GRSG-131-20
Energy Waste and CO2 Generation by Insulated and Poorly Insulated or Uninsulated Cars
Source(s)
Date
13 Apr 2026
Status
Subject
Meeting(s)

This informal document GRSG-131-20 presents an artificial intelligence analysis of energy waste and CO2 generation by poorly insulated or uninsulated cars. The analysis compares cars with good roof insulation (metal roofs with 2-3 cm foam/felt) versus poor or no insulation (glass roofs or thin headliners) across 20,000 km annual driving. For gasoline cars, poor insulation wastes 70 L/year and generates 175 kg additional CO2. For electric vehicles, it wastes 200 kWh/year and generates 100 kg additional CO2. Across a weighted fleet, poor insulation costs $61 annually per car. Globally, approximately 600 million poorly insulated cars waste $36.6 billion annually and generate 91.2 million tons additional CO2 yearly.

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