Nissan-global.com INTRODUCTION The advantage of using an electric vehicle over an internal combustion engine vehicle from a carbon footprint standpoint will be calculated. The study will quantify the carbon footprint of electric vehicle charging through a direct renewable energy source and through the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) campus grid. The vehicles utilized in this study are the Nissan Sentra and the Nissan L.E.A.F. The end goal is to provide a report with recommendations for the best UCSD approach. OBJECTIVES To quantify the carbon footprint of a vehicle through: (1) Charging the electric vehicle, the Nissan Leaf, by drawing energy from only the UC San Diego grid (2) Charging the Nissan Leaf from solar power only (3) The carbon footprint of the Nissan Sentra METHODS Three equations were used for each corresponding objective. (1) UCSD grid for the Nissan LEAF This equation represents AC-DC charging from the UCSD grid to the electric vehicle and accounts for the carbon emissions associated with the cogeneration plant, solar panels, and power from Noble Americas Energy Solutions. (2) Solar Power for the Nissan LEAF This equation represents DC-DC charging from solar panels to electric vehicle and accounts for the carbon emissions associated with the solar panel production and the balance of systems. (3) For the Nissan Sentra: This equation represents the carbon emissions related to the production and fueling of an internal combustion engine vehicle. CARBON FOOTPRINT FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING Team E10: Joshua Almeida, KhristinaRae Hernandez, Brent Lee and Elizabeth Zhao Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, San Diego RESULTS For the UCSD grid, the total carbon emissions is comprised of 85% cogeneration, 14% purchased energy from Noble Americas Energy Solutions, and 1% solar energy. Images of each are listed respectively. The carbon footprint associated with each component of the campus grid is displayed below: The final results of each equation in kg CO 2 e, over a 30 year period per vehicle is given below in the bar graph: This bar graph is assuming for 1 and 2 that only one Nissan LEAF is charged AC-DC through the campus grid and DC-DC through solar panels. For 3, only one Nissan Sentra is taken into account. CARBON CALCULATOR An interactive carbon calculator was designed on Microsoft Excel for the user to alter certain parameters of the three final equations (Methods section). Inputs from the solar, cogeneration plants, and Noble Americas emissions are separated into different tabs containing data pertinent to each section. The table to the top right is what the carbon calculator displayed to be the breakdown of the first 10 years of the three equations. CONCLUSIONS The efficiency of charging from the solar panels is better than charging from the grid and therefore uses less energy yearly. Charging the Nissan LEAF DC-DC, directly from the solar panels has the smallest carbon footprint of the three equations explored and is therefore, the best choice for UCSD. Although using an electric vehicle and charging it using AC-DC from the grid emits far more kilo- grams of carbon dioxide equivalent a year, its carbon footprint is still considerably less than that of an internal combustion engine vehicle. FUTURE WORK The Carbon Calculator was designed for future users to change certain quantities to adapt to whatever situation is present. After UCSD’s installation of the 2.8 MW fuel cell, the new energy production from this would need to be added to the Carbon Calculator. Solar panel charging may be limited to a certain number of electric vehicles. It would be necessary to determine the maximum number of vehicles that can be charged daily. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Dave Weil, Director of Building Commissioning and Sustainable Operations Michelle Perez, Sustainability Analyst of Building Commissioning and Sustainable Operations Jan Kleissl, head of the Environmental Engineering program at UC San Diego. Anna Levitt, Sam Petersen, Kyocera Marketing Representatives for providing essential data. univeristyofcalifornia.edu Photo/Erik Jepsen, UCSD Guardian trademarkia.com nissanusa.com