Energy conservation is the practice of decreasing the quantity of energy used. It may be achieved through efficient energy use, in which case energy use is decreased while achieving a similar outcome, or by reduced consumption of energy services. "Energy efficiency" redirects here For energy efficiency as a ratio in physics see Energy conversion efficiency. Energy conservation may result in increase of financial capital, environmental value, national security, personal security, and human comfort. Financial capital is money used by Entrepreneurs and Businesses to buy what they need to make their products or provide their services See also Nature The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a terminology that is comprised of all living and National security is the entire scope of measures undertaken by the Governments of Nation-states in providing assurance of national Sovereignty Security of person or security of the person is a Human right guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations Human thermal comfort is defined by ASHRAE as the state of mind that expresses satisfaction with the surrounding environment (ASHRAE Standard 55 Individuals and organizations that are direct consumers of energy may want to conserve energy in order to reduce energy costs and promote economic security. Consumers refers to individuals or households that use goods and services generated within the economy. Industrial and commercial users may want to increase efficiency and thus maximize profit.

Energy conservation is an important element of energy policy. See also Nuclear energy policy Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity (often governmental has decided to address issues of Energy development Energy conservation reduces the energy consumption and energy demand per capita, and thus offsets the growth in energy supply needed to keep up with population growth. This reduces the rise in energy costs, and can reduce the need for new power plants, and energy imports. The reduced energy demand can provide more flexibility in choosing the most preferred methods of energy production.

By reducing emissions, energy conservation is an important part of lessening climate change. Climate change is any long-term significant change in the “average weather” that a given region experiences Energy conservation facilitates the replacement of non-renewable resources with renewable energy. Renewable energy is Energy generated from Natural resources mdashsuch as Sunlight, Wind, Rain, tides and geothermal Energy conservation is often the most economical solution to energy shortages, and is a more environmentally benign alternative to increased energy production. An energy crisis is any great bottleneck (or price Rise) in the supply of energy resources to an economy.

Energy efficiency trends in the United States

The United States is currently the largest single consumer of energy. The U.S. Department of Energy categorizes national energy use in four broad sectors: transportation, residential, commercial, and industrial. The United States Department of Energy ( DOE) is a Cabinet -level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy ^[1]

U. S. Energy Flow Trends - 2002. Note that the breakdown of useful and waste energy in each sector (yellow vs. grey) is estimated arbitrarily and is not based on data.

Energy usage in transportation and residential sectors(about half of U. S. energy consumption) is largely controlled by individual domestic consumers. Commercial and industrial energy expenditures are determined by businesses entities and other facility managers. National energy policy has a significant effect on energy usage across all four sectors.

Transportation

The transportation includes all vehicles used for personal or freight transportation. Vehicles, derived from the Latin word vehiculum, are non-living Means of transport. Of the energy used in this sector, approximately 65% is consumed by gasoline-powered vehicles, primarily personally owned. Diesel-powered transport (trains, merchant ships, heavy trucks, etc. Diesel or Diesel fuel (ˈdiːzəl in general is any Fuel used in Diesel engines The most common is a specific fractional distillate of petroleum ) consumes about 20%, and air traffic consumes most of the remaining 15%. ^[2]

The oil supply crises of the 1970s spurred the creation, in 1975, of the federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program, which required auto manufacturers to meet progressively higher fleet fuel economy targets. The next decade saw dramatic improvements in fuel economy, mostly the result of reductions in vehicle size and weight which originated in the late 1970s, along with the transition to front wheel drive. Front-wheel drive (or FF layout) is a form of engine / transmission layout used in Motor vehicles where the engine drives the front Wheels These gains eroded somewhat after 1990 due to the growing popularity of sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and minivans, which fall under the more lenient "light truck" CAFE standard. A sport utility vehicle ( SUV) is a generic marketing description for a rugged automotive vehicle similar to a Station wagon but built on a light-truck chassis A pickup truck is a light Motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area which is almost always separated from the cab to allow for chassis flex when carrying or pulling A minivan, multi-purpose vehicle (abbreviated MPV) people-carrier, people-mover or multi-utility vehicle (shortened

In addition to the CAFE program, the U. S. government has tried to encourage better vehicle efficiency through tax policy. Since 2002, taxpayers have been eligible for income tax credits for gas/electric hybrid vehicles. A "gas-guzzler" tax has been assessed on manufacturers since 1978 for cars with exceptionally poor fuel economy. Gas-guzzler commonly refers to a vehicle that makes inefficient use of Fuel. While this tax remains in effect, it currently generates very little revenue as overall fuel economy has improved. The gas-guzzler tax ended the reign of large cubic-inched engines from the musclecar era.

Another focus in gasoline conservation is reducing the number of miles driven. An estimated 40% of American automobile use is associated with daily commuting. Commuting is the process of Travelling between one's place of residence and regular place of work Many urban areas offer subsidized public transportation to reduce commuting traffic, and encourage carpooling by providing designated high-occupancy vehicle lanes and lower tolls for cars with multiple riders. In Economics, a subsidy (also known as a subvention is a form of financial assistance paid to a business or economic sector Carpooling (also known as car-sharing, ride-sharing, lift-sharing) is the shared use of a car by the driver and one or more passengers usually In Transportation engineering and Transportation planning, a high-occupancy vehicle lane (or HOV lane) is a lane reserved for Vehicles with

In recent years telecommuting has also become a viable alternative to commuting for some jobs, but as of 2003 only 3. Telecommuting, e-commuting, e-work, telework, working at home (WAH, or working from home (WFH is a work arrangement in 5% of workers were telecommuters. Ironically, hundreds of thousands of American and European workers have been replaced by workers in Asia who telecommute from thousands of miles away.

A vehicle's gas mileage normally decreases rapidly at speeds above 55 miles per hour. A car or truck moving at 55 miles (89 km) an hour can get about 15 percent better fuel economy than the same car going 65 mph (105 km/h). According to the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE), as a rule of thumb, each 5 mph (8. 0 km/h) you drive over 60 mph (97 km/h) is similar to paying an additional $0. 21 per gallon for gas ^[3] (not true for all vehicles, some may attain maximum fuel efficiency at a higher speed than 60 mph (97 km/h)).

Residential sector

The residential sector refers to all private residences, including single-family homes, apartments, manufactured homes and dormitories. Energy use in this sector varies significantly across the country, due to regional climate differences and different regulation. On average, about half of the energy used in U. S. homes is expended on space conditioning (i. e. heating and cooling).

The efficiency of furnaces and air conditioners has increased steadily since the energy crises of the 1970s. A furnace is a device used for Heating The name derives from Latin fornax, Oven. An air conditioner is an Appliance, System, or mechanism designed to extract Heat from an area via a Refrigeration cycle The 1987 National Appliance Energy Conservation Act authorized the Department of Energy to set minimum efficiency standards for space conditioning equipment and other appliances each year, based on what is "technologically feasible and economically justified". Beyond these minimum standards, the Environmental Protection Agency awards the Energy Star designation to appliances that exceed industry efficiency averages by an EPA-specified percentage. Energy Star is an international standard for energy efficient Consumer products

Despite technological improvements, many American lifestyle changes have put higher demands on heating and cooling resources. The average size of homes built in the United States has increased significantly, from 1,500 sq ft (140 m²) in 1970 to 2,300 sq ft (210 m²) in 2005. The single-person household has become more common, as has central air conditioning: 23% of households had central air conditioning in 1978, that figure rose to 55% by 2001.

As furnace efficiency gets higher, there is limited room for improvement--efficiencies above 85% are now common. However, improving the building envelope through better or more insulation, advanced windows, etc. A building envelope is the separation between the interior and the exterior environments of a Building. Building insulation refers broadly to any object in a building used as Insulation for any purpose , can allow larger improvements. The passive house approach produces superinsulated buildings that approach zero net energy consumption. The term passive house ( Passivhaus in German) refers to the rigorous voluntary Passivhaus standard for energy use in buildings Superinsulation is an approach to building design construction and retrofitting A zero energy building ( ZEB) or net zero energy building is a general term applied to a Building with a net energy consumption of zero over a typical year Improving the building envelope can also be cheaper than replacing a furnace or air conditioner.

Even lower cost improvements include weatherization, which is frequently subsidized by utilities or state/federal tax credits, as are programmable thermostats. Weatherization ( American English) or weatherproofing ( British English) is the practice of protecting a building and its interior from the elements particularly The term tax credit describes two different concepts The first is a recognition of partial payment already made towards Taxes due. A thermostat is a device for regulating the Temperature of a System so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint Consumers have also been urged to adopt a wider indoor temperature range (e. g. 65 °F (18 °C) in the winter, 80 °F (27 °C) in the summer).

One underutilized, but potentially very powerful means to reduce household energy consumption is to provide real-time feedback to homeowners so they can effectively alter their energy using behavior. Recently, low cost energy feedback displays, such as The Energy Detective or wattson [1], have become available. The Energy Detective, also known as TED, is an energy demand feedback device that promotes energy conservation by making residential consumers aware of how much A study of a similar device deployed in 500 Ontario homes by Hydro One [2] showed an average 6. 5% drop in total electricity use when compared with a similarly sized control group.

Standby power used by consumer electronics and appliances while they are turned off accounts for an estimated 5 to 10% of household electricity consumption, adding an estimated $3 billion to annual energy costs in the USA. Standby power, also called vampire power phantom load or leaking Electricity, refers to the Electric power consumed by electronic "In the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. " [3]

Home energy consumption averages:^[4]

• Space conditioning, 44%
• Water heating, 13%
• Lighting, 12%
• Refrigeration, 8%
• Home electronics, 6%
• Laundry appliances, 5%
• Kitchen appliances, 4%
• Other uses, 8%

Energy usage in some homes may vary widely from these averages. For example, milder regions such as the southern U. S. and Pacific coast of the USA need far less energy for space conditioning than New York City or Chicago. On the other hand, air conditioning energy use can be quite high in hot-arid regions (Southwest) and hot-humid zones (Southeast) In milder climates such as San Diego, lighting energy may easily consume up to 40% of total energy. Certain appliances such as a waterbed, hot tub, or pre-1990 refrigerator use significant amounts of electricity. However, recent trends in home entertainment equipment can make a large difference in household energy use. For instance a 50" LCD television (average on-time= 6 hours a day) may draw 300 Watts less than a similarly sized plasma system. In most residences no single appliance dominates, and any conservation efforts must be directed to numerous areas in order to achieve substantial energy savings. However, Ground and Water Source Heat Pump systems are the more energy efficient, environmentally clean, and cost-effective space conditioning systems available (Environmental Protection Agency), and can achieve reductions in energy consumptions of up to 69%.

Best building practices

Current best practices in building design and construction result in homes that are profoundly more energy conserving than average new homes. See Passive house, Superinsulation, Self-sufficient homes, Zero energy building, Earthship, MIT Design Advisor, Energy Conservation Code for Indian Commercial Buildings. The term passive house ( Passivhaus in German) refers to the rigorous voluntary Passivhaus standard for energy use in buildings Superinsulation is an approach to building design construction and retrofitting An autonomous building is a building designed to be operated independently from infrastructural support services such as the Electric power grid municipal water systems A zero energy building ( ZEB) or net zero energy building is a general term applied to a Building with a net energy consumption of zero over a typical year An Earthship refers to a Passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials The MIT Design Advisor is an online tool for exploring the energy performance of building designs The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC launched on 28th June 2007 is a document that specifies the energy performance requirements for all commercial buildings that are

Smart ways to construct homes such that minimal resources are used to cooling and heating the house in summer and winter respectively can significantly reduce energy costs.

Commercial sector

The commercial sector consists of retail stores, offices (business and government), restaurants, schools and other workplaces. Energy in this sector has the same basic end uses as the residential sector, in slightly different proportions. Space conditioning is again the single biggest consumption area, but it represents only about 30% of the energy use of commercial buildings. Lighting, at 25%, plays a much larger role than it does in the residential sector. ^[5] Lighting is also generally the most wasteful component of commercial use. A number of case studies indicate that more efficient lighting and elimination of over-illumination can reduce lighting energy by approximately fifty percent in many commercial buildings. Over-illumination is the presence of lighting intensity ( Illuminance) beyond that required for a specified activity

Commercial buildings can greatly increase energy efficiency by thoughtful design, with today's building stock being very poor examples of the potential of systematic (not expensive) energy efficient design (Steffy, 1997). Commercial buildings often have professional management, allowing centralized control and coordination of energy conservation efforts. As a result, fluorescent lighting (about four times as efficient as incandescent) is the standard for most commercial space, although it may produce certain adverse health effects. A fluorescent lamp or fluorescent tube is a Gas-discharge lamp that uses Electricity to excite mercury Vapor. ^[6][7][8][9] Potential health concerns can be mitigated by using newer fixtures with electronic ballasts rather than older magenetic ballasts. As most buildings have consistent hours of operation, programmed thermostats and lighting controls are common. However, too many companies believe that merely having a computer controlled Building automation system guarantees energy efficiency. "Building automation" can also refer to Build automation, the practice of programmatically Compiling Software programs As an example one large company in Northern California boasted that it was confident its state of the art system had optimized space heating. A more careful analysis by Lumina Technologies showed the system had been given programming instructions to maintain constant 24 hour temperatures in the entire building complex. This instruction caused the injection of nighttime heat into vacant buildings when the daytime summer temperatures would often exceed 90 °F (32 °C). This mis-programming was costing the company over $130,000 per year in wasted energy (Lumina Technologies, 1997). Many corporations and governments also require the Energy Star rating for any new equipment purchased for their buildings.

Solar heat loading through standard window designs usually leads to high demand for air conditioning in summer months. An example of building design overcoming this excessive heat loading is the Dakin Building in Brisbane, California, where fenestration was designed to achieve an angle with respect to sun incidence to allow maximum reflection of solar heat; this design also assisted in reducing interior over-illumination to enhance worker efficiency and comfort. The Dakin Building is an architectural award winning class A office building on the San Francisco Bay in Brisbane California. Brisbane is a small city located in the northern part of San Mateo County California on the lower slopes of San Bruno Mountain. Over-illumination is the presence of lighting intensity ( Illuminance) beyond that required for a specified activity

Recent advances include use of occupancy sensors to turn off lights when spaces are unoccupied, and photosensors to dim or turn off electric lighting when natural light is available. In air conditioning systems, overall equipment efficiencies have increased as energy codes and consumer information have begun to emphasise year round performance rather than just efficiency ratings at maximum output. Controllers that automatically vary the speeds of fans, pumps, and compressors have radically improved part-load performance of those devices. For space or water heating, electric heat pumps consume roughly half the energy required by electric resistance heaters. Natural gas heating efficiencies have improved through use of condensing furnaces and boilers, in which the water vapor in the flue gas is cooled to liquid form before it is discharged, allowing the heat of condensation to be used. In buildings where high levels of outside air are required, heat exchangers can capture heat from the exhaust air to preheat incoming supply air.

Industrial sector

The industrial sector represents all production and processing of goods, including manufacturing, construction, farming, water management and mining. Increasing costs have forced energy-intensive industries to make substantial efficiency improvements in the past 30 years. For example, the energy used to produce steel and paper products has been cut 40% in that time frame, while petroleum/aluminum refining and cement production have reduced their usage by about 25%. These reductions are largely the result of recycling waste material and the use of cogeneration equipment for electricity and heating. Energy recycling Cogeneration (also combined heat and power, CHP) is the use of a Heat engine or a Power station to simultaneously generate both

The energy required for delivery and treatment of fresh water often constitutes a significant percentage of a region's electricity and natural gas usage (an estimated 20% of California's total energy use is water-related. ^[10]) In light of this, some local governments have worked toward a more integrated approach to energy and water conservation efforts. Water conservation refers to reducing the use of water The goals of water conservation efforts include Sustainability - To ensure availability for

Unlike the other sectors, total energy use in the industrial sector has declined in the last decade. While this is partly due to conservation efforts, it's also a reflection of the growing trend for U. S. companies to move manufacturing operations overseas.

Energy conservation in the United Kingdom

Main article: Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom

Energy conservation in the United Kingdom has been receiving increased attention over recent years. For Government policy see Energy policy of the United Kingdom Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom has been receiving increased The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Key factors behind this are the Government's commitment to reducing carbon emissions, the projected 'energy gap' in UK electricity generation, and the increasing reliance on imports to meet national energy needs. Carbon dioxide ( Chemical formula:) is a Chemical compound composed of two Oxygen Atoms covalently bonded to a single Domestic housing and road transport are currently the two biggest problem areas.

Jevons paradox

Main article: Jevons paradox

Standard economic theory suggests that technological improvements that increase energy efficiency will tend to increase, rather than reduce energy use. In Economics, the Jevons Paradox (sometimes called the Jevons effect) is the proposition that Technological progress that increases the efficiency Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. This was first observed by William Stanley Jevons in 1865 and is called the Jevons Paradox. William Stanley Jevons ( September 1, 1835 - August 13, 1882) English Economist and Logician, was born in In Economics, the Jevons Paradox (sometimes called the Jevons effect) is the proposition that Technological progress that increases the efficiency In The Coal Question, Jevons argued that, "It is a confusion of ideas to suppose that economical use of fuel is equivalent to diminished consumption. William Stanley Jevons ( September 1, 1835 - August 13, 1882) English Economist and Logician, was born in The very contrary is the truth. "

The Jevons paradox was later revisited by the economists Daniel Khazzoom and Leonard Brookes in a series of papers about energy conservation. In 1992, the US economist Harry Saunders dubbed this hypothesis the Khazzoom-Brookes Postulate, and showed that it was true under a wide range of assumptions. In the 1980s the economists Daniel Khazzoom and Leonard Brookes independently put forward ideas about energy consumption and behavior that argue that increased energy efficiency ^[11] Increased energy efficiency tends to increase energy consumption by two means. Firstly, increased energy efficiency makes the use of energy relatively cheaper, thus encouraging increased use. Secondly, increased energy efficiency leads to increased economic growth, which pulls up energy use in the whole economy.

This does not imply that increased fuel efficiency is worthless. Increased fuel efficiency enables greater production and a higher quality of life. For example, a more efficient steam engine allowed the cheaper transport of goods and people that contributed to the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture manufacturing and transportation had a profound effect on the However, energy conservation cannot be achieved through increased efficiency alone. In order for efficiency gains to improve energy conservation, the ecological economists Mathias Wackernagel and William Rees suggest that cost savings from efficiency gains be "taxed away or otherwise removed from further economic circulation. Preferably they should be captured for reinvestment in natural capital rehabilitation. "^[12]

Issues with energy conservation

Critics and advocates of some forms of energy conservation make the following arguments:

• It may be difficult for home owners or small business to justify investment in some energy saving measures. Often the available money has higher priorities, and in many cases the time and cost investment is not worthwhile.

• Condensing boilers are much more efficient than older types. A condensing boiler is a water heating device designed to recover Energy normally discharged to the Atmosphere through the flue Energy savings are achieved by extracting more heat, venting less heat externally. However the increased complexity results in more frequent breakdowns and much higher total servicing costs, and whether the end result is a gain is debated.

• Refrigeration is also a major factor of energy consumption, electronic Energy saving modules (ESM) can be added to some existing HVAC and refrigeration systems at little cost to conserve electricity. Energy Saving Module(s(ESM represent a Green technology that reduces the electricity consumption (kWh and maximum demand (kW of air conditioning and refrigeration compressors HVAC (pronounced either "H-V-A-C" or occasionally " H-vak " is an Initialism or Acronym that stands for " Heating Refrigeration is the process of removing Heat from an enclosed space or from a substance and moving it to a place where it is unobjectionable

• Some retailers argue that bright lighting stimulates purchasing. Health studies have demonstrated that headache, stress, blood pressure, fatigue and worker error all generally increase with the common over-illumination present in many workplace and retail settings (Davis, 2001), (Bain, 1997). A headache ( cephalalgia in medical terminology is a condition of pain in the Head; sometimes Neck or upper back pain may also be interpreted Blood pressure is also the title of a short story by Damon Runyan in Guys and Dolls and Other Stories Over-illumination is the presence of lighting intensity ( Illuminance) beyond that required for a specified activity It has been shown that natural daylighting increases productivity levels of workers, while reducing energy consumption. ^[13] Consumers are also motivated by a number of factors, and corporate stewardship may provide an incentive for shoppers to visit stores who conserve energy. Some believe lower overhead costs may allow retailers to lower prices, stimulating consumption, however few business managers seem to agree with this view.

• The use of telecommuting by major corporations is a significant opportunity to conserve energy, as many Americans now work in service jobs that enable them to work from home instead of commuting to work each day. ^[14]

• Electric motors consume more than 60% of all electrical energy generated and are responsible for the loss of 10 to 20% of all electricity converted into mechanical energy. ^[15] No doubt, electricity consumption and associated loss by electric motors will continually grow; particularly, as the transportion sector moves to vehicles with electric drivetrains. Migrating or retrofitting any applied base of electric motors (and electric generators) with energy efficient electric motor and generator technology and systems, such as the brushless wound rotor doubly fed electric motor or generator, can dramatically reduce energy consumption and resulting emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) to the atmosphere. Doubly-fed electric machines (ie Electric motors or Electric generators belong to a category of electric machines that incorporate two multiphase As a bonus, the technology can have a payback period of less than a year depending on use factors.

See also

References

• Scott Davis, Dana K. Mirick, Richard G. Stevens (2001). "Night Shift Work, Light at Night, and Risk of Breast Cancer". Journal of the National Cancer Institute 93 (20): 1557-1562.  
• Bain, A. , “The Hindenburg Disaster: A Compelling Theory of Probable Cause and Effect,” Procs. NatL Hydr. Assn. 8th Ann. Hydrogen Meeting, Alexandria, Va. , March 11-13, pp 125-128 (1997}
• Gary Steffy, Architectural Lighting Design, John Wiley and Sons (2001) ISBN 0-471-38638-3
• Lumina Technologies, Analysis of energy consumption in a San Francisco Bay Area research office complex, for (confidential) owner, Santa Rosa, Ca. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty May 17, 1996
• GSA paves way for IT-based buildings [4]

External links

Resources for homes

• Conserving energy with plants
• Energy savings tips for your home
• Energy conservation tips for apartments
• Energy conservation resource for home owners
• Energy saving resources for the home
• Global warming solutions at home
• Hot Tub and pool efficiency tips

Resources for businesses

• BOMA energy efficiency program
• Product and technology reviews
• US Department of Energy workplace resources
• EnergyStar - for commercial buildings and plants
• California high performance buildings program
• Objective database of energy information resources and technical tools

Government and international websites

• US Department of Energy - resources for industry
• U.S. Energy Information Administration
• Buildings Energy Data Book - commercial/residential building consumption patterns
• UNEP- Energy Branch.
• IEA Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems Programme.
• WSU Extension Energy Program
• Farm Energy Options. Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, National Agricultural Library.