ETech 2009: WattzOn's Embodied Energy Database

wattzon at etech photo

WattzOn's Raffi Krikorian held a talk at ETech about the user-populated database for energy consumption, and showed off a great feature - the Embodied Energy Database, which helps users know just how much power is held within commonly consumed objects.

The Embodied Energy Database, or EED, tells users how much energy was consumed in the manufacturing of an item so that the user can make more informed purchasing decisions.

wattzon embodied energy image

The accuracy is somewhat debatable, since the embodied energy calculation is user generated and sources of information on power consumption in various phases of a product's lifecycle are sketchy at best. But it does give an estimate, and a jumping off point for comparison.

And more importantly, it gets people interested. Once people care about embodied energy in a product they're looking to buy, manufacturers will be increasingly pressured to calculate and reveal this data in the same way ingredients and nutrition facts are revealed in foods.

If you want to find out your energy consumption or compare some items - or input information about items! - check out WattzOn.com.

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