Efficiency Makes Sense (and Dollars)

The fastest, cheapest and safest way to address energy shortfalls, rising prices and the adverse environmental impacts of burning fossil fuels or operating nuclear plants is to improve energy efficiency.

We can improve the efficiency of all aspects of how we run our economy, from running our factories to heating our homes to how we get around. Our focus below is specifically on how to get more efficient in our use of electricity. This is particularly important because electricity is a premium form of energy — economically expensive and, while very useful, it has significant environmental costs when produced by common methods.

Lighting and Appliance Efficiency
We can save large amounts of electricity very quickly through better lighting. In the United States, roughly 20 percent of our electricity is used for lighting and about five percent more to remove the excess heat our lighting produces. Through the use of more efficient ballasts and lights, timers, motion sensors, daylighting and other readily available technologies, we can eliminate more than one half of the electric lighting demand without any loss in function.

Experts at the Rocky Mountain Institute estimate that “If advanced lighting technologies were fully applied in the United States, the resulting electricity savings would negate the need for 120 1,000-megawatt power plants. Doing this would save ratepayers $30 billion a year just on the cost of operating those plants (never mind the cost of building them).”

We can also achieve deep reductions in demand by using state of the art appliances. Refrigerators are an excellent example. The California Energy Commission reports that refrigerators use about one-sixth of all electricity in a typical home, and that, “While there still is room for improvement, today’s refrigerators use 60 percent less electricity on average than 20-year-old models.” Similar improvements have been made in air conditioners and other energy intensive appliances. It would be a much better investment both for families, and for utilities, to invest in a comprehensive upgrade in home appliances, rather than in building new, polluting power plants.

Electric Motors and Phantom Loads
Electric motors consume about half of all electrical energy used in the United States. According to RMI, replacing existing ones with more efficient models could displace roughly 160 U.S. power plants. Motors run most efficiently at 75-100 percent capacity, so making sure motors aren’t under or overloaded can bring big efficiency gains. In addition, the annual energy cost of running a motor is usually many times its purchase price, so it makes sense to buy the most efficient properly sized motor available.

According to RMI, “home office equipment, audio and video systems, and miscellaneous electronics consume almost 20 percent of all electricity used inside the average home and can cost as much as $175 per year.”

At least half of that energy usage, however, comes from appliances that are “turned off,” but still drawing small currents called “phantom loads.” Electronics that have standby features, as well as wall chargers for batteries, cell phones, etc., constantly consume electricity, even when they’re not in use.

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) calculates that “the average U.S. household consumes 50 watts of standby and off-mode power constantly, amounting to about 440 kilowatt-hours per year [per household].” Nationwide, this is about 44 billion kilowatt-hours per year, or the electricity production of five nuclear power plants. To eliminate phantom loads, electronics can be unplugged, wired to a wall outlet or plugged into a power strip, which can be shut off with the flick of a switch.

Button Up the Building Envelope
According to the Sustainable Energy Coalition, households used one-fifth of the energy consumed in the United States in 1995. Of that, about three-fifths comes from electricity. The remainder is from natural gas and oil.  Sadly, much heating and cooling energy escapes homes through drafts, leaky windows and uninsulated walls, floors, basements and attics.

Proper insulation, sealing air leaks, updating or replacing windows and replacing roofs are measures that can save up to 50 percent of heating and cooling energy.

Better building codes with an emphasis on efficiency along with voluntary government programs could give us substantial energy savings. EPA’s Energy Star Homes program requires 30 percent savings relative to minimum energy codes, and DOE’s Building America program aim’s for 50 percent energy savings.

When buying both building material and appliances for the home, consumer’s should look for the Energy Star.  The Energy Star is given to products that reduce greenhouse gas emissions as judged by strict energy efficiency guidelines set up by the EPA and the DOE.

Demand Side Management
Adding more electricity to our grid is not always the best solution to growing energy usage. Demand Side Management (DSM) is a method of aligning electrical usage with available supply. Regulatory action, already a mainstay of public utilities, has a strong success record with DSM. Specific actions include: differential price structures, raising minimum envelope efficiency for buildings, mandated electrical efficiency labels comparing the item to the most efficient alternative, mandating efficiency increases in consumer goods, performing electrical audits on major industrial and business users, and sponsoring the growth of Energy Service Companies.

Coordination of these regulatory tools allows for minimum interruption in any one area of the market while creating a uniform incentive to move toward greater efficiency. For example, labeling programs should be coupled with mandated efficiency increases. Consumers appreciate this information being provided, as it reduces costs and allows for better selection of high-price items. Mandated efficiency increases create an environment of expected improvement in design. Labeling produces bottom-up pressure for greater efficiency, while efficiency regulation creates top-down pressure on producers to innovate. DSM is about building new capacity to use our existing sources of electricity, rather than investing in an unproductive expansion of those sources.

Check out these energy efficiency resources for more information:
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy: www.aceee.org
Rocky Mountain Institute: www.rmi.org
U.S. Department of Energy: www.doe.gov
Energy Star Programs: www.energystar.gov