{"id":6874,"date":"2021-04-07T16:58:15","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T16:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ventricular.org\/ItsElectric\/?p=6874"},"modified":"2023-04-06T17:13:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T17:13:58","slug":"supercharging-ii-emissions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ventricular.org\/ItsElectric\/2021\/04\/07\/supercharging-ii-emissions\/","title":{"rendered":"Supercharging II: Emissions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This post is a follow up to Supercharging II: 800 miles in a day<\/a> to calculate carbon emissions from driving electric on a 1715 mile road trip. Summary: Driving an EV greatly reduced our carbon emissions to less than one quarter of a 25 MPG car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Our trip to the Grand Canyon released 21% the pollution of a 25 MPG car.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Methods for determining carbon emissions are described below for interested readers<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Electric cars are sometimes described as Zero-emission vehicles. This refers to zero-emissions from the tail pipe – and since EVs don’t have a tail pipe there are no emissions from the car as you drive. The actual emissions from driving an EV are produced by generating the electricity used to charge the EV. Emissions can be very low if you buy green energy from your utility or can charge from a roof-top solar system. Emissions can also be relatively low if you live in a region where sizable amounts of renewable energy are used to generate electricity – think hydroelectric in Washington state where 0.3 lbs of CO2<\/sub> are released per kWh. Emissions can be higher if you live in a region where utilities use coal or petroleum – coal is the primary source in Wyoming where 2 lbs of CO2<\/sub> are released per kWh. However, keep in mind that even if you live in Wyoming, carbon emissions from driving electric are still lower than the average car – similar to driving a 50 MPG hybrid like the Prius (Source, US EIA<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Energy Used<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To calculate carbon emissions from this trip we start with energy used. A total of 488 kWh were sent to my car to charge the battery:<\/p>\n\n\n\n