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My Home’s Carbon Footprint

By Solar energy | January 28, 2009

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 04: The sun shine...
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My Home’s Carbon Footprint

I really want to know what my contribution to the illusive “carbon footprint” amounts to. Using multiply on-line carbon footprint calculators left me worse than frustrated.

According to some calculations, I’m super wasteful. According to other calculations, I’m well below average. Is below average really good?

How do I really know?

But I do want to know my carbon footprint!

More precisely, I want to know if the way I live on this planet is as bad as all that.

So I called my local energy provider and talked to one of the folks in the conservation department. I told them I just wanted to know how to determine my home’s carbon footprint.

Even the knowledgeable, helpful man in conservation had to do some checking and call me back.

Not because he did not know what he was doing. He answers these type questions every day.

But because calculating a carbon footprint is COMPLICATED! There are MANY factors to take into consideration. There is no “one-size-fits-all” calculator!

I had him consider only my electrical use because our house uses electricity most. Everything is electric except my stove, which uses propane.

Verdict: In 2008, my home electrical use provided our planet with 23,700 pounds of CO2.

The average for a home in my area is 41,500 pounds of CO2 per house. While I am well under the local average, I still want to do better.

And here’s the important point. The ONLY way to reduce your home’s carbon footprint is to use less energy.

It’s not as complicated as it sounds. There are actually only a few simple phases to implement.

1.    Conservation
2.    Efficiency
3.    Renewable Energy Source (I want to use solar energy)

The Energy Conservation Challenge begins during in February. Final details will be posted here very soon. I hope you will join us!

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Topics: Home Energy Conservation Challenge, Home Energy Use | No Comments »

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