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Here is a compilation of essays on ‘Energy Conservation’ for class 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on ‘Energy Conservation’ especially written for school and college students.
Essay on Energy Conservation
Essay Contents:
- Essay on the Introduction to Energy Conservation
- Essay on the Needs and Objectives of Energy Conservation
- Essay on Energy Conservation in Domestic Sector
- Essay on Energy Conservation in the Kitchen
- Essay on Other Energy Saving Tips in the Domestic House
- Essay on Energy Conservation Measures in Office
- Essay on the Energy Conservation Process/Activities for a Building
- Essay on Thermal Energy Conservation Opportunities in Buildings
- Essay on Energy Conservation at Macro Level
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Essay # 1. Introduction to Energy Conservation:
Energy conservation refers to the methods of reduction in energy consumption by way of elimination of wastage and promotion of efficiency. We know that due to the vast gap between demand and supply, lot of efforts is being done to bridge the gap in terms of generation of more electricity which requires lot of capital investment and apart from it creates lot of environmental concerns.
Energy conservation is the key element of energy management. We can reduce the energy consumption by adopting various ways of energy conservation which includes efficient use of technologies and avoiding energy wastages.
The various principles involved in energy conservations are:
(i) Optimal control.
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(ii) Optimize capacity.
(iii) Optimize load.
(iv) Use efficient processes.
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(v) Reduce losses.
(vi) Energy containment.
(vii) Examine energy conservation opportunities.
(viii) Energy storage facilities.
Essay # 2. Needs and Objectives of Energy Conservation:
More than 8% of the electricity you buy is probably wasted due to the design of your equipment and the way it has been installed. This is in addition to the energy wasted by running equipment for longer than necessary. Electricity is the most expensive form of energy available – about 8 times the cost of coal and six times the cost of gas – this expensive fuel must be used wisely.
No organization, whatever its size, can afford to overlook the improvement in profit and competitive position which can be achieved from the careful and thorough application of energy saving initiatives. When investment opportunities are being assessed and compared by management, energy saving initiatives are too often given a much lower priority than production and development projects.
This is despite the fact that energy saving initiatives can reduce revenue expenditure over the whole organization with very low capital investment requirements and can continue to do so over a very long period. Among the reasons given for this has been shortage of capital to invest and short-term company policies and it has been difficult for energy managers to gain the necessary support for energy saving projects.
Identification of energy saving opportunities must be carried out in a systematic manner so that it can be shown that the initiatives proposed are those which will yield the greatest benefits. Major opportunities will arise during the planning of new buildings and plant where the incremental cost of high efficiency equipment will be easy to determine, the lifetime will be longest and there will be no or little, difference in installation costs.
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There will be many instances where the installation of more modern equipment will be so beneficial that the replacement of existing equipment before its normal end-of-life will be justified by savings on running costs. Experience gained by monitoring the performance of new plant and comparing with it older plant will provide useful data.
Careful and systematic monitoring will be required to identify energy saving opportunities. It is essential that the energy demands and costs of every aspect of the business are well understood, so that areas of greatest waste can be identified and tackled and that solutions for one situation can be applied to similar areas.
Full records should be maintained so that cost savings can be demonstrated and so that previously identified opportunities can be re-visited as costs and engineering solutions change. An organised approach will help to show management that the best investments are being selected for further work.
Business usually give lower priority to cost reduction from energy savings than they do other business initiatives. Business expansion is usually given higher priority, but the capital for this has to be provided from the profit from the existing business. Energy saving initiatives reduces operating costs and therefore increase the revenue available for investment and so deserve a very high priority.
Electricity is by far the most expensive form in which an organization buys power. The fact that electricity is the only practical form of energy does not mean that it should be used without proper consideration. While thermal savings are keenly monitored and can readily be measured, much less attention has been paid to the money that can be saved by attention to the design, specification and installation of electrical plant and power systems.
The efficiency of electrical equipment has always been assumed to be high and the amount of electrical energy that is wasted in commercial and industrial environments is usually greatly underestimated and is often assumed to be unavoidable. In fact, the efficiency of electrical equipment can be improved easily at low cost and because of the quantity of electrical energy used, this will yield substantial savings.
Once high-efficiency equipment has been selected, it is equally important to ensure that it is correctly rated. For example, motor efficiency is highest above 75% of full load, so over generous rating will increase both capital and running costs. On the other hand, cables are least efficient when fully loaded, so generous rating of cables can substantially reduce running costs.
Power losses in electrical equipment are due to the electrical resistance in conductors and losses in the magnetic material and occur primarily in motors, transformers and in all cabling. The conductor losses are proportional to the resistance and the square of the current (I2 R losses) and can be minimized by using the optimum size of conductor for the application. Magnetic losses can be reduced by the use of better materials and production methods. The available savings in energy costs are substantial and accrue over the whole of the life of the installation.
Electrical energy is undisputedly the most vital element for industrial growth of any country. India is one of the many developing countries, which is suffering from acute power shortages. Almost all the states of India are not able to manage the demand from the three main sectors, viz., domestic, agriculture and industrial sectors. The recent industrial growth due to economic reforms further worsened the situation.
This results in exhaustion of fossil fuels and causes ecological imbalance. Therefore, these is an ample opportunity of energy conservation in domestic, industrial and agriculture sector.
Essay # 3. Energy Conservation in Domestic Sector:
There is a wide gap in the supply and demand of power in India and bridging the gap by installing new power stations is not going to take place in near future. The other alternative is to conserve every watt of energy. Energy conservation in domestic sector is a good point to start as about 20% of the total energy generated is utilized for domestic purpose, which is a considerable share.
Domestic power consumption in India takes about l/5th of the total power consumption, which is substantially high. Previously the power was subsidized in all the states of India and people (mis)used power liberally without worrying about efficiency of the appliances.
Because of the economic reforms, the subsidy is being withdrawn in power sector in a phased manner throughout India and the power tariff is steadly increasing and the people began to realize the need for energy conservation.
Even the Government of India made an act for energy conservation in 2001, which shows the seriousness of the power situation. Since domestic sector use the power in variety of applications, this is a potential area to be considered for energy optimization. By reducing the domestic energy consumption, the other sectors will get more power thereby helping the country to prosper further.
Energy used at home comprises of energy for cooking and processing food, comforts and luxuries. While an urban home largely depends on cooking gas and electricity for its energy requirements. Most of the energy demand of a rural home is dependent on fire wood or fuel wood. It is said that 50% of the energy consumption of the country is utilized for cooking activity considering commercial as well as non-commercial energy.
The domestic energy expenditure, with the increasing cost of energy, is gradually assuming a sizable share of the total domestic expenditure. The per capita electricity consumption in the country is reported to be about 400 units per annum with Gujarat on the top with an average of about 650 units.
The share electricity consumption in the domestic sector is about 15-20%. The average cost of one unit of electricity in the country is in the range of Rs. 3.50 to Rs. 4.0 and monthly electricity bill of an average household is about Rs. 500. Some of the energy intensive electrical gadgets used at home are geysers, oven/microwave, air conditioners, refrigerators and pumps.
Cheap and sub-standard gadgets consume more energy as compared to expensive standard gadgets and prove to be costlier on a long run. Consideration should be given to the ‘life cycle cost’ rather than the capital cost while purchasing any gadget.
Energy consumption in Indian domestic sector mostly comprises of electricity used in homes for lighting, refrigeration and power supply for other gadgets. Other forms of energy used are fuel for cooking etc. So there is an angle opportunity of energy conservation in electrical energy used in domestic sector in India.
The consumption pattern of electrical energy in Indian domestic sector is as follows:
So, electrical energy saving potential lies in lighting luminaires, refrigeration equipment and gadgets. Lot of energy can be saved by adopting latest technology in these equipment. As we know that electric lighting burns considerable amount of the average home energy budget. The electricity used over the lifetime of a single incandescent bulb costs 5 to 10 times the original purchase price of the bulb itself.
Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) and Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs have revolutionized energy-efficient lighting. CFLs are simply miniature versions of full-sized fluorescents. They screw into standard lamp sockets and give off light that looks just like the common incandescent bulbs – not like the fluorescent lighting we associate with factories and schools. LEDs are small, solid light bulbs which are extremely energy-efficient. New LED bulbs are grouped in clusters with diffuser lenses which have broadened the applications for LED use in the home.
Energy Conservation Strategies in Domestic Sector:
Lot of electrical energy can be saved in the domestic sector by adopting the suitable energy conservation techniques in the following equipment used in household:
(i) Luminaries (lamps etc.).
(ii) Fans/regulators.
(iii) Refrigeration equipment’s.
(iv) Heating equipment.
(v) Gadgets etc.
Energy conservation techniques/strategies in this equipment are explained as follows:
(i) Lamps:
Indian domestic illumination is totally dominated by the incandescent lamps of varying wattage (40 W/60 W/80 W/100 W). Despite their inefficiency, they are still preferred in lower income groups just because of their very low initial cost.
Fluorescent lamps are also popular and are used mainly in the utility areas like reading rooms, bedrooms and living rooms, though they are costlier by more than 10 to 15 times than incandescent lamps. Even in the fluorescent lamps, aluminium chokes are predominant, which cost much less compared to copper choke.
In India, about 80% of the domestic lighting is through incandescent lamps. Hence it is one area that should be concentrated most for conservation of energy. Now-a-days use of CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamp) is steadily increasing because of their very low power consumption, long life and better illumination over incandescent lamps.
However, CFLs may not be a replacement when illumination is required for precision work. Table 3.1 shows the comparison of the various popular types of lamps. From table one can observe that the incandescent lamp is a source for energy wastage because of its low luminous efficiency.
Following calculation shows how economic to replace incandescent with fluorescent Tube Light (FTL) and with CFL. For calculations it is assumed that the operation hours are 5 hours per day and the cost of energy as Rs. 3 per Kwh (say).
In both the cases, it can be observed that the savings are very impressive and hence replacement of incandescent lamps is highly recommended. The payback period is inversely proportional to the period of usage. Another method to conserve energy in this area is to use the natural light effectively so that the period of usage of lamps may be minimized. Apart from it, energy efficient LED lamps can also be used in place of incandescent lamps.
(ii) Fans and Regulators:
Fans, once a luxury, became essential now for Indian climatic conditions where temperatures rise to as high as 45°C in summer. In India, fans available at varying cost ranging from as low as Rs. 400 to Rs. 1500. Cheap fans normally use substandard core laminations and aluminium windings. Standard fans are made with quality material but cost two to three times.
The power consumption varies from 60 Watts to 90 Watts depending on the quality of the fan. Though electronic regulators are available in the market at costs ranging from Rs. 50 to Rs. 250 (low cost electronic regulators don’t contain proper shielding to prevent RF interference), the conventional regulators are predominant chiefly because they come along with the fan.
The user has no choice for opting for an electronic regulator. At medium speeds, a saving of about 14 Watts was observed with the use of electronic regulator. Replacement of low efficient fan with series regulator with high efficient fan with electronic regulator is highly recommended. Following is a comparison of economics of a High Cost Fan (HCF) and Low Cost Fan (LCF), at a nominal 8 hours a day.
(iii) Refrigerators:
Refrigerator is another common appliance in middle and upper classes in India. Single door refrigerators take a share of more than 80% and almost all are right hinged (operated with right hand). These are available in variety of capacities and models, but the most popular among them is the single door 165 liters capacity.
Almost all the refrigerators have right hinged doors (operated with right hand). Operation of the refrigerator with right hand takes longer time since door opening and handing the contents is to be done by right hand only. This is particularly true with cooking items since they are normally touched with right hand only in India. This leads to loss of cooling and can be saved to some extent if a left hinged door is provided.
Refrigerators in India are mostly used for preservation of food items and for cold water. If two separate compartments are provided, there can be good energy savings since the loss of cooling due to door opening is confined to that compartment only. In fact, a tap may be provided for cold water, which minimizes the openings of the door by about 60%.
Normally, defrosting is done only when the deep freezer is completely choked with ice, which hampers the effectiveness thus making a refrigerator inefficient. Another common flaw is insufficient space behind the refrigerator, which deteriorates the heat transfer.
The vendors should educate the consumers to ensure periodical defrosting and not to place the refrigerators close to the walls. Now-a-days “No frost” models are available, which are very efficient and consume less power than the normal models.
(iv) Water Heaters and Solar Heaters:
Immersion heaters, storage geysers and running water heaters (instant water heaters) are available in India. Immersion water heaters are the cheapest and are widely used despite the fatal risk involved just because of its cost. Solar water heaters are not available in many places because of their prohibitively high initial investment.
These are used only in luxury hotels, guesthouses and cottages, as the Government made it a principle to install them in these places to conserve energy. Augmenting the geyser with solar water heater greatly reduces the power consumption (as much as 80%) as solar energy is available for more than 10 months a year, which raises the temperature to an adequate level.
Apart from the energy savings, the hot water can be used for other purposes like washing and cooking during the summer when hot water is not necessary for bath.
(v) Water Pumps:
Many houses are fitted with a 350 W (1/2 HP) or 750 W (1 HP) motor depending on the overhead tank capacity. Most of the motors are controlled manually and average usage is about two hours a day. Overflow of tank is a common phenomenon in India since the use of automatic water level controllers is not yet popular and on a average there will be a loss of at least 10 minutes per day per motor in the form of overflow. An automatic water level controller is available for about Rs. 500 to 800.
The following calculation shows the savings if an automatic water controller is installed:
The savings will increase with the increase of the rating of the motor and the time of overflow. This also increases the comfort level and conserves the water resources.
From the above mentioned strategies or techniques, adopted for electrical energy conservation in domestic sector indicates huge energy saving potential. In today’s scenario of worldwide focus on energy conservation, these techniques are being followed rapidly and have become an integral part of energy conservation program all over.
Now, besides the electrical energy consumption in household, the other major chunk of energy in the form of fuel (wood, natural gas etc.) is used in the field of cooking. So, these is an ample amount of energy saving opportunities in the kitchen.
Essay # 4. Energy Conservation in the Kitchen:
Housewives can save upto 30% of cooking gas or kerosene by following a few simple ‘fuel-saving tips’.
Kitchen Ventilation:
i. There should be proper ventilation to the outside for the cook-tops and ranges, especially while cooking with gas. But the fan should not be running longer than the need or will result in wasting the energy in heating the home. And make sure the fan in use in the downdraft vent is not too large since that would waste energy too.
ii. Ventilation fans create a slight vacuum. To balance the air pressure, cold air is sucked in from the outside through cracks in the walls, around windows and doors, etc. Then the heater starts in to heat up the cold air. This is why too big a fan leads to energy waste.
iii. Worse, if the fan draws out so much air that cold air cannot come into the house fast enough to equalize the pressure, an oil or gas heating system may not vent properly. This situation may lead to a back draft of combustible gases into the house.
iv. The back draft problem is a big concern with large downdraft ventilation fans used with some cook-tops and ranges.
Energy Saving Cookware:
i. Choosing the right pan for the job can actually save energy—small amounts per meal.
ii. Smaller is better. Smaller pans need less energy to heat up. Microwaves use less energy than full-size ovens. Smaller ovens use less energy than larger ones. Then put the pan on the burner that fits it best. Remember that smaller burners use less electricity.
iii. Every type of heating element on an electric cook-top (coils, solid disk elements and radiant elements under ceramic glass) works more efficiently when the bottom of the pan is flat.
iv. Convection ovens are more energy-efficient than standard ovens. They continuously circulate heat around the food which distributes the heat more evenly so temperatures and cooking time can be decreased.
v. In fact, the most efficient pan has a slightly concave bottom, which flattens out when the metal heats up. The more rounded or warped the pan, the less direct contact it has with the burner so the harder the element has to work to heat up the pan.
vi. Copper-bottom pans heap up faster than other pans. (And they look neat also)
vii. The flame on your gas burner should be blue. A yellow flame means the gas is not burning efficiently. Call the gas company to check it.
viii. Microwave will work more efficiently if the inside surfaces are clean.
ix. The tighter the fit on the pot lid, the less heat escapes.
x. Using glass or ceramic pans in the oven allows turning down the temperature about 25 degrees Fahrenheit and still cook the food in the same amount of time.
xi. Pressure cookers, which build up steam pressure, reduce cooking time and energy use.
Essay # 5. Other Energy Saving Tips in the Domestic House:
i. Switch off light when not required.
ii. Use a table lamp instead of an overhead light when reading at a desk.
iii. Replace 40W tube light by equivalent light output 36W (Slim) tube lights.
iv. Use Electronic ballasts in place of conventional electromagnetic ballasts I Tube Lights.
v. Replace filament lamps with Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL).
vi. Construction of a house should be designed to get maximum sunlight & ventilation.
vii. Use sunlight wherever & whenever available.
viii. Use only adequate illumination or the work involved.
ix. Clean bulbs and tube lights periodically to avoid reduction in illumination.
x. Clean fan blades periodically.
xi. Lubricate bearings of motor periodically.
xii. Use electronic regulators for the fans.
xiii. Switch off fans when not required.
xiv. Use Light Weight/Energy efficient fans.
xv. Adopt large scale ironing. Avoid ironing one or two cloths daily.
xvi. Always use nylon belt in Grinders.
xvii. Clean & Lubricate grinder parts periodically.
xviii. Use energy efficient motor for the grinder.
xix. Use grinder to its full capacity.
xx. Use Washing Machine to its full capacity.
xxi. Avoid using dryer in washing machines whenever possible.
xxii. When immersion rods are used, switch off when water is heated to the required level. Cover the container with a lid to avoid wastage.
xxiii. Switch off directional vanes provided in the air-conditioner when not required.
xxiv. Avoid rewinding motors.
xxv. Avoid leakage of water in taps/joints.
xxvi. Use energy efficient water pumps.
xxvii. Use correct size PVC Piping System, in water lines.
xxviii. Use capacitors for water pumps, to improve power factor.
xxix. Avoid frequent closing and opening of refrigeration door.
xxx. Keep refrigerator away from the wall by at least 200 mm.
xxxi. Use Non-Conventional Energy Sources liked Biogas, Solar Heaters/ Cookers, Wind Mills to the extent possible.
xxxii. Periodical inspection of wiring may be done to defect leakage if any. Use Earth leakage circuit breakers.
xxxiii. Use correct size wires, preferably copper wires
xxxiv. Dim the lights where you can.
xxxv. Light-colored walls reflect more light and so need less lamps.
Using the Fridge/Freezer Smartly:
i. Don’t spend more time taking inventory every time the fridge is opened. Think about what you want before you reach for the door.
ii. Get in the habit of keeping items in the same place in the fridge (e.g., milk in the door, eggs on the second shelf, chocolate cake front and center).
iii. Make sure foods are covered before they are kept in the refrigerator. Otherwise the moisture in them will evaporate, which makes the refrigerator use more energy.
iv. Let foods cool before they are put into the refrigerator or freezer. Don’t leave food out so long at room temperature that it start growing salmonella, botulism or other nasty food poisoners.
v. Freezer works more efficiently when full than when nearly empty, so put some plastic containers like old milk jugs with water in them in the freezer to take up empty space.
Essay # 6. Energy Conservation Measures in Office:
Similar to the energy conservation opportunities and measures applicable in the domestic house, we can save substantial amount of electrical energy by adopting simple techniques or measures in the office as well. Most of the energy consumed in the office is in the form of electrical energy for lighting, running ACs, operating office equipment etc.
Energy can be saved by optimizing the use of these equipment and using energy efficient technologies. Also the design of office building plays on important role in energy conservation. Energy awareness campaign plays crucial role in energy conservation efforts in an organisation’s building.
Given below is the simple checklist for office energy conservation measures:
Office Energy Checklist:
The following is a simple checklist of energy conservation/efficiency measures to use at the office:
i. Replace incandescent lights with Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) or Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) for desk lamps and overhead lighting. Using CFLs instead of comparable incandescent bulbs can save about 50% on your lighting costs. CFLs use only one-fourth the energy and last up to 10 times longer.
ii. Switch off all unnecessary lights. Use dimmers, motion sensors or occupancy sensors to automatically turn off lighting when not in use to reduce energy use and costs.
iii. Turn off lights when you leave at night.
iv. Use natural lighting or day lighting. When feasible, turn off lights near windows.
v. Use task lighting; instead of brightly lighting an entire room, focus the light where you need it, to directly illuminate work areas.
vi. Use energy efficient products.
vii. Close or adjust window blinds to block direct sunlight to reduce cooling needs during warm months. Overhangs or exterior window covers are most effective to block sunlight on south facing windows.
viii. In the winter months, open blinds on south-facing windows during the day to allow sunlight to naturally heat your workspace. At night, close the blinds to reduce heat loss at night.
ix. Unplug equipment that drains energy when not in use (i.e., cell phone chargers, fans, coffeemakers, desktop printers, radios, etc.)
x. Turn off your computer and monitors at the end of the work day, if possible. If you leave your desk for an extended time, turn off your monitor.
xi. Turn off photocopier at night or purchase a new copier with low standby feature. Purchase printers and fax machines with power management features and itself.
xii. Have a qualified professional perform an energy audit.
xiii. Ensure HVAC ductwork is well insulated.
xiv. Insulate water heater, hot water piping and tanks to reduce heat loss.
xv. Install low-flow toilets and shower heads.
xvi. Install meters to track energy use.
xvii. Save paper: Photocopy only what you need. Always use the second side of paper, either by printing on both sides or using the blank side as scrap paper.
xviii. Collect your utility bills: Separate electricity and fuel bills. Target the largest energy consumer or the largest bill for energy conservation measures.
xix. Carpool, bike or use mass transit when commuting to work.
These above mentioned energy conservation measures when adopted can brought drastic reduction in the energy bill for the office.
Essay # 7. Energy Conservation Process/Activities for a Building:
In the previous section, we have seen the energy conservation needs and various strategies which can be applied to achieve energy savings in domestic sector. As we know in the domestic sector buildings are involved. Similar strategies or mechanism can be applied to commercial buildings such as organisation building or office building etc. There is a huge potential of energy savings in buildings of an organisation of office as we have discussed in energy saving measures for domestic sector earlier.
Now, the energy conservation methodologies or process/procedures for office or large buildings involves certain steps or sequence of activities which are essential for an effective energy conservation program for the buildings.
Some of these activities are:
1. Energy awareness campaign.
2. Facts and figures about energy waste.
3. Energy Profile:
(a) Use of energy profile to find energy waste.
(b) Understanding of energy profile.
4. Energy performance tracking.
5. Metering and monitoring etc.
1. Energy-Awareness Campaign:
If we want to save energy in an organisation, it’s important that everyone in the organisation become aware of the energy consumption that they are responsible for simple changes in people’s behaviour can quickly lead to significant energy savings but such changes will only happen if the people are aware of the energy consumption that they have the power to control.
With proper guidance and encouragement we can probably achieve huge cuts in organisation’s energy consumption. Everyone knows that saving energy is a good thing, but most people will only be motivated when we can demonstrate just how much energy they are wasting and just how much potential there is for them to improve.
Essentially you need to raise the energy awareness of all concerned in an organisation and for this; you need an energy-awareness campaign.
Now, typical preparation for an energy-awareness campaign might begin with a hunt for generic poster facts and figures and generic pictures of light switches, children hugging trees and polar bears on melting ice caps etc. But the problem with that approach is that most people have seen it all many times before and consequently they rarely stop to think about the underlying message.
And, more importantly, there’s actually a much better way to encourage the occupants of your building to take action to reduce their energy consumption.
The usual array of eliched poster facts and figures is not nearly as effective as targeted facts and figures that are specific to your organisation and that you easily come up with yourself.
Because the more you can make your energy-awareness message directly relevant to your building, the more that your building’s occupants will understand and appreciate it.
What exactly is Energy Awareness?
For a general definition, energy awareness is about understanding:
i. How much energy we use (both directly and indirectly),
ii. What we actually use it for,
iii. Where the energy comes from,
iv. The knock-on effects of us using it (e.g., environmental impact, depletion of resources), and
v. What we can do to reduce our energy consumption.
Also energy awareness is about understanding that:
i. All day we’re using energy in our building,
ii. Sometimes we do use a lot more energy than others,
iii. Simple changes in our habits can lead to big reductions in our building’s energy consumption and,
iv. Reducing our building’s energy consumption is important.
When your concept of energy awareness is closer to home, your campaign will naturally use messages, facts and figures that are closer to home too. Such messages, facts and figures will naturally resonate better with the people they’re intended for and this should have a significant impact on the savings that your campaign will achieve.
2. Using targeted facts and figures to bring your campaign closer to home:
The more you can relate your facts and figures to the day-to-day actions of your staff, the more likely they will be to take action. So, instead of using global statistics or natural statistics or city-level statistics in your campaign, use statistics that are directly relevant to energy consumption at your organisation.
Or, even better, use statistics that are directly relevant to energy consumption in your building.
Or, even better still, use statistics that are directly relevant to energy consumption on your floor of the building, or in your particular department.
How to Get the Figures you need to Make Your Staff Aware of Their Energy Consumption:
First, you need to build your own understanding of the building’s energy consumption how much energy it uses, what uses it and when. Armed with this knowledge, your task of raising energy awareness amongst staff will be much easier, as you will be able to highlight the wastage that they are responsible for and encourage them with evidence of the savings that they have made. For this you need good data.
First things first, unless you have good quality energy data, you will struggle to get really useful figures. Weekly or monthly meter readings will never be able to tell you how much energy your building is using at different times throughout each day and on the different days of the week – this level of detail really is necessary to calculate the focused personalized figures that can have the biggest impact on the energy awareness of your staff.
Hopefully you will already have access to interval data such as 15 minute or half-hours data – if not, you may want to look into getting smart metering fitted in your building.
The figures you need will come from analysis of your energy-consumption data. You might want to start by analysing the last years-worth of energy data, although, if you don’t have that much, just use what you can.
Figures to Highlight Energy Waste That You Want to Target:
The first thing to do is to look at your patterns of energy consumption to find energy waste. Once you have found energy waste, you should be able to quantify it in terms of how much energy is actually being wasted.
Start by estimating the wasted kWh and then multiple those figures by cost-per-kWh and kg- CO2-per-kWh figures to get the equivalent cost and CO2 figures or if you want to highlight waste as a percentage of some sort, simply look at the percentage differences between the kW or kWh figures from the appropriate time periods, buildings floors or departments that you want to compare.
Specific figures are generally best for raising energy awareness amongst staff. For example: “unnecessarily leaving equipment switched on when we go home is wasting kWh, pounds/dollars and kg CO2 on each night of the working week”. Use your imagination a little – may be look at energy consumption on weekends or during lunch hours. If your building operates continuously every day, investigate the energy consumption of different shifts.
All of this information will be contained within your detailed interval energy data. You just need to extract it and present it in an accessible format.
The more you can relate your figures to people’s day to day routines and activities, the greater the energy awareness you will be able to build and the greater the savings you will be able to achieve.
Energy Awareness Month Can Only Do So Much-Ongoing Effort Is Key:
For most people, if they’ve heard of ‘energy awareness’, it’s probably because of energy awareness week or energy awareness month. These observances are fantastic they’re putting energy awareness on people’s radars.
But it’s important to realize that only so much can be achieved in a day a week or a month, even when it comes around every year. The best results by far will be achieved if you treat your energy-awareness campaign as an ongoing process. It doesn’t have to be a full time job, but it will work a lot better if you make it part of your regular routine.
3. Use of Energy Profiles to Find Energy Waste:
The patterns (or profiles) of energy usage contained within interval energy data are great for discovering where a building is wasting energy. The fine-grained detail of interval data (such as half-hourly data) is key – daily, weekly or monthly data does not carry anywhere near as much information about how energy is being used.
Energy Profile Charts and How to Create Them:
Patterns of energy usage are often referred to as energy profiles.
Looking at energy profiles to find energy waste requires you to have some knowledge of the way that the building is operated. The key is to try to link the patterns of energy usage with the operations of the building.
Energy profiles show how much energy is being used at particular times-of- the-day and days-of-the-week – you want to be able to have a pretty good idea of what equipment is using that energy and why it needs to be using it at the times in question.
If the profiles show energy being used on times or days when you’re not aware of a good reason for energy to be used, that’s an indication that energy is possibly being wasted and something for you to investigate. To make sense of the energy profiles, you need to have good idea about what goes on in the building. Not everything that goes on in the building, just the things that relate to energy consumption. Every building is different, but the following factors are commonly relevant.
Occupancy – when people come and go:
i. What are the core occupancy hours (e.g., 9 to 5)? Are there multiple shifts (e.g., a day shift and a night shift)?
ii. Do people ever work on-site outside of the core occupancy hours? Do certain staff stay on after the official closing time? Does anyone come in on weekends or holidays?
HVAC – Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning:
i. What fuels are used for heating (e.g., gas, electricity)?
ii. Is there air conditioning? Is it used just for cooling in summer or is it used all year round (e.g., to keep equipment cool)?
iii. How is the heating controlled? Is it on a timer? When is it set to switch on and off? Are there different timer settings for weekends and holidays?
It’s important to be aware that most forms of gas heating also use electricity for fans, pumps and controls. For example, for a heating system consisting of a gas boiler connected to radiators, 5% or more of the total energy used will typically be electricity. This is particularly significant in cost terms because electricity usually costs several times more per kWh than gas.
Heating systems that involve ducted air will typically use a considerable amount of electricity (40% or so is not uncommon). Air-conditioning also usually consumes a lot of electricity.
It indicates that HVAC energy wastage can usually be identified from patterns of electricity consumption alone. But if you do have interval metering on your gas supply it’s well worth taking a closer look at your patterns of gas consumption too.
Lighting:
i. What controls when the lights come on and off? Are they automatically controlled (e.g., by a sensor that detects movement or light-levels) or are they turned on and off by staff?
ii. Do lights remain on when they’re not needed (e.g., when staff have gone home or when they’re on lunch-break)?
iii. Are there enough light-switches? For example, if one person is working late in a large open office, will they have to light the entire office just to light their desk?
Most buildings have different sets of lights for different purposes (e.g., a set of lights in the main office, a set of lights in the meeting rooms, a set of lights in the warehouse, a set of security lights outside). Your answers to the questions above may depend on which set of lights you’re talking about.
Office equipment:
i. Does staff turn their computers off when they leave work?
ii. Is there office equipment such as photocopiers/printers? Is it turned off when not in use?
(Whilst interval data is perfect for looking at larger patterns and trends, it won’t help you to figure out how much energy an individual computer or photocopier uses. For that task you’ll want to plug a simple watt meter between the equipment and the wall socket).
Other energy-consuming equipment/processes:
This could include anything from a printing room, to a fork-lift-truck charger, to specialist production-line equipment.
i. What processes or items of equipment exist that use energy?
ii. What sort of energy do they use (e.g., electricity or gas or both)?
iii. When do they use energy? When do the processes run? When is the equipment switched on and off?
It’s important to note that industrial processes can often dwarf all other types of energy consumption in a building. If a building has processes or items of equipment that consume a lot of energy, even small changes to the way that they’re operated can often make a big difference to the energy bill.
Poor Automatic Control (Especially HVAC):
Energy uses such as HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) should usually be closely tied to the occupancy hours. Considerable energy is wasted if a building is heated or cooled when nobody is using it or if an entire building is heated or cooled when only a couple of rooms are in use. So automatic control using timers to switch ON of OFF HVAC system depending upon the occupancy in particular location will be the solution.
4. Monthly Energy-Performance Tracking:
It’s useful to know whether a building is becoming more or less energy-efficient as time goes on.
Tracking such energy performance can help to:
i. Determine the effectiveness of any energy-saving changes that have been made.
ii. Guard against the re-introduction of wastage that has previously been eliminated.
iii. Check whether targets are being met.
Energy performance is commonly tracked on a monthly basis. However, effectively tracking month-on-month energy-performance is not as straight- forward as comparing one month’s total energy consumption with that of the next. Without knowledge of the correct techniques, it’s easy to deduce that energy performance has changed (for better or for worse), when in fact the differing figures are due to inaccuracies in the calculation process.
Rules for Monthly Energy-Performance Tracking:
a. Remember that Months are Very Different in Calendar Terms:
i. Months are different lengths – 31,30,29 or 28 days, depending on the month and whether or not it’s a leap year.
ii. Weeks don’t overlap nearly with months, so sometimes a month will have say 5 Sundays and 4 Mondays, but other times a month will have 4 Sundays and 5 Mondays.
These month-to-month differences make it more difficult to meaningfully compare the energy consumption of one month with that of another. However, you can effectively eliminate these differences by complying with the rules that follow:
b. Only compare the average kW between Months:
Because of the differences highlighted above, it’s not appropriate to compare the kWh used in one month with the kWh used in another. However, using the average kW (power) instead takes time out of the equation and gives figures that can be compared meaningfully.
This fact may be best explained by an example:
A 2 kW electric fans uses 1440 kWh if it’s on constantly for a 30 days month or 1488 kWh if it’s on constantly for a 31 day month. However, in both cases it has an average power of 2 kW.
c. Restrict the energy that contributes to each monthly average:
For effective monthly energy-performance tracking, it’s very important to analyze only, days and times with similar energy-sage characteristics.
So, for example, a business with a Monday to Friday working week might effectively track monthly energy performance for:
i. Working Weekdays:
Monday to Friday, specifically excluding any bank holidays or shutdown periods.
ii. Working Weekdays:
Occupied hours only as above, but with the times restricted to say 09:00 to 17:00.
iii. Weekends:
Saturdays and Sundays only.
Doing this ensures that the fact that week’s don’t overlap nearly with months doesn’t cause a problem when comparing one month’s energy performance with that of another.
d. Use energy data that contains the necessary level of detail:
Accrue month-month energy-performance tracking is rarely possible without the level of detail contained within interval energy data.
Weekly or monthly data simply doesn’t contain enough information to allow you to follow the previous rules. Without the fine-grained detail of interval energy data (such as half-hourly data), it’s impossible to accurately account for the energy-usage variations that go with building occupancy hours or the fact that calendar months are not the same.
e. Be aware of seasonal variations in energy consumption:
The energy consumption of energy uses such as heating or air-conditioning is usually highly seasonal. If such energy uses form a significant proportion of the energy consumption that you’re analysing, be aware that it won’t be possible to make a like-for-like comparison of the average kW values from one month to the next.
Seasonal variations do not render monthly results useless, however monthly figures are still of considerable value for viewing seasonal consumption patterns.
5. Meters and Monitors for Energy Consumption:
Measurement of parameters is an integral and important task in energy management. If you don’t measure how much energy you’re using, you won’t know how much you can save or how much you have already saved.
Here is the list of some important meters and monitors you can use as home energy saving devices:
i. Thermometers:
A thermometer is one of the simplest and most effective home energy saving devices. It can save energy by helping you measure the temperature of refrigerators and freezers and adjust to a more energy efficient (or health-safe) temperature. A thermometer can also help you find poorly insulated areas of your house.
ii. Electrical Meter and Gas Meter:
You thought your meter was just for measuring! In fact, it’s a great home energy saving device! Reading your electrical and gas meter on a regular basis and logging the results in a spreadsheet, is a great way to get a clearer picture of your energy usage.
When you start seeing daily readings fall, you know you’re doing something right in your energy saving efforts. When they spike back up, you know something new has been introduced – or some old energy wasting habit, once brought under control, is now costing you money again.
iii. Full-House Electricity Monitors:
Home energy saving devices such as the power cost monitor and The Energy Detective (TED) are electricity energy monitors for whole house energy usage, so you can watch usage change as various devices are switched on and off.
This can be helpful identifying the power usage of devices that can’t easily be measured by a plug-in electricity energy monitor, such as an electric stove, air- conditioning unit or a device where the plug is hard to get to (such as a refrigerator).
Full-house electricity energy monitors can also help you gauge the overall level of phantom load in your house – if you think everything is switched off and your fridge isn’t running, how many watts you are burning will tell you how much phantom load you have. But they do not give as clear an indication of how much a particular device uses.
iv. Infrared Heat Guns:
These devices can give you an instant temperature reading for any area you point and press the trigger at. A great way to get a quick handle on where heat is escaping from your house in winter or leaking in on hot summer days.
Using these meters and monitors, energy can be saved in the domestic sector. Here are some examples and areas where proper measurement of parameters using meters can save lot of energy.
(i) Save on Refrigeration:
If your refrigerator or freezer temperature is set too high, you can lose food to spoilage, which is a waste of the energy used to grow and transport the food to you. If the temperature is set too low, you’re using more electricity to cool your food than is necessary.
You should measure your refrigerator and freezer temperatures at least a couple of times a year – preferably more often if there are little hands in the house who might ‘accidentally on purpose’ turn the temperature controls.
To measure your refrigerator or freezer temperature, place the remote probe inside a jar 3/4 full of water. Leave the jar inside the refrigerator or freezer – at least one hour for the refrigerator, at least 6 hours for the freezer. Once this period has passed, reset the thermometer’s minimum and maximum temperatures.
Then wait a few more hours. Take a reading of the minimum and maximum and take the halfway point as the likely average temperature of the refrigerator or freezer. If that halfway point is colder than required, turn the temperature control dial up a notch. If it’s warmer than required, turn the control down a notch. Then reset the minimum and maximum, wait a few more hours and try again.
It’s best to avoid a lot of opening and closing of the refrigerator/freezer door when doing this, as you will distort the readings somewhat, but the jar 3/4 filled with water is designed to mask out sudden fluctuations caused by the door being opened. Make sure the jar is no more than 3/4 filled for the freezer test, so that the expanding water doesn’t crack the jar.
(ii) Save on Hot Water:
Use your thermometer as a home energy saving device to measure the hot water temperature coming out of your tap. Turn the hot water temperature down on your heater if the temperature is above 49C to 120F.
If you install an insulating blanket around your hot water heater, you can use the thermometer to assess how effective the blanket is. A large difference in temperature reading between the space between the heater and the insulating blanket (reading A) and the outside of the insulating blanket (reading B) will tell you that the blanket is really helping you save. A small difference means the blanket isn’t accomplishing much.
(iii) Find Insulation Gaps:
If you don’t mind taping your remote probe to the drywall or plaster of your outside walls and the glass on windows, you can measure the temperature of walls on a cold day when the heat is on, to determine where heat loss occurs most quickly. In a properly heated room, colder sections of wall usually indicate that there is less insulation behind them.
You can take readings on several windows and compare the results; lower readings on a particular window may mean that window lacks the energy efficient reflective coating of other windows in your house or if it is a double- or triple-pane window that is supposed to be filled with an insulating gas such as argon, that the insulating gas has leaked out.
Indirect Home Energy Saving Devices:
Some home energy saving devices were designed for another purpose, but indirectly they help you save energy. An obvious example of an indirect home energy saving device is a dimmer switch. Dimmer switches let you produce a softer lighting effect in a room – but when you dim the lights, you’re also using less energy. (Just don’t dim them so much that you forget the light is on – you could wind up leaving the lights on for many hours at a lower power setting, which is still worse than turning them off.)
Here are some indirect home energy saving devices that can put a dent in your energy bill:
Dimmer Switches:
Dimmer switches can be used for both lighting and fans. A dimmer that works with incandescent or haogen lights can also be used to lower the speed of a fan motor, if you want a little airflow out of a bathroom but not the full blast. For fluorescent lights, make sure you use either a dimmer that is designed for them or fluorescent lights that are designed to work with an incandescent dimmer.
Automatic timers:
When you put a device on a timer, you may save energy. An obvious example of an automatic timer as a home energy saving device is a pool pump, which uses a lot of energy and normally doesn’t need to be on all day long; by setting it on a timer so it’s only on a few hours each day, you’ll save a bundle. You can also put your computer accessories power bar on a timer and set it to turn off when you’re either asleep or normally out of the house.
Timer Switches:
Timer switches are light or fan switches that can either run for a range of preset times (30, 15, 10, 5 minutes for example) or have a dial that can be set to any range of minutes. These home energy saving devices are great for things like bathroom fans, which you may want to run for some time after you leave the bathroom, but which you don’t want to run all day.
This can save you not only the energy used to run the fan (which is pretty minimal) but the energy lost when you pump warm air outside in winter or cold air outside when the air-conditioning is on. The two switches shown at right (available from Amazon.com) can be used for motors such as bathroom exhaust fans (up to 20 amp), incandescent, halogen or fluorescent lights. A version with 60-30-20-10 is also available.
Motion- or Infrared-Activated Switches:
Motion- or infrared-activated switches are light switches that sense movement or the body heat of a person entering a room and turn the current on when you pass the sensor, then turn it off after the movement or heat is no longer detected. These can be home energy saving devices, if they are used, for example, to prevent a light from being left on.
If you want the convenience of being able to switch a light on, but having the light turn off automatically if you forget to switch it off, try a screw-in motion-sensor switch. This works well for a lamp (provided it has a tall enough shade) or for a bare ceiling fixture, such as in a laundry room, furnace room or workroom.
Remember though that the motion sensor does draw a small current continuously, so if it’s a room you only go in a few times a year, adding the sensor might actually increase the amount of electricity the light uses over its life.
Power Bars:
Power bars can be great home energy saving devices if you’re disciplined about turning them off when the devices attached to them are not in use. Computers and accessories can use a fair bit of power, a power bar with built-in surge protection not only protects your equipment from damaging power spikes, but also cuts all power to the devices when you turn it off. Smart power bars, which detect when attached devices are in standby or phantom load mode, are examples of direct home energy saving devices.
Home Automation Systems:
Home automation systems are designed for people who like gadgets and want complete control of their home through a console, a program running on their PC or even remotely by telephone.
Direct Home Energy Saving Devices:
Here are some home energy saving devices that are specifically designed to save you energy and that work well for that purpose:
i. Programmable thermostats.
ii. Standby-detection devices, which cut power to a device when it enters standby.
iii. Thermally controlled switches that turn power on or off based on a temperature range.
iv. Air-conditioner energy saving devices.
Programmable Thermostats:
We can save lot of energy costs for every degree Fahrenheit that you turn down the heat or turn up the air-conditioning, for an 8 hour period each day.
In other words, if you normally keep your house at 68F, but you change your habits and start turning the temperature down to 61F from 11 am to 7 am every day, you can cut your heating costs by 7% (68 – 61 = 7). If you do the same for air conditioning and raise the night-time temperature for 8 hours from 78F to 82F (a 4 degree spread) you could save 4% on your air-conditioning costs.
Programmable thermostats are great home energy saving devices. They give you this level for savings with just a little instruction from you. Most modern thermostats allow you to program each day individually with up to four temperature shifts, sometimes independent.
To other devices are standby savers and thermal electrical switches which are useful in energy savings.
Air-Conditioner Energy Saving Devices:
In air-conditioners, controller can be incorporated which keep track of thermodynamic saturation in cooling coils and turn the compressor off at saturation (the point at which any further cooling of the coils will not affect the temperature change in the air being blown over the coils).
Essay # 8. Thermal Energy Conservation Opportunities in Buildings:
Conservation of thermal energy is a means to reduce consumption of heat sources. The energy consumption can broadly distributed among four main sectors such as industrial, building (residential/ commercial), transportation and agricultural sectors. The building sector consumes the major part of energy.
Energy consumption rate has gradually increased due to urbanization, industrial growth and population growth. Population growth means contracting more buildings, which increases energy expenditure. The heat losses in buildings generally occur through external walls, ceiling, floor, windows and air infiltration. Heat loss through the building envelope can be controlled in many different ways i.e. orientation, types of building and optimum insulation thickness.
Energy saving in different type of building walls can be done by using optimum insulation thickness with suitable insulation material. The energy saving is maintained by reducing the energy consumption in buildings. Heat losses from building envelope have a major share in waste of energy.
So it is essential to save the energy by using optimum insulation thickness. Both excessive and deficient insulation is not desirable economically. For economical analysis, the value of optimum insulation thickness was calculated by life cycle cost analysis (LCCA). Insulation of the building is an important technology for energy saving.
The optimum insulation thickness is that value at which the cost is minimum, and it includes the cost of insulation material and cost of energy consumption over the life time of the building. The energy saving is maximum at optimum insulation thickness.
Energy saving becomes more beneficial in that regions where costly fuel is used. The energy saving per unit wall area is defined as the difference between the energy need of un-insulated and insulated situations.
The insulation thickness and energy savings can be calculated by using Life-cycle cost analysis over life time of 10 years of the building. Using proper insulation in building is most effective way of energy saving in building walls. Brick, Concrete and Stone walls are the mostly used types of walls in building construction in India. There are many methods available to conserve warm or cool air in buildings.
Some of these are:
i. Having a properly maintained heating/cooling system,
ii. Using adequate insulation,
iii. Using proper design of building,
iv. Maximizing the use of day light by proper designing,
v. Using multiple pane windows,
vi. Sealing buildings so that warm/cool air does not enter/escape so easily,
vii. Letting sunlight come in or block sunlight depending on the season,
viii. Maintaining a comfortable humidity level, and
ix. Optimizing thermostat levels so the temperature is appropriate at night, weekends, etc. or whenever it is possible to have a temperature setting that consumes less energy.
Thermal conservation applies also to other mediums. Conserving hot or cold liquids is another typical opportunity. Processing plants, hot water heating systems, and swimming pools are examples where thermal conservation methods can applied.
Some other energy saving strategies includes using thermal storage to optimize daytime/night time energy use. In certain situations heat exchangers are used for heat recovery if an exhaust source is available.
Essay # 9. Energy Conservation at Macro Level:
The approach for energy conservation at macro level includes:
(a) Capacity utilization.
(b) Fine tuning.
(c) Technology upgradation.
The main target of this approach is to reduce specific energy consumption.
Macro Level Methodology:
The macro level methodology for the energy conservation effort starts with identifying the energy input to a system.
The energy input can be given as:
Energy input = Theoretical requirement + Unavoidable losses + Avoidable losses
Macro level methodology focus should be:
(a) To concentrate on avoidable losses.
(b) Quantify the losses.
(c) Identify ways and means for reduction of losses.
(d) Implementation.
This macro level approach should be applied at the design stage, e.g., in case of new motor installation in an industrial process, use of energy efficient motors can greatly reduce the losses as compared to standard motor.