Emissions Explorer - MIMS Capstone Project

Emissions Explorer estimates the lifetime emissions of your chosen vehicle.

We calculate lifetime emissions by adding up emissions estimates from each stage of a vehicle’s life.

Learn more about vehicle lifetime emissions here

How do we estimate?

We take your inputs of: vehicle year, make, model, & configuration, ZIP code, and estimated ownership time.

We use this information, coupled with data from the GREET® model (Argonne National Laboratory) EPA vehicle data, and EPA grid emissions data, to calculate lifetime emissions.
GREET stands for Greenhouse gasses, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies Model, and is the standard open-source vehicle LCA model.

What data do we use?

We use data from the EPA for vehicle information and emissions from U.S. grid regions. We also use data from the GREET® Model to calculate emissions from the production and end-of-life emissions phases.

What makes our tool unique?

Emissions Explorer combines location, vehicle, and mileage inputs from the user, calculates embodied emissions (production and end-of-life phases), and provides a contextualized and digestible final output.
Our tool is the first consumer tool to integrate these features. We provide further comparison to other tools below.

Tool	Vehicle Selection	Location Selection	Direct Emissions	Embodied Emissions	Contextualized Outputs	Digestible Outputs
Our Emissions Explorer	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Evtool by Union Concerned Scientists	✓	✓	✓			✓
Driveclean by CARB	✓	✓	✓		✓
Evolution by Argonne	✓		✓		✓	✓
Greenercars by ACEEE	✓		✓	✓
Beyond the Tailpipe by Oak Ridge		✓	✓			✓
Electricity Sources and Emissions by AFDC			✓			✓

Factors that affect vehicle lifetime emissions

Vehicle Type

Is the vehicle gas powered (ICE)? An electric vehicle (EV)? Or a hybrid plug-in electric vehicle (PHEV)?

Location

Where is the car driven and charged? Fuel emissions for electric vehicles depend on the electrical grid mix.

Miles Driven

How much is the vehicle being used? Usage emissions decrease if the vehicle is driven less.

Vehicle Size

How large is the car? Is it a truck, SUV, or compact? Fuel efficiency plays a role in usage emissions.

Year

Vehicle emissions from vehicles change from year to year to comply with fuel economy standards and other requirements.

With our tool's vehicle data, you can see trends of vehicle lifetime emissions over the last 23 years.

Calculate a Vehicle's Lifetime Emissions

1. Where do you live?

Zip Code:

2. Length of Ownership

Total years planned on driving:

US average of vehicle ownership is 17 years.

and

Total lifetime miles planned on driving:

US average of lifetime miles of a vehicle is 178,000.

3. Pick a Vehicle

Vehicle Year

Vehicle Type

Make

Model

Configuration: Select Vehicle Model First

Output Options

Lifetime Emissions of your Input Vehicle:

___

Stage	Percent
Production
Use
End of Life
Total Lifetime	100%

*Note: Averages shown in bar chart are based on zip code, model year, and planned number of miles for driving from user inputs.

*Note: Emissions calculations for equivalencies are based on US averages.

Going on a Road Trip? Estimate the Emissions

Average Emissions Per Mile:

Estimated Emissions

Estimated Emissions: 0 kgCO2e

This is equivalent to emissions from an average American household using electricity for:

Note: This estimate is based on overall LCA. The actual emissions per mile will depend on a variety of factors including road condition, weather, speed, etc.