A detailed comparison of web-based carbon accounting sites. This is work in progress, some fields are wrong. The author (John A) declares an interest in the drupal carbon module.
See also: Web-based carbon accounting (summary)
| function | drupal carbon module | the carbon account | carbon diet | act on CO2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ease of use | ||||
| site navigation | – | easy | easy | difficult |
| adding trips | – | easy | easy | easy |
| adding meter readings | difficult | easy | easy | easy |
| browsing/editing earlier meter readings | difficult | easy | easy | ? |
| easy to analyse results | – | yes | yes | yes |
| footprint calculation | ||||
| units supported | metric, miles | Imperial (miles/cubic feet) and metric | Imperial (Lbs) and metric | metric |
| support for fixed number of people sharing house | indirect | yes | yes | yes |
| support for changing number of people sharing house | no | no | no | no |
| multiple car, multiple house support | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| aviation model used | climate care | own methodology based on Atmosfair | custom1 | DEFRA developed model methodology |
| ability to add/modify sources of carbon at application level | yes | yes using AMEE API | yes | yes |
| ability to add/modify sources of carbon at group level | no | no | no | no |
| results/analysis | ||||
| provides tailored advice | no | no | yes | yes |
| comparison with national/global averages etc | no | yes | yes | yes |
| data import/export | ||||
| storage and retrieval of carbon account data | yes | yes | yes | possible in future 2 |
| data import support | no | no | no | no |
| data export support | no | yes | yes (XML) | no |
| external API to dynamically extract data | charts only | yes but not released yet | – | – |
| charts/tables | ||||
| charts to show sector breakdown of recent carbon emission | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| ability to show tabulated historic emissions from any starting date up to the present day | no | yes | yes | yes |
| ability to show tabulated historic emissions from any starting date and any period | no | no | no | – |
| ability to chart historic emissions from any starting date to the present day | no | yes | yes | – |
| ability to chart historic emissions from any starting date and any period | no | no | yes | – |
| CRAG support | ||||
| friend or group support | yes | yes | yes | no |
| carbon emission comparison with friends or group | yes | yes | yes | no |
| CRAG penalty calculation | yes | no | no | no |
| coding | ||||
| platform | drupal on PHP4/5, mysql, apache | Python/Django/PostgreSQL | Ruby on Rails | – |
| open source | yes | not yet | soon | AMEE backend only |
| other | ||||
| error reporting | – | – | – | – |
| user log | no | yes 3 | yes | no |
| other strengths | – | comparison between estimate and recorded emissions 4 | – | snazzy dynamic background graphics |
| other weaknesses | – | estimates don’t account for seasonal differences 5 | – | high CPU usage 6 and some accessibility problems 7 |
- http://www.carbondiet.org/help/calculations
- The web site says “In the first instance, we have concentrated on developing the user journey through the calculator and the initial calculation of your carbon footprint. Work is currently underway to allow you to re-calculate your footprint and this “returning user” functionality will be available within a month of the launch of V1 of the calculator (summer 07)
- Time-stamped notes can be added to the graph
- Registration gives a quick estimate and then entering meter data overrides this but allows the user to compare their actual emissions with the estimate. Also, the graph projects forward until the end of the month to avoid drop-off if readings aren’t entered
- The estimate line is plotted as a flat line where it should peak in the colder/darker winter months. Also it dips markedly in February because it’s a shorter month, and this can be misleading.
- flash application uses 100% CPU all the the time the web page are on display on the browser resulting in increased personal CO2 emmissions.
- Forces browser to fill display on startup. Text presented in tiny scrolling windows. Requires 1024 pixels width.