How to use this: Pick a scenario button at the top to get started. Then slide the controls in the cards below to match your family’s home, cars, trips, food, and shopping. Everything updates right away. The green box shows your carbon footprint per person, the line chart shows how close you are to the 1.5 °C path, and “What you changed” ranks your moves by how much carbon they save. Curious where a number came from? Open the sources panel. When you’re done, copy the link at the bottom to save your work or share it with your class.
Your levers held constant; only the electric grid gets cleaner at the rate you set. Black dashes: 1.5 °C lifestyle path.
Household tonnes per year, US average vs. your scenario.
Move any lever. Each change is ranked here by the tonnes it saves for the whole household.
The link below encodes every slider. Anyone who opens it sees exactly this scenario.
Interaction pattern inspired by En-ROADS, created by Climate Interactive and MIT Sloan. This simulator is an independent household-scale model and is not affiliated with them.
Everything runs in your browser. Each lever feeds one equation; the total is the sum. Emissions are CO₂-equivalent (CO₂e) unless a source reports CO₂ only. The model covers what a household directly controls; it leaves out the public share of infrastructure, government and business investment, which is why it lands below the ~17.5 t per-capita US figure that counts every source.
The Household Carbon Simulator estimates your home’s yearly carbon footprint in tons of CO₂e (carbon dioxide equivalent). It adds up four big sources: home electricity, home heating fuel, driving and flying, and the food and stuff you buy. Move the sliders and the charts update instantly, so you can see which changes cut the most carbon.
Electricity emissions use EPA eGRID regional emission factors. Fuel, vehicle and flight emissions use EPA’s 2025 GHG Emission Factors Hub. Typical household energy use comes from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS 2020). Solar output uses NREL PVWatts, and shopping and diet estimates draw on published lifecycle studies. Results are estimates meant for learning and planning, not an official audit. See our full methods and sources.
Key sources:
It is the total greenhouse gas pollution caused by running your home and living your life for one year, measured in tons of CO₂e. It includes electricity, heating, travel, food and the things you buy.
UC Berkeley’s CoolClimate Network puts the average U.S. household at roughly 48 tons of CO₂e a year, though it varies a lot with household size, climate and travel. California homes are often lower because the state’s electricity grid is cleaner than average.
The same kilowatt-hour of electricity creates different pollution depending on whether your grid runs on coal, gas, solar, wind or hydro. The region picker uses EPA eGRID data for your area.
Yes. All Accessible Sustainability Alliance calculators are free for students, teachers and families. No sign-up is needed.
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Built and reviewed by the Accessible Sustainability Alliance, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operated by the Wann Heritage Foundation. Last updated October 5, 2026. Results are estimates for education and planning. Questions or corrections: contact@wann.org.