Site Prices Update
Last Updated28th June 2022
All calculations on this site are based on current fuel prices, they are checked regularly and calculations are automatically updated.
The costs calculated based on these fuel prices should be regarded as 'good estimates', given that fuel prices vary in different parts of the county and at different time of the year.
The calculations also have different levels of accuracy depending on the nature of the calculation. For example calculating the energy use of a known power output TV is very easy compared to calculating the effect on energy savings when insulating a cavity wall.
Site Calculations
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User PricesFor several of the fuel prices on this site you can now set your own prices and all the calculations on the site will adjust accordingly.
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At Confused About Energy we aim to provide practical, impartial advice on all aspects of energy usage, climate change and ways to save money on energy bills.
All calculations on this site are based on current fuel prices they are checked regularly are automatically updated and were last changed on:-
28th June 2022
The costs calculated based on these fuel prices should be regarded as 'good estimates', given that fuel prices vary in different parts of the county and at different time of the year.
The calculations also have different levels of accuracy depending on the nature of the calculation. For example calculating the energy use of a known power output TV is very easy compared to calculating the effect on energy savings when insulating a cavity wall.
Site Calculations
| Electricity | £0.271 per unit (1 kWh) |
| Economy Electricity | £0.094 per unit (1 kWh) |
| Gas | £0.072 per unit (1 kWh) |
| Domestic LPG | £0.122 per unit (1 kWh) |
| Heating Oil | £0.104 per unit (1 kWh) |
| UK Grid CO2 Emissions | 0.233 kg per kWh used |
The main units used in this site are in the table below, For a complete explanation of power and energy Read More.
| Unit | Name | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| W | Watt | Unit of Power |
| kW | Kilowatt | 1000 watts |
| kWh | Kilowatt hour | Measure of Energy |
| L | Litre | Measure of Volume |
Sometimes these numbers seem to be meaningless, they are so large, we cannot get our minds round them, 18Gt (18,000,000,000 tonnes) how bid is that? and these are not your soft American short tons, these are proper metric tonnes! To provide some perspective we have related this weight to the weight of the great pyramid at Giza, a rough estimate for the weight of the great pyramid at giza is 6 million tonnes. Using this number 18Gt of CO2 weighs the same as about 3000 Great Pyramids (18000Mt÷6Mt). So we need to remove about 8.2 Great Pyramid weights each day, that is quite a lot, but a least we know where we stand.
Coal Use in Electricity Generation 4976
Some Key Points
- Coal is the most polluting form of electricity generation in terms of CO2.
- Approximately 1000g of CO2 is produced per kWh of electricity generated, this equates to 0.001Gt per TWh.
- For natural gas approximately 470g of CO2 is produced per kWh of electricity generated.
- 9723 TWh was generated with coal in 2017. 10100 Twh in 2018, it's going up!
- Multiply the generation value by about 3 to get an indication of calorific value of coal consumption in power generation, the power plants being about 33% efficient.
- Multiply 10100TWh by 0.001Gt to get approximately 10 Gt CO2 emissions from the worlds coal fired powered power stations in 2018. Ok we may have more renewables but we are still burning more and more coal.
References
https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life-cycle_greenhouse-gas_emissions_of_energy_sources
Notes
The data for global electricity generation comes from the annual statistical review by BP. We have specifically picked out coal as a major metric, since the generation of electricity with coal is such a major source of greenhouse gasses.
Coal use in power stations is an important metric. It is the most used fuel and produces the most CO2 per kWh of generation. N.B. multiply the generation value by about 3 to get an indication of coal consumption in power generation the plants being about 33% efficient.
A focus on the most polluting forms of energy consumption seems obvious, if we could just substitute coal with essentially zero emission energy sources like wind, solar and nuclear we would prevent over 9Gt of CO2 emissions each year.
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Why is global warming measured from the average temperature between 1951 and 1980, this is a direct quote from the NASA website:- "The period of 1951-1980 was chosen largely because the U.S. National Weather Service uses a three-decade period to define “normal” or average temperature. The GISS temperature analysis effort began around 1980, so the most recent 30 years was 1951-1980. It is also a period when many of today’s adults grew up, so it is a common reference that many people can remember." So now we know, it is fairly arbitrary, but we do need a reference and it was a fairly stable period, so it makes sence.