Energy conservation.
Energy conservation refers to efforts made to reduce energy consumption in order to preserve resources for the future and reduce
environmental pollution. Energy conservation can be achieved through increased
efficient energy use, in conjunction with decreased
energy consumption and/or reduced consumption from conventional energy sources.
Energy conservation can result in increased
financial capital,
environmental quality,
national security,
personal security, and
human comfort. Individuals and organizations that are direct
consumers of energy choose to conserve energy to reduce
energy costs and promote
economic security. Industrial and commercial users can increase energy use efficiency to maximize
profit.
Energy conservation policies
Electrical energy conservation is an important element of
energy policy. Energy conservation reduces the energy consumption and energy demand per capita and thus offsets some of 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.
Climate change. By reducing emissions, energy conservation is an important part of lessening
climate change. Energy conservation facilitates the replacement of
non-renewable resources with
renewable energy. Energy conservation is often the most economical solution to
energy shortages, and is a more environmentally being alternative to increased energy production.
Issues with energy conservation.
Advocates and critics of various forms and policies of
energy conservation debate some issues, such as:
*Standard
economic theory suggests that technological improvements increase
energy efficiency, rather than reduce energy use. This is called the
Jevons Paradox and it is said to occur in two ways. 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 ena bles greater production and a higher quality of life. However, in order to reduce energy consumption, efficiency gains must be paired with a government intervention that reduces demand (a
green tax,
cap and trade).
*Some retailers argue that bright lighting stimulates purchasing. However, 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
[7][8]. It has been shown that natural daylighting increases productivity levels of workers, while reducing energy consumption.
*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.
*Electric motors consume more than 60% of all el ectrical energy generated and are responsible for the loss of 10 to 20% of all electricity converted into mechanical energy.
*Consumers are often poorly informed of the savings of energy efficient products. The research one must put into conserving energy often is too time consuming and costly when there are cheaper products and technology available using today's fossil fuels.
*Technology needs to be able to change behaviour al patterns, it can do this by allowing energy users, business and residential, to see graphically the impact their energy use can have in their workplace or homes. Advance real-time energy metering is able to help "people" save energy by their actions. Rather than become wasteful automatic energy saving technologies, real-time energy monitors and meters such as the Energy Detective, Enigin Plc's Eniscope, Ecowizard, or solutions like EDSA'a Paladin Live are examples of such solutions
.
CCAT energy conservation.
Currently, most of the energy we use comes from finite natural resources such as coal and natural gas, or from the destructive processes of nuclear fission and large dams. Environmental problems including air pollution, acid rain, and increased carbon dioxide emissions are upsetting natural ecosystems. Global warming, climate changes and respiratory illnesses are becoming more prevalent every day as a result of non-renewable energy consumption.
At CCAT, our goal is to conserve energy wherever possible and to utilize renewable energy sources. Among the variety of ways to conserve energy, CCAT has adequate wall and ceiling insulation, unplugs appliances and turns off lights when not in use, uses energy efficient appliances (laptop computer and Sunfrost refrigerator), uses an efficient wood-burning stove and an on-demand water heater, and has switched to compact fluorescent light bulbs that last up to fifteen years and use 1/4 the energy of a standard light bulb. We also use a cold cabinet for refrigeration part of the year, an insulated box that allows food to continue cooking without energy from the stove, a skylight and Solatube to bring in natural lighting, and thermal curtains that help to retain heat inside the house at night. As a result, CCAT uses only 17KWh per week, while the average US home uses 40 to 60 KWh.
Energy Concervation Tips
*Quick and Dirty Side-Pull Thermal Curtain Instructions PDF 611.7KB*Thermal Curtains: Making Your Windows Warm
PDF 140KBGreener Gadgets: Power Hog and Energy Conservation
Here’s a cool entry to Greener Gadgets that aims to teach kids about energy consumption and conservation. The Power Hog is an a power consumption metering piggy bank. Simply plug your kids TV, or Xbox, computer… whatever power hungry thing they use into the Power Hog then plug the hog’s tail into the wall. Now when junior wants to start rockin’ out on Rock Band, he/she will have to put some of their money into the hog.
By associating a cost to their play time power consumption they’ll learn to be more conscious about the amount of energy they they consume. Assuming your kids aren’t rolling in the doe, it’ll also give them a little financial incentive to go play basketball rather than play NBA Live on the Xbox… Instead of playing Tony Hawk, they’ll go skating… and instead of playing Grand Theft Auto.
Mechanical Energy and Energy Conservation
Kinetic energy and potential energy are together referred to as mechanical energy. The total mechanical energy (
U) of an object is then the sum of its kinetic and potential energies:
Now,
| IN THE ABSENCE OF FRICTION |
| Mechanical energy is conserved |
| Ubefore = Uafter |
This principle of conservation of mechanical energy can be a very powerful tool for solving physics problems. However, in the presence of friction some of the mechanical energy is lost:
| IN THE PRESENCE OF FRICTION |
| Mechanical energy is not conserved |
| (The mechanical energy lost is equal to the work done against friction) |
 |
Thank You !
