Real Time Carbon

electrical pole

The amount of pollution caused by using a single unit of electricity changes throughout the day.

This is because the “generation mix” on the grid changes. Sometimes there are more coal power stations running, for example. Other times there’s more wind power. Also, additional pollution can be caused by the extra back-up supply we need at times when our demand is hard to predict.

Wouldn’t it be better if we could use power when it’s greenest?

electrical poleEach unit of UK electricity is currently causing this much CO2:

— grams per unit*
Grid sampled at –:– +00:00(UTC) *A unit is 1 kWh
Above average

Below average

So, should we turn off?

This is called the “carbon intensity”. At the moment it is — than average. You can see how it has been changing over time……