Energy Saving News
Energy Efficiency Means A Hot Bath & a Cold Beer
"Nobody really wants to buy electricity, but they sure want a hot bath and cold beer.
"Efficiency is about wasting less to make sure that you have the hot bath and the cold beer."
These words were spoken by Harvey Sachs, of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, during CERAWeek in Houston and was his way of explaining energy efficiency in everyday terms.
Yesterday, March 11, IHS CERA and the World Economic Forum (WEF) released a report, Energy Vision 2010: Towards a More Energy Efficient World, stressing that greatly expanding energy efficiency is one of the most important tools to ensure ample long-term energy supply.
Global energy expert Daniel Yergin, in a statement about the report, bemoaned that energy efficiency "is often associated with sacrifice."
In reality, it "really means getting more of the things we want. ... Efficiency means that consumers use less energy while preserving their lifestyles or even enhancing them," he said.
With population growth and expanding economies in developing countries, such as India, China and Brazil, there is expected to be a rapidly rising demand for energy over the next 20 years.
Much of this mushrooming demand has been earmarked to be met by boosting oil and natural gas production, building new power plants and further developing renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biofuels.
But the quickest and most cost-efficient means of ensuring sufficient supply, as well as reducing carbon-dioxide emissions, is to simply waste and consume less, said Yergin.
Energy efficiency not only saves money, but also represents "a step toward real sustainability ... coming to terms with a finite earth," he said.
Roberto Bocca, senior director and head of energy at WEF added: “Consumers do not always have the information that they need to make informed decisions about investment grade efficiency opportunities.
“Consumer inertia—the preference for the status quo and familiar technologies—can also tilt consumers against energy efficient choices,” he added.
The report concludes that knowledge about the nature of investment grade energy efficiency, consumer behavior and technological innovation allows companies and policymakers to create the distinctive infrastructure that is essential to reaching energy efficiency goals.
Friday 12th March 2010
