# How do I calculate the carbon footprint of a home inverter or UPS?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/inverter-ups-carbon-footprint-per-unit

Add the bought-in parts per unit: transformer copper and steel, circuit board, metal or plastic cabinet and cables, each with a supplier figure. Add assembly, burn-in testing electricity and packing, then divide by units built. Count the battery separately.

## Bought-in parts

- Transformer with copper winding and lamination steel.
- Assembled circuit board and heat sinks.
- Cabinet, cables and display.

## Assembly

- Winding and varnishing if made in-house.
- Assembly line and soldering.
- Burn-in and load testing, which can draw real power.

## Per unit

Report per inverter by VA rating, and state whether the battery is included. A battery usually weighs several times more than the inverter.

## Worked example: home inverter and UPS unit per unit (one month)

- Electricity: 25,000 kWh x 0.710 = 17,750 kg CO2
- Inverters built: 5,000
- Plant total: 17,750 / 5,000 = 3.550 kg CO2 per unit
- Add transformer, board and cabinet for the full figure

Inputs are illustrative; use your own bills and production records.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads the plant's electricity bills (CEA grid factor 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh, CO2 Baseline Database version 21.0) and fuel invoices (IPCC 2006 defaults) into a fingerprinted Scope 1 and 2 record, the plant-level input to a per-unit figure. Bought-in materials go to the supplier evidence trail; product reports are self-declared drafts.

- [Product carbon footprint calculator](https://senseible.earth/calculators/product-carbon-footprint)
- [PCB assembly footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/pcb-assembly-carbon-footprint-per-board)
- [Lead acid battery footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/lead-acid-battery-carbon-footprint-per-unit)
- [Distribution transformer footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/distribution-transformer-carbon-footprint-per-unit)
- [Automobile industry](https://senseible.earth/industries/automobile)

Sources: [GHG Protocol Product Standard](https://ghgprotocol.org/standards), [ISO 14067:2018, Carbon footprint of products (iso.org)](https://www.iso.org), [IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2 Energy (fuel defaults)](https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol2.html), [CEA CO2 Baseline Database, version 21.0](https://cea.nic.in/cdm-co2-baseline-database/?lang=en)

Last reviewed 2026-10-20.