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Calculator Notes and Tips Assumptions

Personal Household Carbon Footprint Calculator

Calculator Formula Sheet

Click here to download the Calculator Formula Sheet (format: PDF, size: 365kb).

Click here to download the Carbon Equivalencies spreadsheet (format: Microsoft® Office 2007, size: 40kb).

Assumptions

The CAP Personal Household Carbon Footprint Calculator is based on the assumptions that follow below:

Electricity Assumptions


Caption Amount Notes Ref ID
Monthly free electricity if Lifeline user (< 450kW.hr monthly) 50 Includes VAT 1
Price per kW.hr if low domestic consumption user (450 to 1500 kWh per month) 0.97 Includes VAT 2
Price per kW.hr if high domestic consumption user (> 1500 kWh per month) 0.82 Includes VAT 3
KG CO2 per kW.hr 1 Based on Eskom 2009 electricity emission levels 4


Transport Assumptions


Vehicle Type
Caption Amount Notes Ref ID
Motorbike 0.75 1
Sedan 1 2
SUV/Bakkie 1.25 3


Fuel
Caption Amount Notes Ref ID
Petrol 2.3 kg CO2 / litre fuel 1
Diesel 2.7 kg CO2 / litre fuel 2

Engine size
Caption Amount petrol Amount diesel Notes Ref ID
Hybrid 4.5 4 L/100km 1
Under 350 3 2.5 L/100km 2
351-1100 5 4.5 L/100km 3
1101-1300 7.9 4 L/100km 4
1301-1500 7.78 5 L/100km 5
1501-1800 8.47 6 L/100km 6
1801-2000 9.49 6.9 L/100km 7
2001-2500 10.24 9.18 L/100km 8
2501-3000 11 10.18 L/100km 9
3001-4000 12.33 11.27 L/100km 10
Over 4000 14.73 13.49 L/100km 11


Flight Assumptions


Flight calculations
Caption Amount Notes Ref ID
Local trip distance 1000 One way / per year 1
Foreign trip: North America 15000 One way / per year 2
Foreign trip: Asia / Australia / Europe 10000 One way / per year 3
Foreign trip: South America 7500 One way / per year 4
Class: Business / First 1.5 5
Class: Economy 1 6
Tons CO2 per person per 1000km shorthaul 0.12 tons CO2 7
Tons CO2 per person per 1000km longhaul 0.15 tons CO2 8
Tons CO2 per person per JHB-CT return 0.446 tons CO2 9
Tons CO2 per person per JHB-DBN return 0.238 tons CO2 10
Tons CO2 per person per JHB-PE return 0.348 tons CO2 11
Tons CO2 per person per CT-DBN or PE return 0.45 tons CO2 12
Tons CO2 per person per N America W Coast flight 2.116 tons CO2 13
Tons CO2 per person per Europe/Australia flight 1.4 tons CO2 15
Tons CO2 per person per South America/Asia flight 1 tons CO2 16
Tons CO2 per person per N America E Coast flight 2.83 tons CO2 14


Waste Assumptions


Waste data
Caption % waste makeup Amount CO2e Notes Ref ID
Organic material 29 0.62 1
Paper/cardboard 25 2.13 2
Plastic 11 3.3 3
Glass 13 1.03 4
Metal 4 2.2 5
Others 18 1.83 6

Waste costs
Caption Amount Notes Ref ID
Cost to remove waste bin 67 1
Cost p.a. waste removal 3848 2


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