Books vs e-Books Calculator

Which has a lower carbon footprint: physical books or e-books? Know by using our Books vs e-Books Calculator. Enter your reading habits and other details into the calculator to see the impact.

What is Books vs e-Books?

Books vs e-Books is a comparison of the environmental impact of reading physical books versus using an e-reader. This calculator helps you understand which option is more eco-friendly based on your reading habits.

How to Use the Calculator

To use the calculator, you need to input the following details:

1. Books Read Annually: Enter the number of physical books you read per year. For example, 12.
2. E-reader Lifespan (years): Enter the average lifespan of your e-reader in years. For example, 4.
3. Energy Consumed per Book (kWh): Enter the energy consumed by your e-reader for each book read. For example, 10.
4. Carbon Footprint of a Book (kg CO2e): Enter the carbon footprint of producing one physical book. For example, 2.71.
5. Carbon Footprint of an E-reader (kg CO2e): Enter the carbon footprint of producing an e-reader. For example, 30.
6. Paper Used per Book (pages): Enter the number of pages in an average book you read. For example, 500.

Formula

The calculator uses the following formulas:

1. Carbon Footprint of Physical Books:

$$\text{Physical Books Carbon Footprint}=\text{Books Read Annually}\times \text{Carbon Footprint of a Book}$$

2. Carbon Footprint of E-reader:

$$\text{E-reader Carbon Footprint}=\left(\frac{\text{Carbon Footprint of an E-reader}}{\text{E-reader Lifespan}}\right)+(\text{Energy Consumed per Book}\times \text{Books Read Annually})$$

$$\text{Annual Paper Usage}=\text{Books Read Annually}\times \text{Paper Used per Book}$$

Variable	Description
Books Read Annually	Number of books read per year
E-reader Lifespan (years)	Lifespan of the e-reader in years
Energy Consumed per Book (kWh)	Energy used by e-reader per book read
Carbon Footprint of a Book (kg CO2e)	Carbon footprint per physical book
Carbon Footprint of an E-reader (kg CO2e)	Carbon footprint of producing an e-reader
Paper Used per Book (pages)	Number of pages per book

Two Calculation Examples

Example 1

For example your input is:

• Books Read Annually: 12
• E-reader Lifespan (years): 4
• Energy Consumed per Book (kWh): 10
• Carbon Footprint of a Book (kg CO2e): 2.71
• Carbon Footprint of an E-reader (kg CO2e): 30
• Paper Used per Book (pages): 500

Calculation Steps:

1. Physical Books Carbon Footprint:

$$12\times 2.71=32.52\text{kg CO2e}$$

2. E-reader Carbon Footprint:

$$\left(\frac{30}{4}\right)+(10\times 12)=7.5+120=127.5\text{kg CO2e}$$

3. Annual Paper Usage:

$$12\times 500=6000\text{pages}$$

Example 2

For example the input is

• Books Read Annually: 20
• E-reader Lifespan (years): 5
• Energy Consumed per Book (kWh): 8
• Carbon Footprint of a Book (kg CO2e): 2.5
• Carbon Footprint of an E-reader (kg CO2e): 25
• Paper Used per Book (pages): 300

Calculation Steps:

1. Physical Books Carbon Footprint:

$$20\times 2.5=50\text{kg CO2e}$$

2. E-reader Carbon Footprint:

$$\left(\frac{25}{5}\right)+(8\times 20)=5+160=165\text{kg CO}$$

3. Annual Paper Usage:

$$20\times 300=6000\text{pages}$$

I hope you Found the Books vs e-Books Calculator helpful. How was your experience using the tool? If you encountered any issues, please report them on our Report an Error page.