Work From Home, Save the Earth
Eric Boyd concludes his 2-month recording of household energy use.
While his numbers (extrapolated out for a year) are interesting (iMac: $27/yr, Fridge: $39/yr) the comparison against his car is the kicker:
Annual Household Carbon Footprint:
1800kWh * 0.085kg Carbon / kWh = 336.6 lb Carbon / year
Totoya Echo:
15 gallon tank * 9.1 lbs Carbon / gallon of gas = 136.5 lb Carbon / tank of gas (how many times to do fill up each week?)
Based on Eric’s calculations, commuting to work is more damaging than working from home with all the lights on.
Seems like a good reason to stay home, and pick up a TerraPass to counteract the remaining car trips.
2 Comments
Hooray for working at home! When on a contract that lets me work some days at home, I find I’m 2x-3x more productive on those days than the days I’m at the office.
It’s worth pointing out that XCel Energy customers can (in theory) offset their home electricity carbon footprint with WindSource.
Cheers! I work from home, makes the neighbors wonder what I am up to but it does save money. I try to keep my business activities in the neighborhood and can often walk to meetings which I try to schedule at local coffee shops. It is a good life!