What is Carbon Intensity?

Carbon Intensity is an estimate of the environmental impact of energy. It’s the amount of carbon dioxide (lbs) emitted to make a unit of electricity (kWh).

This number ranges from ~0 lbs/kWh to ~2 lbs/kWh, and it changes as the power grid taps different energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, wind, etc.) to generate electricity. The higher the Carbon Intensity number, the higher the carbon impact.
 
carbon intensity
How do I reduce my impact?

Sense forecasts the Carbon Intensity for your region so you can see when the carbon impact of your energy use will be lowest. That’s the best time to do things like run your dishwasher or do a load of laundry, or any other high-energy task that is shiftable.

carbon forecast

In some regions, the Carbon Intensity line will be relatively flat: this indicates that your carbon impact will be mostly consistent throughout the day, so you don’t need to worry as much about when to do high-energy tasks. However, you can still reduce your carbon impact by using less energy.

Take a look at how your usage compares to the carbon intensity line for previous days to find areas for improvement.

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Learn more about the different Fuel Types →