Granola’s Impact – A Conservative Estimate

Every single watt contributes to climate change. Here in the USA, each kilowatt-hour generated means 1.31 more lbs (.59kg) of carbon in our atmosphere[1].
Laptops consume 15-45 watts, and a typical desktop uses 65-250 watts or even more[2].
Even assuming the lowest numbers, that means each system left running needs 569kWh every year. That’s 763lbs or 346.2kg of carbon for each and every computer.

Granola reduces energy waste

That’s not so bad if the system is always doing work. That’s rarely the case, though – most computers sit idle for hours every day. And even when someone is actually using them, most systems are not as energy-efficient as they could be. Granola reduces energy waste by as much as 35% of the total system energy. For a 65 watt desktop, saving only 10% means 56.9 kWh or 76.4lbs of CO2 a year.

Real-world results

One evergreen tree, on average, takes in about 83lbs of CO2 each year (37.6kg)[3]. That means for every computer running Granola and saving 10% system energy, the minimum reduction in carbon output is 91.9% as much as planting a tree. Every 1000 users is like 919 evergreens!

According to the EPA, the average car on the road releases 5.03 metric tons of carbon dioxide yearly[4]. That sounds like a lot, but Granola users begin to add up pretty quickly. Every 145 people using Granola is like getting rid of a car. 10,000 users is like getting rid of 69 cars!

[1]: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/page/co2_report/co2report.html
[2]: http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/computers.html
[3]: http://www.scientificblogging.com/science_mom/i_wanna_go_green_so_show_me_the_math
[4]: http://www.epa.gov/OMS/climate/420f05004.htm