The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) solar calculator is a great tool to assess the incredible impact an individual or a household can make by switching to solar power. Danbury residents can now use the calculator to understand the environmental savings of going solar.
What Does the EPA Calculator Work?
The Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator, also known as the EPA calculator, allows users to convert energy data into carbon-dioxide emissions. It can accept energy data in many forms, including gallons of gasoline used, KwH, MCF or therms of natural gas, and so on.
The EPA calculator helps understand such everyday energy measurements in terms of carbon emissions. So, when you learn about your carbon emissions, you are better placed to make amends and reduce your carbon footprint by shifting to other “greener” energy sources.
You can also use the EPA calculator to find out how much carbon emissions you have saved based on the amount of solar power you generate in kWh.
How To Use It?
The EPA calculator is pretty straightforward to use. It asks you to input either the energy or emissions data you may have. Then, you have to select the units you have the data for, enter the amount of energy or emissions, and ask the calculator to “Convert data.”
For instance, the average output of a home solar system installed by Green Power Energy is 11,500 kWh. When you input this in the EPA calculator, you will find GPE has saved an equivalent of 8.1 metric tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere annually by helping just one home switch to solar.
Understanding Our Impact on the Environment
The EPA calculator does a good job of driving home the ecological impact of residential solar power. It reveals the amount of carbon emissions an 11,500 kWh PV system saves and converts them into more “understandable” units that people deal with routinely. So, by installing a GPE solar power system, homeowners escape polluting the environment as they avoid using:
- 917 gallons of gasoline
- 9129 pounds of coal
- 18.9 barrels of oil
- 374 propane cylinders
It is also equivalent to the amount of carbon absorbed from the atmosphere by 135 tree seedlings grown for 10 years or 9.7 acres of US forests in 1 year.
Making a Difference
By consciously shifting to a cleaner energy source, such as solar power, you are making a better energy choice. Using the EPA calculator makes it easier to understand the effect of your choice. To learn more about how your choices can impact the environment while saving some cash in the long run, Contact Green Power Energy.
