Energy Conservation

Energy conservation refers to reducing energy through using less of an energy service. Energy conservation differs from efficient energy use, which refers to using less energy for a constant service. For example, driving less is an example of energy conservation. Driving the same amount with a higher mileage vehicle is an example of energy efficiency. Energy conservation and efficiency are both energy reduction techniques.

Even though energy conservation reduces energy services, it can result in increased financial capital, environmental quality, national security, and personal financial security. It is at the top of the sustainable energy hierarchy.

So for conserving energy we need to use energy efficiently.

Efficient energy use

Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature. Installing fluorescent lights or natural skylights reduces the amount of energy required to attain the same level of illumination compared with using traditional incandescent light bulbs. Compact fluorescent lights use one-third the energy of incandescent lights and may last 6 to 10 times longer. Improvements in energy efficiency are generally achieved by adopting a more efficient technology or production processes or by application of commonly accepted methods to reduce energy losses.

There are many motivations to improve energy efficiency. Reducing energy use reduces energy costs and may result in a financial cost saving to consumers if the energy savings offset any additional costs of implementing an energy efficient technology. Reducing energy use is also seen as a solution to the problem of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. According to the International Energy Agency, improved energy efficiency in buildings, industrial processes and transportation could reduce the world's energy needs in 2050 by one third, and help control global emissions of greenhouse gases.

Energy efficiency and renewable energy are said to be the twin pillars of sustainable energy policy and are high priorities in the sustainable energy hierarchy. In many countries energy efficiency is also seen to have a national security benefit because it can be used to reduce the level of energy imports from foreign countries and may slow down the rate at which domestic energy resources are depleted

Modern appliances, such as, freezers, ovens, stoves, dishwashers, and clothes washers and dryers, use significantly less energy than older appliances. Installing a clothesline will significantly reduce your energy consumption as your dryer will be used less. Current energy efficient refrigerators, for example, use 40 percent less energy than conventional models did in 2001. Following this, if all households in Europe changed their more than ten-year-old appliances into new ones, 20 billion kWh of electricity would be saved annually, hence reducing CO₂ emissions by almost 18 billion kg.^[10] In the US, the corresponding figures would be 17 billion kWh of electricity and 27,000,000,000 lb (1.2×10¹⁰ kg) CO₂.^[11] According to a 2009 study from McKinsey & Company the replacement of old appliances is one of the most efficient global measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.^[12] Modern power management systems also reduce energy usage by idle appliances by turning them off or putting them into a low-energy mode after a certain time. Many countries identify energy-efficient appliances using energy input labeling.^[13]

The impact of energy efficiency on peak demand depends on when the appliance is used.^[14] For example, an air conditioner uses more energy during the afternoon when it is hot. Therefore, an energy efficient air conditioner will have a larger impact on peak demand than off-peak demand. An energy efficient dishwasher, on the other hand, uses more energy during the late evening when people do their dishes. This appliance may have little to no impact on peak demand.

A building’s location and surroundings play a key role in regulating its temperature and illumination. For example, trees, landscaping, and hills can provide shade and block wind. In cooler climates, designing northern hemisphere buildings with south facing windows and southern hemisphere buildings with north facing windows increases the amount of sun (ultimately heat energy) entering the building, minimizing energy use, by maximizing passive solar heating. Tight building design, including energy-efficient windows, well-sealed doors, and additional thermal insulation of walls, basement slabs, and foundations can reduce heat loss by 25 to 50 percent.^[13]

Dark roofs may become up to 39 C° (70 F°) hotter than the most reflective white surfaces, and they transmit some of this additional heat inside the building. US Studies have shown that lightly colored roofs use 40 percent less energy for cooling than buildings with darker roofs. White roof systems save more energy in sunnier climates. Advanced electronic heating and cooling systems can moderate energy consumption and improve the comfort of people in the building.^[13]

Proper placement of windows and skylights as well as the use of architectural features that reflect light into a building can reduce the need for artificial lighting. Increased use of natural and task lighting has been shown by one study to increase productivity in schools and offices.^[13] Compact fluorescent lights use two-thirds less energy and may last 6 to 10 times longer thanincandescent light bulbs. Newer fluorescent lights produce a natural light, and in most applications they are cost effective, despite their higher initial cost, with payback periods as low as a few months.^[16]

Effective energy-efficient building design can include the use of low cost Passive Infra Reds (PIRs) to switch-off lighting when areas are unnoccupied such as toilets, corridors or even office areas out-of-hours. In addition, lux levels can be monitored using daylight sensors linked to the building's lighting scheme to switch on/off or dim the lighting to pre-defined levels to take into account the natural light and thus reduce consumption. Building Management Systems (BMS) link all of this together in one centralised computer to control the whole building's lighting and power requirements.^[17]

The choice of which space heating or cooling technology to use in buildings can have a significant impact on energy use and efficiency. For example, replacing an older 50% efficient natural gas furnace with a new 95% efficient one will dramatically reduce energy use, carbon emissions, and winter natural gas bills. Ground source heat pumps can be even more energy efficient and cost effective. These systems use pumps and compressors to move refrigerant fluid around a thermodynamic cycle in order to "pump" heat against its natural flow from hot to cold, for the purpose of transferring heat into a building from the large thermal reservoir contained within the nearby ground. The end result is that heat pumps typically use four times less electrical energy to deliver an equivalent amount of heat than a direct electrical heater does. Another advantage of a ground source heat pump is that it can be reversed in summertime and operate to cool the air by transferring heat from the building to the ground. The disadvantage of ground source heat pumps is their high initial capital cost, but this is typically recouped within five to ten years as a result of lower energy use.

Smart meters are slowly being adopted by the commercial sector to highlight to staff and for internal monitoring purposes the building's energy usage in a dynamic presentable format. The use of Power Quality Analysers can be introduced into an existing building to assess usage, harmonic distortion, peaks, swells and interruptions amongst others to ultimately make the building more energy-efficient. Often such meters communicate by using wireless sensor networks.^[18]

Green Building XML (gbXML) is an emerging schema, a subset of the Building Information Modeling efforts, focused on green building design and operation. gbXML is used as input in several energy simulation engines. But with the development of modern computer technology, a large number of building energy simulation tools are available on the market. When choosing which simulation tool to use in a project, the user must consider the tool's accuracy and reliability, considering the building information they have at hand, which will serve as input for the tool. Yezioro, Dong and Leite^[19] developed an artificial intelligence approach towards assessing building performance simulation results and found that more detailed simulation tools have the best simulation performance in terms of heating and cooling electricity consumption within 3% of mean absolute error.

A deep energy retrofit is a whole-building analysis and construction process that uses to achieve much larger energy savings than conventional energy retrofits. Deep energy retrofits can be applied to both residential and non-residential (“commercial”) buildings. A deep energy retrofit typically results in energy savings of 30 percent or more, perhaps spread over several years, and may significantly improve the building value.^[20] The Empire State Building has undergone a deep energy retrofit process that was completeted in 2013. The project team, consisting of representatives from Johnson Controls, Rocky Mountain Institute, Clinton Climate Initiative, and Jones Lang LaSalle will have achieved an annual energy use reduction of 38% and $4.4 million.^[21] For example, the 6,500 windows were remanufactured onsite into superwindows which block heat but pass light. Air conditioning operating costs on hot days were reduced and this saved $17 million of the project's capital cost immediately, partly funding other retrofitting.^[22] Receiving a gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating in September 2011, the Empire State Building is the tallest LEED certified building in the United States.^[15] The Indianapolis City-County Building recently underwent a deep energy retrofit process, which has achieved an annual energy reduction of 46% and $750,000 annual energy savings

Source - Wikipedia.org

Here are some tips which you must use to conserve energy

Shift consumption away from the 10 am - 8 pm peak times:

Let's avoid adding to the power demand during this peak time. By simply using some of our common electrical appliances before and after this time band. Washing machines, geysers, irons, building water pumps – all can be shifted without much inconvenience.

ACs at 24º C

ACs are possibly the biggest cause of any summer power crisis. Every time one more AC is switched on and every time the temperature is lowered by one more degree, a huge load is added to the system. We can however work towards uninterrupted power – if we give up ‘freezing’ for ‘cool enough’. Let’s all go 24 this summer - it's actually quite comfortable.

Switch off from the plug point

Whenever we leave a plug point ‘ON’ after switching an electrical appliance ‘OFF’ with the remote, power is still being consumed in ‘stand-by mode’. And no small amount either – these little wastages account for an unbelievable 5% of the city’s power consumption. You will agree that's a sheer waste. So, after usage, let's switch off our ACs, TVs, washing machines, microwaves, geysers and mobile chargers from the plug point. Every single time.

It is up to each one of us to make the change - if you will, Mumbai will !

Save Electricity

 

Light Bulb Electric Iron Refrigerator Washing Machine Geyser Kitchen Appliances Air Conditioning

Lighting Switch off lights and fans when not required. Replace bulbs with tube lights & CFL(Compact Flourescent Lamps). Utilise natural light by using electronic chokes & regulators. Optimise use of lights in malls, multiplexes & hotels. Turn off the lights when not in use. Take advantage of daylight by using light-coloured, loose-weave curtains on your windows to allow daylight to penetrate the room. Also, decorate with lighter colours that reflect daylight. De-dust lighting fixtures to maintain illumination. Use task lighting; instead of brightly lighting an entire room, focus the light where you need it. Compact fluorescent bulbs are four times more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs and provide the same lighting. Use electronic chokes in place of conventional copper chokes. Electric iron Select iron boxes with automatic temperature cutoff. Use appropriate regulator position for ironing. Do not put more water on clothes while ironing. Do not iron wet clothes. Fans Replace conventional regulators with electronic regulators for ceiling fans. Install exhaust fans at a higher elevation than ceiling fans. Refrigerator Do not open door frequently. Set thermostat in medium cooling position. Keep adequate space from wall. Do not overload the refrigerator. Defrost your refrigerator regularly. Regularly defrost manual-defrost refrigerators and freezers; frost buildup increases the amount of energy needed to keep the motor running. Leave enough space between your refrigerator and the walls so that air can easily circulate around the refrigerator. Don't keep your refrigerator or freezer too cold. Make sure your refrigerator door seals are airtight. Cover liquids and wrap foods stored in the refrigerator. Uncovered foods release moisture and make the compressor work harder. Do not open the doors of the refrigerators frequently. Don't leave the fridge door open for longer than necessary, as cold air will escape. Use smaller cabinets for storing frequently used items. Avoid putting hot or warm food straight into the fridge. Washing Machine Use after 10 PM or before 10 AM. Run washing machine only with full load. Use the shortest cycle time. Always wash only with full loads. Use optimal quantity of water. Use timer facility to save energy. Use the correct amount of detergent. Use hot water only for very dirty clothes. Always use cold water in the rinse cycle. Prefer natural drying over electric dryers. Geyser Use before 10 AM. Switch off when not required. Reduce thermostat setting from 60º to 50º C. Use Solar Water Heater - a good replacement for a electric water heater. Mixers Avoid dry grinding in your food processors ( mixers and grinders) as it takes longer time than liquid grinding. Microwave Ovens Consumes 50 % less energy than conventional electric / gas stoves. Do not bake large food items. Unless you're baking breads or pastries, you may not even need to preheat. Don't open the oven door too often to check food condition as each opening leads to a temperature drop of 25º C. Electric Stove Turn off electric stoves several minutes before the specified cooking time. Use flat-bottomed pans that make full contact with the cooking coil. Gas Stove When cooking on a gas burner, use moderate flame settings to conserve LPG. Remember that a blue flame means your gas stove is operating efficiently. Yellowish flame is an indicator that the burner needs cleaning. Use pressure cookers as much as possible. Use lids to cover the pans while cooking. Bring items taken out of refrigerators (like vegetable, milk etc.) to room temperature before placing on the gas stove for heating.

Air Conditioning Ensure proper sealing of doors and windows. Set thermostat at 24º C for optimum cooling. Clean AC filter every month. Use film / tinted glass on windows. Prefer air conditioners having automatic temperature cut off. Keep regulators at "low cool" position. Operate the ceiling fan in conjunction with your window air conditioner to spread the cooled air more effectively throughout the room and operate the air conditioner at higher temperature. Seal the doors and windows properly. Leave enough space between your air conditioner and the walls to allow better air circulation. A roof garden can reduce the load on Air Conditioner. Use windows with sun films / curtains. Set your thermostat as high as comfortably possible in the summer. The less difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, the lower will be energy consumption. Don't set your thermostat at a colder setting than normal when you turn on your air conditioner. It will not cool your home any faster and could result in excessive cooling. Don't place lamps or TV sets near your air-conditioning thermostat. The thermostat senses heat from these appliances, which can cause the air conditioner to run longer than necessary. Plant trees or shrubs to shade air-conditioning units but not to block the airflow. A unit operating in the shade uses as much as 10% less electricity than the same one operating in the sun

Even after all these prevention tips, we need to spread to people awareness about Energy Conservation and make them popularize this case.