# Electricity Carbon Footprint Calculator

> Multiplies electricity consumption by a regional grid emission factor (world, US, Australia, EU, China, India or a custom value, kg CO₂ per kWh) to estimate monthly and yearly CO₂, and expresses the yearly total as mature-tree absorption years.

- Calculator id: `carbon-footprint-electricity` · Category: Weather & Environment (`weather`) · Tool name: `estimate_electricity_carbon_footprint`
- Canonical page: https://tttkmbb.com/weather/carbon-footprint-electricity · This document: https://tttkmbb.com/weather/carbon-footprint-electricity.md · JSON definition: https://tttkmbb.com/weather/carbon-footprint-electricity.json

## Purpose

Multiplies electricity consumption by a regional grid emission factor (world, US, Australia, EU, China, India or a custom value, kg CO₂ per kWh) to estimate monthly and yearly CO₂, and expresses the yearly total as mature-tree absorption years.

**Use when:** You want the CO₂ emissions of a household or device's electricity use, an EV's charging, or to compare regions' grid intensities.

**Do not use when:** You know your supplier's specific factor or use certified renewable energy (enter it as a custom factor), or you need the cost of the electricity (use electricity-cost).

## Input

| Parameter | Type | Unit | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `electricity_kwh` | number |  | required | Kilowatt-hours consumed in the chosen period. (min 0, max 1000000000) |
| `period` | enum: month \| year |  | optional, default "month" | Whether electricity_kwh is a monthly or yearly amount. |
| `region` | enum: world \| us \| australia \| eu \| china \| india \| custom |  | optional, default "world" | Grid whose average emission factor is applied. |
| `custom_factor_kg_per_kwh` | number | kg CO₂/kWh | optional | Your own grid or supplier factor; used only when region=custom. (min 0, max 2) |

## Output

| Field | Type | Unit | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `emission_factor_kg_per_kwh` | number | kg CO₂/kWh | Factor applied. |
| `region_description` | string |  | Region, source and data year of the factor. |
| `co2_kg_per_month` | number | kg | Monthly emissions (yearly ÷ 12 when a yearly amount was given). |
| `co2_kg_per_year` | number | kg | Yearly emissions (monthly × 12 when a monthly amount was given). |
| `co2_tonnes_per_year` | number | t | Yearly emissions in metric tonnes. |
| `electricity_kwh_per_year` | number | kWh | Annualised consumption. |
| `tree_years_equivalent` | number | trees | Number of mature trees needed for one year to absorb the yearly CO₂, at 21.8 kg (48 lb) per tree per year. |

## Formula

`CO₂_kg = kWh × factor; yearly = monthly × 12; tree_years = CO₂_kg_per_year / 21.77 (48 lb per mature tree per year)`

Average grid factors as of 2024 (kg CO₂/kWh): world 0.49 (IEA Emissions Factors 2024), United States 0.37 (EPA eGRID 2022, 823.1 lb/MWh), Australia 0.65 (DCCEEW NGA 2024), EU 0.25 (EEA, 2022), China 0.58 (MEE 2022), India 0.71 (CEA 2022–23). Location-based scope 2 factors at the point of use excluding transmission losses; marginal factors and specific suppliers differ.

## Data Sources

- IEA – Emissions Factors 2024 (CO₂ per kWh of electricity by country) — https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-product/emissions-factors-2024 (government, retrieved 2026-09-24)
- US EPA – Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator: calculations and references (eGRID 2022 US average 823.1 lb CO₂/MWh; vehicle CO₂/GHG ratio 0.994) — https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gases-equivalencies-calculator-calculations-and-references (government, retrieved 2026-09-24)
- Australian DCCEEW – National Greenhouse Accounts Factors 2024 (scope 2 electricity factors) — https://www.dcceew.gov.au/climate-change/publications/national-greenhouse-accounts-factors-2024 (government, retrieved 2026-09-24)

Data freshness: `static`. Deterministic formula with fixed constants; results never go stale. Inputs supplied by the caller determine the output.

## API

- `GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/carbon-footprint-electricity?electricity_kwh=…`
- `POST https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/carbon-footprint-electricity` with JSON body `{"inputs": {…}}`
- Response: unified envelope (`success`, `request`, `result.values`, `result.units`, `sources`, `freshness`, `timestamp`, `next_actions`, `links`); see https://tttkmbb.com/docs/response-format.md
- Schema: https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculators/carbon-footprint-electricity · OpenAPI operationId `estimate_electricity_carbon_footprint` in https://tttkmbb.com/openapi.json
- Authentication: none. Rate limit: fair use, see https://tttkmbb.com/docs/rate-limits.md.

## MCP

- Server: `https://tttkmbb.com/mcp` (Streamable HTTP, JSON-RPC 2.0, no auth)
- Tool:  `run_calculator` with `{"calculator_id": "carbon-footprint-electricity", "inputs": {…}}`

## Example

- 300 kWh/month, world average: inputs `{"electricity_kwh":300,"period":"month","region":"world"}` → `{"emission_factor_kg_per_kwh":0.49,"co2_kg_per_month":147,"co2_kg_per_year":1764,"co2_tonnes_per_year":1.764,"electricity_kwh_per_year":3600,"tree_years_equivalent":81}`
- 7000 kWh/year, Australia: inputs `{"electricity_kwh":7000,"period":"year","region":"australia"}` → `{"emission_factor_kg_per_kwh":0.65,"co2_kg_per_year":4550,"co2_kg_per_month":379.2,"tree_years_equivalent":209}`

```
GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/carbon-footprint-electricity?electricity_kwh=300&period=month&region=world
```

## Limitations

You know your supplier's specific factor or use certified renewable energy (enter it as a custom factor), or you need the cost of the electricity (use electricity-cost). Average grid factors as of 2024 (kg CO₂/kWh): world 0.49 (IEA Emissions Factors 2024), United States 0.37 (EPA eGRID 2022, 823.1 lb/MWh), Australia 0.65 (DCCEEW NGA 2024), EU 0.25 (EEA, 2022), China 0.58 (MEE 2022), India 0.71 (CEA 2022–23). Location-based scope 2 factors at the point of use excluding transmission losses; marginal factors and specific suppliers differ. All values are computed from the formula above; no measurement or live data is involved.

## FAQ

**Why do published factors for my country differ?**

Factors change yearly with the generation mix, and reports differ between location-based averages, market-based supplier factors and marginal factors; enter your supplier's value as a custom factor for precise reporting.

**How is the tree equivalent derived?**

From the Arbor Day Foundation figure of about 48 lb (21.8 kg) of CO₂ absorbed per mature tree per year; the EPA uses a much lower 6 kg/year for a growing urban seedling, so treat it as an illustration.

**Does the factor include transmission losses?**

No. Grid losses of 5–10 % raise the emissions attributable to consumption by the same fraction.

## Related

- [Driving Carbon Footprint Calculator](https://tttkmbb.com/weather/carbon-footprint-driving.md) — Emissions of car travel for comparison.
- [Electricity Cost Calculator](https://tttkmbb.com/everyday/electricity-cost.md) — Cost of the same electricity use.
- [Solar Panel Output Calculator](https://tttkmbb.com/engineering/solar-panel-output.md) — Estimate solar generation that could offset the consumption.