House emissions

[Draigflag]

We all know the emissions of our cars, those of us in the UK are reminded every time we open our vehicle registration documents, or when our annual bill arrives to pay our road tax based on our cars C02 emissions (free for low emissions) For others, C02 figures are easily obtained with fuel usage numbers.

But what about our houses? How many people know the C02 emissions of their homes? How many people care? Most of us don't even think about the pollution from the energy production when we switch our lights on, or turn the heating up do we? How do they compare to our cars?

Well for interest and comparison sakes, the C02 emissions that my house was responsible for last year were roughly 2.35 tonnes (or 8059 KWH of energy)

My car produced roughly 2.43 tonnes of C02, so in fact the carbon dioxide emissions are surprisingly similar! This year however my energy usage is down 28%, so I should see a benefit. I thought my house would have a larger carbon footprint than my car, but I was wrong.

Anyone else care to compare or discuss?

[MukkyPaws1]

great subject draig I will look into the figures here and get right back to ya

[ChewChewTrain]

Interesting. We get nothing like this in California.

[Draigflag]

When you get your bill for heating, A/C, electricity etc, is there not a breakdown? Your energy provider should be able to offer insight into energy usage, and as a result related emissions.

[rfruth]

You get detailed info here in Texas (deregulated energy, companies compete - it shows)

[14Corolla]

This is a good thread.
I just moved into my new home. It's only 8 years old. In comparison to older homes. It is very energy efficient. That's why I stretched my budget to buy this one. I could have gone much cheaper.
I'm also happy that I have an electric cooperative. Rather than a for profit electric company. Regular rates are 11.(something) per KWH. For heat, I have a second meter. Charged 5.7 cents a KWH.
I have thermostats in each room. I can run them separate temps with doors closed. The bathroom will be the warmest.
I also have a wood burning stove in the basement. Considering how I'll use it.
For summer. I can't see using my air conditioning. The basement is nice and cool. So why spend the money?
Only thing I'm wasting energy on is the washing machine. I bought a good ole machine. I couldn't afford a new one. Also the new high efficiency ones seem to have reliability problems?
My lawn mower is gas and wastes energy. Considered an old fashioned rotary push mower. My back yard is a hill. They say they don't work well on hills. Also, with my injury. I need to just get it done. Can't fool around.
I'm just starting. I'm sure I won't have any record to compare. Will look at the bill. Am sure, if anybody provides good info, this co-op will.

[ChewChewTrain]

I think your utility company can give you the historical billings for that address.

[Draigflag]

So can you guys work out the C02 emissions from your bills via KWH cost? My energy provider converts all 3 online to compare, so I can see C02 output, KWH used or just cost per month. I too have a fairly old house, no insulation, single paned sash windows that rattle a lot, generally there are a lot of places heat can escape. Ideally, id like a modern efficient home with solar and a small wind turbine, possibly a small water wheel turbine if I'm by the river. But hey, we cant always have what we want.

[BlueRover]

Our bills do not list emissions either in Southern British Columbia. Oh I forgot we use hydro Electricity that does not pollute. New homes can not have a wood burning stove installed in major cities either.

Bur we have a "green levy on auto fuel, making our fuel costs highest in North America.

[carolpalmer]

If we go by statistics, 2015 marked CO2 level more than 440PPM. It is advisable to keep a check on the CO2 emission. Often many victims fall victim to disasters. It is here that smoke alarm systems come in handy. Often people have them connected to monitoring systems. Fire alarm monitoring services recommend placing a smoke detector/monitoring system in every bedroom and living space.