Rants and Rays - What Is Your Carbon Footprint?

Have you ever wondered what your carbon footprint is? I found this great carbon footprint calculator on PG&E's website.

Based on PG&E's calculation assumptions*, my carbon footprint versus various averages (in lbs. of CO2 per year):
Before solar: 18,654
After going solar: 17,199
CO2 reduction from solar: (1,455)

Average Californian: 22,941
Average American: 32,607
Average Global Person: 8,750

Not quite there, but starting to do my part. Maybe my next car will be a hybrid.


*Note - All calculations are based on PG&E's assumptions. PG&E claims to have an emissions rate (electric) of 0.575 lbs CO2 per kWh which is very low. I think average base load for California is 1.3 lbs CO2 per kWh and my SunPower monitoring system has an even higher assumption of 1.7 lbs CO2 per kWh. If your utility has a higher carbon emissions rate than PG&E, then your carbon footprint could be significantly higher and the impact of installing solar panels even greater.

19 Weeks Solar Production

We hit a new all time daily high of 14.70 kWh this week.

Total Production To Date:
Production: 1,233 kWh
Percent of Annual Estimated Production (2,781 kWh): 44.3%
CO2 Saved: 2,046 lbs
Estimated Savings: $246.60

Monthly Production:
June 2011: 89.64 kWh (June 1-7)
May 2011: 332.10 kWh
Apr 2011: 295.18 kWh
Mar 2011: 262.25 kWh
Feb 2011: 206.07 kWh
Jan 2011: 38.50 kWh (1/26-1/31)

Weekly Production:
Week 19: 89.64 kWh
Week 18: 89.27 kWh
Week 17: 67.49 kWh
Week 16: 63.67 kWh
Week 15: 71.74 kWh
Week 14: 90.86 kWh
Week 13: 55.70 kWh
Week 12: 65.83 kWh
Week 11: 74.17 kWh
Week 10: 72.13 kWh
Week 9: 53.68 kWh
Week 8: 50.01 kWh

System Specs:
System Size DC (STC): 2.28 KW
System Size AC: 1.93 KW
System Size AC (California CSI rating): 1.63 KW
Panels: 10 SunPower Serengeti 228 Watt
Inverter: 1 SunPower 3000M (SMA Sunny Boy 3000 re-branded under SunPower)
Estimated Annual Production: 2,781 kWh

Direction: East facing

Rants and Rays - All I See Is Opportunity

I found that once I went solar, I was quick to notice other solar installations and places that would be ideal for solar.

I take the kids for bike rides on the Caltech campus, which is a few blocks from our house. I took this picture of one of Caltech's parking structures where they installed solar PV to generate electricity and provide shading for cars.

A few weeks ago we went on the Disney Cruise out of the Port of Los Angeles. As we were waiting to set sail, I snapped this photo of the solar PV installation on the rooftops of the World Cruise Center. This is part of the 10 MW of solar the Port of Los Angeles planned to install.

I work at Warner Bros. and the studio is on the leading edge of environmental and sustainability practices in the entertainment industry. In fact, WB's 600KW of solar PV was the first large scale solar installation in entertainment industry.

These are great starts to going solar. But if you really look closely, these solar initiatives have only just begun to crack the surface. Here is a map of the Caltech campus and a picture I snapped of the WB studio lot in Burbank. Looking at these, you will notice some solar, but what is more apparent is the vast majority of empty rooftops.

All I see is opportunity.

18 Weeks Solar Production

Our rolling 30-day average production is 329 KWH, which far exceeds the target average of 228.6 KWH to achieve the CSI estimated annual production for our system.

Total Thru 18 Weeks:
Production: 1,144 KWH
CO2 Saved: 1,899 lbs
Estimated Savings: $228.80

Weekly Production History:
Week 18: 89.27 KWH
Week 17: 67.49 KWH
Week 16: 63.67 KWH
Week 15: 71.74 KWH
Week 14: 90.86 KWH
Week 13: 55.70 KWH
Week 12: 65.83 KWH
Week 11: 74.17 KWH
Week 10: 72.13 KWH
Week 9: 53.68 KWH
Week 8: 50.01 KWH

Monthly Production History:
May 2011: 332.10 KWH
Apr 2011: 295.18 KWH
Mar 2011: 262.25 KWH
Feb 2011: 206.07 KWH
Jan 2011: 38.50 KWH (1/26-1/31)

System Size DC (STC): 2.28KW
System Size AC: 1.93KW
System Size AC (California CSI rating): 1.63KW
Panels: 10 SunPower Serengeti 228 Watt
Inverter: 1 SunPower 3000M (SMA Sunny Boy 3000 re-branded under SunPower)
Estimated Annual Production: 2,781 KWH

Direction: East facing