM on December 3, 2019 [4 favorites]