Frequently asked questions: How the Home TerraPass and Dorm TerraPass work

Your money helps to fund clean energy and carbon reduction projects, including wind power; farm power such as dairy farm methane digesters; and landfill gas capture.

Our home energy emissions calculator asks you to input your location and average energy bills. When you tell us your ZIP and utility bill data, we can accurately estimate your annual energy consumption. We then convert this estimate of your total annual energy consumption into an estimate of carbon dioxide emissions. Although this technique yields a good approximation, you can also fine tune the result by entering more specific data.

Our emissions estimates are derived from national averages. But the carbon intensity of the electrical grid varies a lot across the country. A dorm room in Vermont will, in reality, have a different carbon footprint as the same size dorm room in Colorado.

Individual habits also have a big impact. The use of computers, cell phones chargers, refrigerators, hair dryers, TVs and stereos will all affect the total consumption of energy in a dorm room.

Every TerraPass purchase comes with a money-back guarantee. If for any reason you’re not satisfied with your purchase, you can have a full refund. Just send us an email at support@terrapass.com requesting a refund within 30 days of placing your order, and return any shipped material to us in its original condition.

We will issue a refund only when the materials have been received in saleable condition. Shipping and insurance is at your expense.

Non-offset purchases that included free shipping will be refunded the full amount, less the initial shipping charge, where applicable. Please check with us for the full refund amount if you’re uncertain.

Different utilities use different fuel sources. For example, a utility that sources most of its electricity from coal will have a much higher emissions rate than one that uses hydropower. Regional differences can be dramatic. Electricity in Kansas causes three and a half times the carbon pollution as electricity in Washington state!

The TerraPass dorm offset is designed to balance the carbon footprint of an entire dorm room. Of course, dorm rooms vary significantly in size. If you have an eight-person suite, you might want to think about doubling up!