Carbon footprint analysis of Chinese household smart electricity meters based on life cycle assessment

Understanding carbon footprint of smart electricity meters is basic for promoting sustainable development and low-carbon transition in the green supply chain for electricity sector. However, existing literature on life cycle assessment(LCA) of smart electricity meters is quite limited, and current studies are riddled with issues like incomplete accounting boundaries, brief inventories, as well as insufficient consideration for temporal variability of future power mix. To address these gaps, a comprehensive on-site investigation of smart electricity meters in China is conducted for the first time. And then a LCA is employed to reveal the carbon footprint of the smart electricity meter through its life cycle, which is divided into production stage, package stage, transport stage, usage stage and recycling stage to make an integrated accounting boundary. Results show that the carbon footprint of the smart electricity meter is 90.54 kg CO2-eq, with the usage stage contributing 70.1% and production stage contributing 19.8%. Furthermore, scenario analysis is conducted to address the temporal variability. Results show that compared to Announced Pledges Scenario(APS), Net Zero Emissions Scenario(NZE) reduces the carbon footprint by 30.8% more. This study not only provides key primary data for the construction of green supply chain in electricity sector but also identifies the critical pathways for emission reduction, which plays a significant role in formulating effective policies.