2000-Watt Society Calculator

Estimate your continuous primary-energy footprint and see how it compares to the 2000-watt target.

The 2000-Watt Society is a long-term sustainability framework born at ETH Zürich. The proposal: every person on Earth lives on no more than 2000 watts of continuous primary energy — about 17,500 kWh per year — covering everything from heating to flights to the embodied energy in your phone. For reference, the average UK resident is around 5000 W, the average European 5000–6000 W, and the average American closer to 12,000 W.

Fill in the form below for an estimate. Numbers are approximations using published energy intensities and primary-energy factors (PEFs); treat results as indicative, not audit-grade.

1. Housing & Heating

Total floor area of your home.
Drives heating demand per m².
From your bill. UK average: ~2700 kWh; family homes 3500–4500.
Primary-energy factor (PEF) for delivered electricity.
If you have solar panels. Reduces grid electricity drawn.
Advanced housing options
Optional. If you know your annual heat demand, enter it here.

2. Mobility

Energy is shared across passengers. UK average ~1.55.
Each leg counts. A return trip = 2.
Advanced mobility options
2000-Watt is a primary-energy metric, so RFI is off by default. Tick it for a climate-impact view.
Each night ≈ 200 W contribution to annual average.

3. Food & Diet

Bottled drinks and alcohol carry significant embodied energy.

4. Goods & Services

Clothing, electronics, furniture, leisure, services.
Your continuous footprint
0 W
Target: 2000 W · UK avg ~5000 W · US avg ~12,000 W
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Annual primary energy: 0 kWh/yr
Approximate CO₂e: 0 t/yr
Red marker on bars = 400 W per category (rough fair share)
How the model works

Heating is computed as floor area × demand-per-m² × system factor, where the system factor combines boiler efficiency and the primary-energy factor (PEF) of the fuel. Heat pumps and electric resistive heating use your selected grid PEF, so a heat pump on a coal grid scores worse than one on a renewable tariff. Hot water is treated separately at ~800 kWh/person/year of useful demand, with its own source. Solar PV is subtracted from your grid electricity (floor at zero).

Cars use real-world fuel-energy intensities (petrol ≈ 0.8 kWh primary per km, BEV ≈ 0.18 kWh × grid PEF per km) divided by average occupancy. Flight intensities are based on IEA figures for short/medium/long-haul (~0.5/0.45/0.40 kWh per passenger-km respectively, with a 1.15× refining PEF). RFI (radiative forcing) is off by default because the 2000-Watt target is a primary-energy metric, not a climate metric — tick the advanced option if you want the climate-impact view.

Diet base values come from Novatlantis figures, modified by sourcing, organic share, and waste. Goods, services, and infrastructure use the standard Novatlantis allocation, with an explicit 600 W per person for shared infrastructure (roads, hospitals, public services).

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