about electricity.watch
ratings and tools for humans and machines
electricity.watch provides ratings that indicate the sustainability of consumable electricity. Ratings are as current as possible, as specific to areas as possible, and relative to historic data of areas. Humans, for example, can decide whether to do the laundry, charge batteries, or not. The focus, however, is automation of IT infrastructure. IT infrastructures, for example, can delay jobs, adjust performance settings, and suspend services for increased sustainability.
multi-aspect
The sustainability of available electricity is often rated by the carbon intensity alone (e.g., carbon dioxide equivalent per generated kilowatt-hour, CO2eq/kWh). Although the carbon intensity puts generation and emissions in direct relation, electricity supply requires more than just generation. For example, capacities must kept available for transmission and for being able to quickly match the supply with the demand. electricity.watch therefore rates the sustainability of the consumable electricity on the basis of multiple aspects.
area-relative
Furthermore, ratings which indicate the sustainability of electricity are often relative to other areas. Some loads can be moved to areas where electricity is more sustainable (e.g., in Cloud computing), but many loads cannot be relocated easily. Examples of stationary loads include building technology, home appliances, e-Mobility, computer and network hardware. electricity.watch therefore rates the sustainability of electricity relative to the historic data of areas.
accessible and transparent
Other projects partly require special knowledge to take action. For example, judging the carbon intensity of an area as low or high requires knowledge about the area's average carbon intensity. Although more knowledge enables more differentiated decisions, minimal required knowledge lowers entry barriers and increases chances for adoption. electricity.watch therefore provides final ratings, calculated intermediate data, and information about the underlying data sources.