This calculator helps estimate your potential monthly savings by simulating how Silo could reduce your food waste. Enter your household details, and we'll walk through the calculation steps.

Understanding the Simulation

Real life varies week-to-week! Your grocery spending, the number of containers you use, and even how full they are isn't always the same. To give you a realistic estimate, this calculator runs thousands of possible weekly scenarios in the background.

For each scenario, it intelligently picks slightly different values based on the ranges you provide and typical usage patterns. This process, often called a Monte Carlo simulation, helps account for real-world variability.

Following the Simulation Steps (Calculation Logic)

The simulation visualizer shows 5 key steps. Here's what's calculated in each step for every one of the thousands of scenarios:

1. Step 1: Estimate Weekly Household Spend ($)
   Based on the Average Weekly Spend you entered, we simulate a likely total grocery spend for one week, assuming it typically falls within $50 above or below your average.
   (This simulated spend is used later in Step 4 to determine the price per pound).
2. Step 2: Estimate Waste Saved (%) and Container Usage
   Based on the main food type you selected (Produce, Cooked Food, Pantry), we simulate a likely percentage of waste that Silo helps you avoid for that specific food category. At the same time, we also simulate a realistic number of containers used (between 2 and the maximum you own) and how full they typically are (Liters per Container, usually 0.3L-1.0L) for this scenario.
   (These simulated values are used directly in the next step).
3. Step 3: Calculate Pounds of Food Saved (lbs)
   Using the simulated container usage and waste percentage from Step 2, we calculate the physical amount of food saved this week.
   Pounds Saved (lbs) = [# Containers Used] * [Liters per Container] * [Waste % Saved] * 2.2 (lbs/Liter conversion)
   (Where values in brackets [] are the simulated numbers for this specific scenario).
4. Step 4: Estimate Price per Pound ($/lb)
   Using the simulated Weekly Spend from Step 1 and the number of people in your household, we estimate the average cost per pound of your groceries for this scenario. We use a standard average of 12.8 lbs of food bought per person per week for this estimation.
   Price per Pound ($/lb) = ([Weekly Spend $] / # People) / 12.8 lbs
   (This gives us the value of the food saved in the next step).
5. Step 5: Calculate Monthly Savings ($)
   Finally, we multiply the pounds of food saved (from Step 3) by the estimated price per pound (from Step 4) to get the savings for this simulated week. We then multiply by 4 to estimate the total monthly savings for this single scenario.
   Monthly Savings ($) = [Pounds Saved (lbs)] * [Price per Pound ($/lb)] * 4

Understanding Your Final Results

After running thousands of these 5-step calculations, the calculator summarizes the results:

• Mean Saving: The average monthly savings across all the different scenarios simulated.
• Median Saving: The middle monthly savings value – half the scenarios resulted in savings higher than this, and half were lower. Think of it as a "typical" outcome.
• 5%-95% Range: The most likely range of your monthly savings. 90% of the simulated scenarios fell between these two numbers, giving you an idea of potential lower and higher savings months.

Important Note: This is an estimate based on your inputs and common patterns. Your actual savings will depend on your specific habits and how you use your Silo system. Our goal is to provide a transparent and helpful guide to the potential benefits!