Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
3
3
From Wasting Energy to
Saving Energy and Reducing
Carbon Dioxide
In modern industrial societies energy is still available at relatively moderate prices
and without any restrictions. Whenever we want it, we can consume as much energy
as we like. However, the general increase in energy prices in recent years has
brought about a new awareness of the value of energy. High energy consumption
is making more and more of an impact on our fi nances. Yet the equation is very
simple: saving energy also means saving money. But the concept of saving energy
is not totally new.
Until the 1970s it was accepted that real economic growth and increasing pro-
sperity would also require the use of more energy. The concept of saving energy
developed when the oil crisis in the 1970s led to an explosion in oil prices and put
a brake on growth. Numerous tips, appeals and stickers in the 1980s were aimed
at encouraging citizens to save energy. In any event, the trend towards stopping
energy waste was successful at the time. As prices started dropping again in the
1990s, the original goal was largely ignored and energy was again thoughtlessly
wasted.
3.1 Less Effi cient - Energy Use and Waste Today
High energy consumption is not a necessary prerequisite for maintaining our pros-
perity and living standard. In fact, energy use is coupled with enormous losses.
Around 35% of the primary energy used is already lost in the energy sector through
power plant waste heat or during transport even before it reaches the consumer.
Various devices and machines then produce the desired usefulness, such as light,
heat, and driving power for machines and vehicles. This too leads to high losses.
