Energy efficiency activities seek to mitigate climate change by reducing the energy inputs required for the same level of energy output or demand. This includes activities that increase the efficiency of energy production, transportation and energy use. Some examples of each include:
Energy efficiency technologies meet our energy requirements whilst using less energy input. Less valuable natural resource input is required for the same level of output. Across our energy system, significant amounts of energy is lost in generation, transmission and the use of energy.
Generation technologies transform energy from one form to another form that is useful for man. This includes electricity, heating and transport.
Electricity generation technologies take a natural source of energy (e.g. gas) and convert this natural source into electrical energy. This typically uses combustion to produce heat captured in a steam or gas turbine or other type of turbine (e.g. wind or hydro), an engine or the chemistry of particular materials such as solar panels. All of these processes have an efficiency loss, i.e. some of the original energy input in, for example, the natural gas is lost as heat or noise energy in the process of conversion to electrical energy. New technologies enable more efficient ways of converting this energy, to minimise any energy lost in the conversion process.
The production of heat for heating buildings and in cooking involves the conversion of typically gas or electrical energy to heat energy. In the UK, this occurs in a decentralised way - each home typically has its own boiler or heating system. Heat generated at larger scales, in particular where heat is generated as a bi-product of electricity generation (above), can be produced and used significantly more efficiently than through a decentralised approach. Other factors, such as building insulation and smart metering systems, optimise the use of energy.
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A more efficient use of energy is often one of the simplest and lowest cost ways of reducing energy consumption. A number of technologies exist that are well proven and are more energy efficient and lower cost than their alternatives. A number of these are described below.
Modern lighting technologies such as LED lights are much more efficient converters of energy from electrical energy to light energy. This means less energy input is required for the same energy output, as well as bulbs lasting longer and requiring less frequent replacement.
UK homes account for approximately a quarter of UK greenhouse gas emissions. Older housing stock is not as energy efficient as newer housing developments, in particular in relation to heating. Improvements such as insulation (solid wall, cavity wall or loft), draught proofing, double glazing and more efficient boilers can improve the overall energy efficiency of homes. Improved energy efficiency means less energy is consumed, saving greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production and transmission of such energy.
Voltage optimisation is a technology that reduces or alters the incoming voltage to a building to better align the incoming electrical supply with the specification that electrical applications are designed to operate at, increasing the efficiency of those applications. In the UK, this is typically 230 volts.
Advances in engine technologies mean that smaller engines can deliver a power output equivalent to older, larger, engines. This results in a more efficient use of fuel, and less greenhouse gas emissions per mile. In addition, electric vehicles will be recharged from electricity generated centrally on the national grid. This central generation is typically more efficient than generation in an internal combustion engine. More information about electric vehicles can be found at this link
