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Recharging Your Electric Car
We've calculated the CO2 likely to be released from the recharging of an electric car.
To do this we calculate the CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels between 0% (no fossil fuels used) and 100% (all fossil fuels).
You can select the percentage of fossil fuels used in recharging (0% to 100%) and we then calculate the CO2 produced to fully recharge your electric car.
We've based our calculations on;
- your selected annual mileage (up to 30,000 miles);
- the manufacturer's battery capacity of the car;
- the CO2 produced at the power station to create a kilowatt-hour (or 'KwH') of electricity for recharging;
- a 100% charge of the battery.
Let's explain each of these in turn.
Your Annual Mileage
First select your annual mileage. We'll use this to work out the CO2 produced by recharging the electric car.
We'll do this for each recharge using the CO produced in kilogrammes (assuming a recharge from 0% to 100%).
We also then calculate the annual CO2 output (in kilogrammes) based on your annual mileage and the vehicle's battery range.
Battery Capacity
We use the manufacturer's battery capacity of the car, which is usually measured in kilowatts of electricity per hour (KwH).
For example, the battery capacity might be 40KwH, which means the battery can store 40 kilowatt hours of electricity.
We've also included in the table the electric car's the battery range based on the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure, the 'official' measure of electric car battery range.
This is used to calculate the number of recharges you'll need in a year based on your annual mileage.
CO2 Produced
We calculate the CO2 produced at the power station based on your selection of the mix of renewable energy and fossil fuels burned for each recharge.
The average in the UK is around 40% renewable electricity generation, which means that typically around 60% of electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels.
We can calculate this from a range of 0% (no fossil fuels used at the power station) to 100% (the power station uses 100% fossil fuels).
A generally accepted level of CO2 produced across all power stations in the UK is 233grammes discharged for every kilowatt-hour of electricity generated.
So, in our table we've multiplied the battery capacity in kilowatt-hours by 233grammes of CO2.
You can then select the percentage of fossil fuel used at the power station from 0% (no fossil fuel used) up to 100% (all fossil fuel).
100% Charge of Battery
For our table we calculate recharging the battery from 0% to 100% capacity.
For example, if the battery capacity is 40KwH, then a full recharge of the battery will require 40KwH of electricity from the power station.
Keep in mind that this is not how electric cars are generally recharged.
Most drivers will recharge the battery before it is completely discharged (typically when the battery reaches 20%) and may not recharge it to 100% capacity (the typical level is 80% charged).
This is because recharging to 100% often takes a proportionately longer time and, depending on the battery type, some batteries are not recomended to be charged to 100% unless the car is being used for a long journey.
CO2 To Recharge (kgs)
From the electric car's battery capacity we then calculate the CO2 produced to recharge the battery (from 0% to 100%) based on your annual mileage, taking into account the percentage of CO2 produced at the power station.
For example, if the battery capacity is 40KwH and the CO2 produced at the power station is 233grammes per KwH, then the CO2 produced to recharge the battery is 40 x 233 = 9,320 grammes, or 9.32 kilogrammes (kgs).
The we divide your annual mileage by the battery range to get the number of recharges you'll need in a year and the annual kilogrammes of CO2 produced.
CO2 Percentage From Renewables
You can select the percentage of electricity generated by renewable energy (e.g. solar and wind).
We then adjust the CO2 required for recharging the battery based on the percentage you select.
For example, if you select 40% renewables in the CO2 box (this is typically the UK average), then we will adjust the CO2 produced on a full recharge to 60% from fossil fuels.
You can see this by changing your selection - try 0% or 40% renewables in the CO2 Percentage box compared to 100% fossil fuel.
Why do we do this? It's because, in the UK (and depending on weather conditions), typically between 40%-50% of the electricity generated is created by renewable energy. The remainder of electricity is generated by fossil fuels.
This feature allows you to see the CO2 produced for different proportions of renewables or fossil fuel in electricity generation, from 0% (all produced by renewable energy) to 100% (all electricity produced by fossil fuels).
It also means that you can select the proportion of renewable electricity generation that matches either your electricity tariff, or the amount of renewable energy you generate yourself (e.g. from solar panels or wind-turbines).
For example, some electricity suppliers offer tariffs that are 100% renewable, which means that no fossil fuels are used to generate the electricity you use to recharge your electric car.
Our Other Carbon Footprint Calculators
Here are the links to our other carbon footprint calculators;
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