EGEE 101H, Homework 3

1. Calculate your personal or your familys greenhouse gas emissions using the on-line Carbon
Footprint Calculator at http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/ind-calculator.html

Summarize the results from the following sections using the calculator.

Section 1: Estimate your current total household emissions. 20 pts

My current total household emissions is approximately 11,968.

Section 2: Explore actions you can take to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions, energy use,
and waste disposal costs. 20 pts
Since Im currently living in a dorm, some of my actions are controlled and limited
like the heating set up, types of lightbulbs, and types of energy star products. However,
I could choose to wash 2 loads of clothes per week with cold water. Moreover, I usually
only recycle plastic. By recycling all types of materials like aluminum & steel cans,
glass, newspaper, and magazines, Ill be able to reduce 511 lbs of emissions. Conducting
these actions, I will be able to reduce 824 lbs of emissions.

Section 3: See how much you can save (in dollars and emissions) by taking the actions you
chose in Section 2. 20 pts
If I follow my planned actions, I will be able to save $25 in total.

2. Using the power profiler at http://oaspub.epa.gov/powpro/ept_pack.charts

Compare the fuel mix and air emissions rates of the electricity in your hometown to the
national average. 10 pts
In my hometown, the biggest fuel mix used to generate electricity is coal which
consumes up to 60%. When compared nationally, my hometown uses 21.3% more since
nationally the average is 38.7%. The second largest fuel mix is nuclear power which
consumes up to 25.7%, while nationally nuclear usage is 19.5%. After that, comes gas
which consumes up to 9.3% which is lower than the national average of 27.5%. My
hometown region only consumes 3% of non-hydro renewables, while nationally non-hydro
renewables is used up to 6.8%. A very big difference between my hometown region and
national region is the use of hydro which is only 0.6% in my hometown and 6.2%
nationally. Lastly, oil usage in the fuel mix in my hometown 0.5% when compared
nationally to 0.7%. The air emissions rates of my hometown seems to always exceed the
national average emission rates. For instance, the nitrogen oxides emission rate is 1.3 lbs/
MWh while nationally, its only 0.9 lbs/MWh. For sulfur dioxide, my hometown emits 2.9
lbs/MWh while nationally, its only 1.6 lbs/MWh which makes up almost twice more than
the national average. The carbon dioxide emission rate for my hometown is 1381 lbs/MWh
while nationally, it is 1123 lbs/MWh.
Determine the air emissions impacts of electricity use in your family home. 10 pts
 Electricity use in my household is 586 kWh per month. The air emissions impacts of
electricity use in my family home is 9 pounds of nitrogen oxides, 21pounds of sulfur
oxide, and 10,193 pounds of carbon dioxide.

3. Discuss in one paragraph the results you have summarized in Questions 1 and 2, and list five
actions you can implement to reduce your carbon footprint and NOx and SO2 emissions.
20 pts
The results I have summarized in Questions 1 and 2 show that my emissions is
always below the national average. Everyday, Im always trying to save as much energy
through my modes of transportation. Since Im currently living in a dormitory, I try the
very least to use any vehicles and rely on my footsteps. Since I have limited control on
the utility used in the dorms such as the brands or types of refrigerator or lightbulbs,
there are only few changes I could make to save energy and money. With that being
said, I can still reduce my carbon footprint through recycling most of my waste. Instead
of only recycling plastic bottles, I could turn more to other forms of waste such as glass
and paper. Moreover, I could get rid of my electricity use by unplugging a 24 hours
room infuser or just simply unplug chords when not in use. Also, use of cold water to
wash my laundry load or controlling the temperature of my shower can reduce my
footprint emission. All in all, if I keep doing what Im doing, my carbon emission
footprint will be lower than the national average.