|
ENERGY CONSERVATION
Energy conservation involves avoiding or minimising wasteful methods of fuel use by using more efficient energy conversion devices for energy generation or energy using devices at point of use. In simple terms, reducing energy losses in houses by installing insulation or keeping a lid on the saucepan when you cook rice.
If renewable energy sources are infinite why do we need to be energy efficient?
Because of the diffuse nature of renewable energy flows, the energy conversion process is not particularly efficient. To some extent, since we would be using natural, freely available energy, the efficiency of conversion doesn�t matter too much
- the conversion process does not generate dangerous emissions.
However, efficiency does matter in that inefficient converters will have to be larger to collect the same amount of energy
- e.g. Larger wind turbines or larger numbers of wind turbines. That will have implications for local visual intrusion and also for costs, since more materials would be used per kWh generated.
The energy debt associated with providing these materials also has to be taken into account, so the development and careful location of well designed, efficient devices is important, alongside the need to be energy efficient.
Energy efficiency saves you money!
Energy is now cheaper in real terms than it was before the oil crisis in mid 1970s and interest in energy efficiency is low, but with the environmental costs of generating and using energy rising, and feeding through to economic costs, things are changing.
If people do save money by being more energy efficient what happens to the cash savings they make? They are likely to spend on more energy intensive activities
- bigger car, dishwasher, foreign holiday etc. Not all expenditure is going to be so energy intensive, but even so there is what economists call "rebound". The cash released by energy conservation can lead to more energy being consumed overall.
Savings made through energy conservation by people who are suffering from "fuel poverty" -
i.e. those who are unable to afford to keep their houses warm - are likely to be taken back in keeping homes warmer, thereby using more energy and producing more carbon dioxide.
A way out of this rebound problem is if consumers move away from using power derived from fossil fuels, but even if we can avoid the rebound problem, the savings made from energy conservation may still be wiped out if overall consumer demand for energy increases.
-
For more information on saving money on your utility
bills, energy tips for the home, kitchen and garden, details about the UK's gas,
electricity and water industries and the companies operating within them or
advice about what to do in an emergency such as a gas leak or power cut, please
click on the links below:
The trend in global energy consumption
Even with significant energy conservation, the continuing rise in overall energy use is unlikely to be halted. Clearly, the industrialised nations have had more than their fair share of resources - "there is enough for everyone�s need, but not for everyone�s greed"
- and produce more emissions than the rest of the world.
But given the large populations and low level of economic prosperity, the per capita level of emissions from the developing world may still be very much less than those from the industrialised countries, but the total per annum emissions may soon overtake the industrialised nations ... however this is perhaps not the place to discuss the politics of global economic redistribution or population control issues.
While social and cultural changes, and changes in political and economic arrangements, could do much to rebalance the massive inequalities that exist within and between countries, technology and more sustainable approaches to the use of technology can help. Energy conservation techniques are part of that, but we will also need new sources of energy to replace what we are using now, quite apart from meeting any new needs. So, if we want to avoid increasing environmental problems, we need to adopt a sustainable energy strategy which combines energy conservation and energy efficiency with a switch over to non fossil fuels.
Sustainable Energy Options
The first and most obvious solution is energy conservation
- using less primary energy. There are many ways in which energy conservation and energy use can be made more efficient.
One option for improving overall efficiency of energy conversion is the use of Combined Heat and Power systems (CHP). There is also need to switch to fuels that reduce carbon dioxide emissions, especially away from coal which produces the most CO2 per kWh generated (that�s how UK reduced it�s overall CO2 emissions
- by switching to using gas instead of coal in power plants).
There are also tremendous opportunities for new technologies - Amory Lovins (Rocky Mountain Institute) speaks of a factor of 10 in terms of energy savings by using more efficient electric motors. For domestic consumers (energy use in domestic sector in UK accounts for nearly 40% of total UK carbon emissions) many appliances have information regarding their energy consumption - it is just up to people choosing to buy the most energy-efficient!
Such savings in energy use will result in significant CO2 reductions whilst the bulk of electricity is generated from fossil fuel sources.
|
