Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Reduction of energy
consumption in the building
industry
It is quite possible to reduce drastically the
amount of energy consumed in building. The
following steps could achieve a great deal:
Energy saving during the manufacturing
process
Decentralized production
This requires less transport and is especially
appropriate when local materials are being
processed (see Figure 1.6).
Use of highly efficient sources of energy
Electricity produced from oil, coal and
nuclear power achieves only 25-30 per cent
of the potential energy available. The degree
of efficiency is thereby 0.25-0.3, and the rest
is lost. Hydro-electricity has an efficiency
coefficient of 0.6, which is not particularly
impressive either. In many cases it would be
better to avoid electricity and use sources of
energy within production that use direct
mechanical or intensive heat energy - rota-
tional power is an example. The source of
energy must have a clear relationship with
the manufacturing process used. This princi-
ple can be determined in terms of levels of
energy quality (see Table 1.2).
Figure 1.6: Local industries create less need for transport.
Source: Plum 1977
Use of local sources of energy
The shorter the distance between the power
station and the user, the smaller the amount of energy lost in the network/distri-
bution line. Over larger distances the loss can be as great as 15 per cent. Small local
power stations have shown definite economical advantages over recent years.
Other energy saving changes
It is possible to reduce energy consumption in certain industrial processes by
using efficient heat recovery and improved production techniques. Cement
