I would like to doing research about household carbon footprint. I want to measure the amount of carbon emission related to household activity and also measure the trend of carbon emission.
There is a relation between the net income of a household and its CF through direct (first scope) emissions e.g. by heating and by indirect emissions (scope 2,3) by use of electricity and by use of products and subsequent waste treatment.
I use SimaPro for calculations, but there are also CFs available for several types of energy and product use.
There are a number of online calculators for Carbon Footprint. Some of them were compared in Environmental Impact Assessment Review 28 (2008) 106–115. Another reference to check is Ecological Economics 66 (2008) 379–391. The estimations are based on direct and indirect emission factors for CO2; they represent the ratio of mass CO2 generated per unit energy input, for example. The CF of a home is the product of weighted emission factors that depend on the number of individuals, their energy sources and their habits, among other variables.
I'm not sure what you meant with trends, but once you've estimated the CF, it is a matter of looking for time series data, I guess.
The trends what i mean is relating to the estimation of CF in several years later, but I dont have the series data.. its just my idea for research proposal, I dont know exactly could I realise my reserach about household CF??
I'm cocerning in energy (household electricity) and transportation (fossil fuel), and the next step, I would like to calculate the average CF of household and estimate it to the next following years..
this research will be implemented on how many trees the people should granted their CF..
I used to quantitative research methodolgy, which my respondents are divided by 3 different characteristics (depend on their income).
the big question in my mind is "how could I estimate the CF in the next following years?"
The Carbon Trust and Coca Cola published a report onpersonal carbon allowances, which included measuring the carbon footprint of individuals over four weeks. This looks beyond the usual household energy and transport to include food, drink, leisure activities, etc. A copy of the report is available here: http://www.businessgreen.com/digital_assets/5231/Personal_Carbon_Allowances_White_Paper_FINAL.pdf
Dear Novita,
Important drivers for energy use in households are the income of the households and the outside temperature. An increase in income usually shows a higher consumption and so a higher carbon footprint due to goods consumed. As households may have the need to keep the indoor climate comfortable the outside temperature may predict the need for cooling or heating the house. Another point is that an increase in income often shows an increase in electricity consumption.
If you can find the regression coefficients for these drivers-and carbon footprint you have some predictors for the future.
One obscure way would be to find the mass of the Atmosphere, and assume it was originally 21 % Oxygen. You could then find the mass rate of conversion from
Oxygen O2 to Carbon Dioxide CO2, by looking at the change 280 PPM to 380 PPM.
This is 0.000 280 changing to 0.000 380 and beyond as a mass fraction of the
whole atmosphere which is mostly nitrogen 78%. The change should be between mega tonnes per year to giga tonnes per year.
This would take a little thinking. Remember as the O2 decreases, the CO2 increases, and the Atmospheric mass increases by the mass addition of the
Carbon.
You can do the same with the mass increase in the volume of the oceans as the
height of the oceans has increased by about 100 meters in the last 10,000 years, so the mass of the oceans has increased. Since water and Carbon Dioxide are products of combustion, both will increase in volume and mass as the rate of consumption
of all combustibles increases with time. It should plot as an exponentially increasing
curve as our abilities to extract and consume increase, and our population increases,
and the number of people with access to more advanced technologies increases.