What is Carbon Intensity? 🤔

Think of carbon intensity as a score that tells you how much carbon pollution 💨 is being emitted to produce the electricity flowing through the UK grid right now.

• 🟢 Low Score = Greener Energy! This means lots of clean energy sources like wind 🌬️, solar ☀️, and nuclear ☢️
• 🔴 High Score = More Carbon! This happens when more electricity is being generated by burning fossil fuels like gas 🔥.

The score is measured in grams of CO₂ emitted for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity = gCO₂/kWh. We calculate this by looking at the mix of power sources generating electricity across the UK and their typical emissions. As a rule of thumb, we categorise the score as follows:

• 🌍 below 100 gCO₂/kWh = Almost entirely renewable energy
• 🟢 100 to 150 gCO₂/kWh = Mostly renewable energy and low carbon
• 🟡 150 and 200 gCO₂/kWh = Some low carbon and fossil fuels
• 🔴 200 to 300 gCO₂/kWh = Mostly fossil fuels
• 🔥 above 300 gCO₂/kWh = Almost entirely fossil fuels

For example, an typical dishwasher cycle uses about 1.0 kWh of electricity. Therefore, if you run it at a time when the grid is very green , it will emit around 100g of carbon. That's the equivalent of 12 party balloons filled with CO₂!
🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈

Alternatively, if you run it at a time when the grid mostly powered by fossil fuels it will emit around 250g of carbon. That's the equivalent of 33 party balloons filled with CO₂!
🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈

How Do We Know the Score? 🤔

We use public data from the people who run the UK's electricity grid (like NESO - they run the grid's control centre! 🖥️) and other proprietary data sources. We combine it with things like weather forecasts (because wind and sun are super important for renewables! 🙏).

We then crunch these numbers to give you an estimated current carbon intensity and a forecast for the next 48 hours. It's a bit like a weather forecast, but for green energy. Like a weather forecast, it can vary from hour to hour – helpful for planning, but remember it's a prediction based on lots of complex factors! 👨‍🔬

Why Should You Care About the Score? 👉💡

Our electricity grid is changing rapidly, becoming much greener thanks to renewable energy! 🎉 But wind and solar depend on the weather, so the grid's "greenness" goes up and down throughout the day and night. 🎢

That's where you come in! By checking the carbon intensity score, you can see when the cleanest energy is available. This allows you to consider shifting some of your electricity use – perhaps running your dishwasher 🧼, charging an electric vehicle 🚗⚡, or using other flexible appliances 🔌 – to times when the grid is greener (i.e., when carbon intensity is low).

Making Small Shifts, Making a Big Difference! ✨💪

Why bother shifting?

• Support Renewables: You're using power when clean energy is abundant! Woohoo! 🙌
• Help Balance the Grid: By using power when there's lots of renewable supply, you help the grid stay stable and efficient as it handles these variable sources. It helps us all adapt to the future of energy! 🔋➡️🏡
• Reduce Your Footprint: Using energy when it's cleaner directly lowers the carbon impact of your electricity consumption. Every little bit helps! 👣💖

Minor technical note: Sometimes, even when the grid is mostly green, if you switch on an appliance, that extra bit of power needed might technically come from a power source that can react instantly, which is often a gas plant. 💨. Some people therefore claim that this doesn't really 'greenify' your electricity use.

However we belive this misses the bigger picture! By making the effort to use energy during low-carbon periods overall, you're part of a vital movement to align demand with renewable supply and help build a smarter, greener grid for everyone 💪🌐

Join the HOOT.energy Community! 😺

We believe that by understanding the flow of clean energy, we can all make simple changes that add up to a significant positive impact. Explore the site, check the forecast daily 📅, and start syncing your power use with the greenest times! 🕒🌍

Thanks for being here!