Accommodation: SQUAKE

💡 High-Level Description

The vacation rental industry has grown exponentially, presenting both opportunities and challenges when considering environmental impact. Recognizing the sector's potential to influence carbon emissions, SQUAKE developed a dedicated methodology tailored to vacation rentals. Rooted in comprehensive research and in-depth data analysis, SQUAKE's approach delves deep into the heating, electricity and water consumption, as well as into amenities.

The methodology is certified by GUTcert following the “GHG Protocol - Product Life Cycle Accounting & Reporting Standard”. By examining these varied elements, SQUAKE's methodology offers a holistic perspective on the climate impact of vacation rentals. The resulting metrics provide property owners and guests with insights, encouraging sustainable practices.

Equation

co2_in_g = 
number_of_nights * (square_meters * co2_for_heating_per_day_per_sqm_in_g 
+ number_of_visitors * (co2_for_electricity_per_day_per_person_in_g + co2_for_water_per_day_per_person_in_g)
+ co2_for_sauna_per_day_in_g [only if true]
+ co2_for_swimming_pool_per_day_in_g [only if true]
+ co2_for_air_conditioner_per_day_in_g [only if true]
)
Calculation background

  1. Carbon emissions per person is estimated from the following factors:

    1. average water consumption a day, converted to carbon emissions a day (sources: Global Water Use (n.d.). Worldometer.; Review of Emission Factors 2021 (2021). Climate Neutral Group.; etc.)

    2. average electricity consumption a day, converted to carbon emissions a day (sources: Greenhouse gas emission intensity of electricity (2022, July 14). European Environment Agency.; Carbon intensity of electricity (n.d.). Our World in Data.; Electric power consumption (2014). The World Bank.; etc.)

  3. Carbon emissions per square meter:

    1. average heat consumption a day, converted to carbon emissions a day (sources: Average CO2 emission factor (n.d.). Enerdata.; Common Carbon Metric (2009). UNEP-SBCI.; CO2 emissions per m2 for space heating (2011, August 8). European Environment Agency.; Dorothy L.Robinson. (2011, July). Australian wood heaters currently increase global warming and health costs. Atmospheric Pollution Research, Volume 2, Issue 3, July 2011, Pages 267-274.)

  5. Carbon emissions for additional factors:

    1. sauna emissions are estimated on the average usage of it (source: Tissari, J., et al. (2019, December 4). Fine Particle Emissions from Sauna Stoves: Effects of Combustion Appliance and Fuel, and Implications for the Finnish Emission Inventory. Atmosphere, 10 (12).)

    2. emissions from parking and garage (underground parking) are estimated from the research paper that takes into account emissions for car parking (source: Andrzejewski, M., et al. (2021, September 1). Analysis of pollutant emissions and fuel consumption for the use of a multi-storey car park. Combustion Engines, 187(4), 46-51.)

    3. emissions from cooling or air conditioning is estimated on the average usage per day during the whole year (source: Dean, B., et al. (2018, May). The Future of Cooling: Opportunities for energy-efficient air conditioning. International Energy Agency.; Dean, B., et al. (2018, May). The Future of Cooling: Opportunities for energy-efficient air conditioning. International Energy Agency.; ect.)

    4. emissions from swimming pool are estimated per day (sources: Gallion, T., et al. (2014, May 23). Estimating Water, Energy, and Carbon Footprints of Residential Swimming Pools. Water Reclamation and Sustainability, 343-359.; Guide to Low Carbon Swimming Pools (n.d.). Environmental Protection Department.; ordaan, N., Narayanan, R. (2019, March 12). A numerical study on various heating options applied to swimming pool for energy saving. Energy Procedia, 160, 131-138.; etc.)

  7. Seasoning logic:

    1. depending on average country temperature (“Worlddata: The World in Numbers.” Worlddata.info; World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal.; The Weather Year Round Anywhere on Earth - Weather Spark.) heating and cooling seasons were defined

    2. during cooling season it is assumed that air conditioner is used everyday, while heating is neglected

    3. during heating season it is assumed that air conditioner is not used, while heating factor is extrapolated from average heating consumption for the whole season

    4. during neither of the seasons it is assumed that consumption of the energy for heating and cooling is assumed to be averaged

Sample API Request

{
    "expand": [
        "items"
    ],
    "items": [
        {
            "external_reference": "test_1",
            "type": "accommodation",
            "number_of_nights": 10,
            "starts_on": "2023-10-10",
            "ends_on": "2023-10-21",
            "sauna": false,
            "country": "DE",
            "number_of_travelers": 2,
            "square_meters": 60,
            "parking": true,
            "garage": false,
            "swimming_pool": false,
            "air_conditioner": true,
            "methodology": "SQUAKE"
        }
    ]
}

API Request Items

  • "type": "accommodation" (required)

  • "methodology": "SQUAKE" (required)

  • "external_reference": A unique identifier that helps you link the resulting emissions to the requested item. Especially useful if multiple items are requested since SQUAKE cannot guarantee to keep the same order. The maximum length is 128 characters.

  • "number_of_travelers": Minimum value is 1. The default value is 1.

  • "number_of_nights": Required if start and end dates are omitted; else this is ignored. Minimum value is 1.

  • "starts_on": The format is ISO 8601 Date, YYYY-MM-DD. Required if season-specific methodology shall be used, or number of nights is omitted.

  • "ends_on": The format is ISO 8601 Date, YYYY-MM-DD. Required if season-specific methodology shall be used, or number of nights is omitted.

  • "country": Two-letter or three-letter code as defined in ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 and alpha-3 respectively. Minimum length is 2, maximum length is 3. Format should match the following pattern: ^[A-Z]{2,3}$.

  • "square_meters": The default value depends on the country. Minimum value is 1.

  • "sauna": Default value is false.

  • "parking": Default value is true.

  • "swimming_pool": Default value is false.

  • "air_conditioner": Default value is false.

  • "garage": Default value is false.

  • Default values

    • "sauna": false

    • "swimming_pool": false

    • "air_conditioner": false

Sample API Response

{
    "carbon_quantity": 248687,
    "carbon_unit": "gram",
    "items": [
        {
            "carbon_quantity": 248687,
            "carbon_unit": "gram",
            "external_reference": "test_1",
            "type": "accommodation",
            "methodology": "SQUAKE"
        }
    ]
}

Bibliography

  • Andrzejewski, M., et al. (2021, September 1). Analysis of pollutant emissions and fuel consumption for the use of a multi-storey car park. Combustion Engines, 187(4), 46-51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19206/CE-141740

  • Average CO2 emission factor (n.d.). Enerdata. Retrieved from https://yearbook.enerdata.net/co2/toe-emissions-co2.html

  • Carbon intensity of electricity (n.d.). Our World in Data. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/carbon-intensity-electricity?time=latest

  • Charting the Progress of Populations (n.d.). The United Nations. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/trends/ProgressOfPopulations/14.pdf

  • Common Carbon Metric (2009). UNEP-SBCI. Retrieved from https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/7922

  • CO2 intensity (n.d.) The World Bank. Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.EG.ZS

  • CO2 emissions per m2 for space heating (2011, August 8). European Environment Agency. Retrieved from https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/figures/co2-emissions-per-m2-for-1

  • Databank (n.d.) The World Bank. Retrieved from https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators

  • Dean, B., et al. (2018, May). The Future of Cooling: Opportunities for energy-efficient air conditioning. International Energy Agency. Retrieved from https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/0bb45525-277f-4c9c-8d0c-9c0cb5e7d525/The_Future_of_Cooling.pdf

  • Dorothy L.Robinson. (2011, July). Australian wood heaters currently increase global warming and health costs. Atmospheric Pollution Research, Volume 2, Issue 3, July 2011, Pages 267-274. doi.org/10.5094/APR.2011.033

  • Electric power consumption (2014). The World Bank. Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.USE.ELEC.KH.PC

  • Gallion, T., et al. (2014, May 23). Estimating Water, Energy, and Carbon Footprints of Residential Swimming Pools. Water Reclamation and Sustainability, 343-359. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-411645-0.00014-6

  • Global Water Use (n.d.). Worldometer. Retrieved from https://www.worldometers.info/water/

  • Green Facts (n.d.). University of Michigan. Retrieved from https://hr.umich.edu/sites/default/files/green-facts-%202015.pdf

  • Greenhouse gas emission intensity of electricity (2022, July 14). European Environment Agency. Retrieved from https://www.eea.europa.eu/ims/greenhouse-gas-emission-intensity-of-1

  • Greenhouse gas emissions by source sector (2022, June 10). eurostat. Retrieved from https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=env_air_gge&lang=en

  • Guide to Low Carbon Swimming Pools (n.d.). Environmental Protection Department. Retrieved from https://www.carbon-footprint.hk/PDF/EPD_CA_Guidebook_Swimming_Pools_Eng.pdf

  • Heckman L. (2009, September 10). Can lifts be energy-efficient, or should I take the stairs? The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2009/sep/04/lifts-energy-take-the-stairs

  • How much power does a computer use? And how much CO2 does that represent? (2022) energide.be. Retrieved from https://www.energuide.be/en/questions-answers/how-much-power-does-a-computer-use-and-how-much-co2-does-that-represent/54/#:~:text=The power consumption of a,of CO2 per year.

  • Jordaan, N., Narayanan, R. (2019, March 12). A numerical study on various heating options applied to swimming pool for energy saving. Energy Procedia, 160, 131-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2015.12.053

  • Juhrich, K. (2016, June 28). Co2 Emission Factors for Fossil Fuels. German Environment Agency. Retrieved from https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/1968/publikationen/co2_emission_factors_for_fossil_fuels_correction.pdf

  • Kaza, S., et al. (2018). What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050. World Bank Group. Retrieved from https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/30317

  • Knago-Reynoso, M., et al. (2018, February 9). Estimation of Co2 emissions produced by commercial grills in Veracruz, Mexico. Sustainability, *10...

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