Translate to energy usage

Translate climate footprint in kg CO2e to the usage of an electrical appliance for a certain period of time

Inputs

Kilos of CO2-equivalents that you wish to translate.

Outputs

A specific appliance used for a period that would emit the same amount of CO2e that you wish to translate:

  • Translation
    • Name of the electrical appliance
    • Time unit (hours, days, months, years)
    • Amount of time this electric appliance needs to be used to emit the given amount of CO2e.
  • Unit for the given value (kWh)
  • The energy needed to be consumed by the electrical appliance to emit the amount of CO2e submitted

Calculations

We have created a comprehensive list of the average hourly energy consumption of commonly used electrical appliances. This list enables us to determine the energy, and consequently, the amount of CO2e emitted by using these devices. The list currently includes the following appliances:

  • Oven
  • Microwave
  • Portable heater
  • Coffee brewer
  • Water boiler
  • Dishwasher
  • Plasma TV
  • LED TV
  • Laptop
  • Desktop 
  • Playstation 4 + Plasma TV
  • Stereo
  • Vaccum cleaner
  • Hair dryer
  • Lawnmower
  • Household energy consumption of a row house with 2 inhabitants
  • Energy produced by a windmill rated 3MW

First, we convert the submitted quantity of CO2e into units of energy consumed. This conversion is based on the average emissions per unit of electricity produced across Europe (European energy mix). See sources and calculations of the convert-energy section for a more detailed explanation.

 It's worth noting that the emissions intensity of the European energy mix is higher than that of the Norwegian mix. Consequently, for the same quantity of CO2e, the energy consumption calculated for a European energy mix  is lower than it would have been for a Norwegian one, because each unit of energy has a higher carbon content. 

The European energy market is highly interconnected, and Ducky prefers a marginal approach when considering the potential gains of saving or reducing energy use. We therefore use a European energy mix in our calculations. See this article detailing our standpoint.

Once the quantity of CO2e is converted into units of energy consumed, we identify an electrical appliance that would consume the same amount of energy within a specific timeframe. This information is then presented to you.