ᐅ How to live an environmentally friendly life?

Haus123 schrieb:

Anyone who claims to drive an electric car and mainly charge it with their own photovoltaic electricity in northern Germany should not insist that the electric car is more environmentally friendly than a combustion engine vehicle.

According to studies and related calculations, I have, for example, compensated for the disadvantage from battery production after about one year. By the end of the lease period, I will have produced at least 50% less CO2 (total, including vehicle production) compared to a petrol or diesel car. Depending on the electricity mix and battery size, this happens somewhere around 25,000–35,000 km (15,500–22,000 miles).

Haus123 schrieb:

If you don’t have a completely unusual driving pattern (such as many long trips within the home charging radius only in summer), especially in the case of a larger family car with a correspondingly large battery, then this claim cannot be true.

Please show the calculations. From spring to autumn, I use almost 100% self-generated photovoltaic electricity. That equates to about 15,000 km (9,300 miles) per year. Otherwise, I use green electricity from the grid.
By the way, an average car typically needs about 3–6 years of normal driving to offset the extra emissions from its production when charged exclusively with the German electricity mix (no photovoltaics, no green electricity). If an electric vehicle is driven as long as a combustion engine car, it is simply impossible not to produce less CO2 over its entire lifecycle than the combustion engine. This is no longer possible in Germany.

Haus123 schrieb:

Purchased electricity is almost always 100% coal-based in the winter months, by the way.

Please take a look at the German electricity mix in winter. For example, in the first quarter of 2024, 58.4% came from renewable sources. The first quarter of 2025 had little wind and only 49.5% renewables. Nevertheless, only 27% came from coal. Please always rely on facts instead of informal opinions.

You clearly have little understanding of how our electricity supply works and the impact an additional consumer has on it. That’s understandable, as the media often doesn’t explain it properly. If I replace my combustion engine today with an electric car, it doesn’t charge with your claimed 49.5% green electricity but rather 49.5% minus X. More importantly, all existing consumers now receive only 49.5% minus X green electricity. Why is that? Just because I switch to an electric car today doesn’t suddenly mean there is more green electricity available. So where does this ADDITIONAL required electricity come from? It comes from coal and gas, since solar and wind power are already prioritized. Only when, at any given moment, electricity production from solar, wind, and hydro (ignoring base-load power plants) meets the full demand and there is even a potential surplus, do you actually charge with green electricity without taking green power away from another consumer — and then that is a real gain. In summer, this happens quite frequently nowadays; in winter, only on particularly windy holidays so far.

You don’t get 100% green electricity from the grid just because your contract promises it. The power grid only knows one type of electricity, which on average is based on that 49.5% green electricity. However, the additional electricity needed for my new electric car at the time of charging still comes either 100% or 0% from renewable sources. There is no average. But to understand this, you have to think about the entire system as a whole.

I am not against electric cars. They are a great thing, but one must be honest. They use about one third the energy during operation. But this is pointless if you add this third to the efficiency losses of coal power plants. Then you might as well drive an electric car with an empty battery and a running range extender. In that case, the power plant is in the car, and you have fewer transport losses.

You are phasing out the controllable wind turbines and controllable photovoltaic systems, and the expansion of large-scale energy storage is also progressing.
You will certainly experience periods of low wind and sunlight, known as dark doldrums, where additional demand is balanced solely by coal power, but at many times we already have overproduction, so that renewable energy sources are also being curtailed.

Musketier schrieb:

You are overlooking the dispatchable wind turbines and dispatchable photovoltaic systems, and the expansion of large-scale storage is also progressing.
You will certainly have periods of low wind and solar generation, where additional demand will be met entirely by coal power, but we already have overproduction at many times, so renewable energy is sometimes curtailed.

I am not overlooking that at all. Those are exactly the times when you charge with 100% green electricity. What results on average depends on individual charging behavior, but in winter it will definitely not be around 49.5%, but much lower. It is true that with the expansion of batteries, charging in the summer months will most likely be 100% green in the future. Currently, this only works during the daytime, unless you have a sufficiently large home battery for your individual needs. It is wrong to think this helps much in winter because battery storage is a solution for hours, not for days, weeks, or even months.

By the way: Those who want to charge as quickly as possible at home tend to buy electricity from the grid rather than use their own photovoltaic power—even when the sun is shining. If the photovoltaic system only delivers 10 kW, then you shouldn’t charge with more than 10 kW. That 10 kW is already quite ambitious and usually achievable only around midday. The exception here is if there is an additional intermediate storage in the house.

Haus123 schrieb:

It comes from coal and gas, since solar and wind are already prioritized in feeding into the grid.

You are misunderstanding the expansion of wind and solar power. But never mind. You won’t be convinced with arguments anyway. If NOW (in winter) the electricity mix already contains 50% green energy, then I’m charging with 50% green energy as well. I’m not interested in future projections right now.
By the way, those projections show that coal will be steadily declining.

Your claim was: In the dark season there is almost always 100% coal power. That is simply nonsense and completely wrong.

Haus123 schrieb:

So where does this ADDITIONAL required electricity come from? It comes from coal and gas,

I thought we have no gas power plants and that electricity comes 100% from coal? At least that’s what you wrote. So where does gas suddenly come from? Oh right, I shape the world to my liking.

And even if I were to charge for a few months in winter with coal-generated power (subjunctive), I would still have easily 60% to 100% green power from self-generation. Even with the worst-case calculation in my own example, I’m still better off than any combustion engine.

Haus123 schrieb:

It is wrong to think that this helps during the winter, because battery storage is only a solution for hours, not for days, weeks, or even months.

Although the share of photovoltaic energy is significantly lower in winter, the contribution from wind power should be higher. With a corresponding expansion of large-scale storage, the coal share is also expected to decrease in the long term.

Haus123 schrieb:

By the way: those who want to charge at home as quickly as possible tend to buy electricity rather than use their own photovoltaic power—even when the sun is shining. If the photovoltaic system only provides 10kW, then charging at more than 10kW is not allowed. These 10kW are already ambitious and usually only available around midday. The exception here is if there is an additional intermediate storage in the house.

Isn’t there surplus charging for that?