What makes up a personal Carbon Footprint?
What makes up a personal Carbon Footprint?
Direct Energy Use
This is perhaps the most obvious contribution to our carbon footprint. When fossil fuels are burnt the carbon which has been locked away for millions of years is released. It is the rapid increase in our fossil fuel use that has caused global warming.
Heat
Most homes in Wales are heated directly by burning gas, oil and coal. To work out their contribution to our carbon footprint we need to know how much we have used. The table shows how many grammes are produced for each kWh of heat.
|
Fuel |
g/kWh |
|
Coal |
995 |
|
Oil |
772 |
|
Gas |
423 |
|
Wood |
24* |
|
Electric |
500** |
*Assuming the wood is produced and used within 50 miles
**All figures from the IEA except electric which assumes 100% conversion of grid electricity to heat.
We can reduce our contribution to climate change from heating in several ways including
- Turn down the thermostat control.
- Make sure we know how to use the controls on the system including timers.
- Insulate our homes.
- Fit efficient boilers
- Use fuels which produce less CO2
Electricity
Each type of generation produces a different amount of carbon dioxide for every unit (kWh) of electricity produced. Coal is the worst at 900g per unit whilst wind produces 8g per kWh (IEA). On average the electricity from the national grid produces 500g per unit.
We can reduce our carbon footprint from electricity use by
- Using as little as possible by switching off when we can.
- Choose efficient appliances.
- Choose an electricity supplier which provides electricity from a renewable source.
- Install a form of micro generation at home to produce our own green electricity.
Transport
Burning fuel in all forms of transport produces carbon dioxide, other greenhouse gasses as well as other forms of pollution. Ultimately it is not the type of car we drive that contributes to climate change but the amount and type of fuel we burn.
|
Fuel |
KG of CO2 /l |
|
Diesel |
2.68 |
|
Petrol |
2.31 |
|
Bio diesel |
0.6 |
|
Vegetable Oil |
0 * |
Energy is used to produce goods and services. Our carbon footprint also includes emissions from the construction and running of roads, hospitals, rubbish collection and so on, we all benefit from these services to some extent so they should also be included in our foot print. This works out to be about 1 tonne per person. Emissions are also part of the production of things we buy like TVs, clothes and other consumer goods. Generally the more stuff we buy the higher our carbon footprint in this area will be. Obviously the exact figure will depend on what we spend our money on but a figure of around 1 tonne of CO2 for every £5000 spent has been suggested.
Online Carbon Calculators
We cannot take responsibility for the content of external links. Unfortunately most the calculators do not have a Welsh version
Figures quoted in this section have come from the BERR (formerly the DTI), The World Resources Institute, The National Energy Foundation and The Resurgence Carbon Calculator.
