Life cycle assessment of cars: New web tool helps consumers and researchers
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute have developed a web tool called the ‘Carculator’ that can be used to compare the environmental performance of passenger cars in detail. The program determines the environmental balance of vehicles with different size classes and powertrains and presents the results in comparative graphics. The entire life cycle of the passenger cars is taken into account, including the manufacture of the vehicles and the environmentally relevant emissions from driving.
Not only is the tool useful for providing car buyers with the required decision support, the Carculator also gives professionals a look behind the scenes. If the program is installed from the website, all the underlying calculations can be viewed, assessed, and even changed. “This is primarily intended for those in the research community who want to know how we did our work, and who might want to use our calculations for further studies of their own,” says PSI environmental scientist Romain Sacchi, who led the development of the Carculator.
Read more here.