Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
reduce capital expenses for energy infrastructure [1-11]. For most developing
countries, the foreign exchange needed to finance energy sector expansion is
a significant drain on reserves. Additionally, energy efficiency reduces local
environmental impacts, such as water and air pollution from power plants,
and mitigates greenhouse gas emissions. Standards and labelling pro-
grammes provide enormous energy-saving potential that can direct devel-
oping countries toward sustainable energy use. Improved end-use efficiency
from standards and labelling programmes can contribute significantly to
developing economies. The main benefits are
1. Less need to build new power plants: The cost of saving 1 kWh of
energy through energy efficiency programmes has proven much
less expensive than producing 1 kWh of energy by building a new
power plant.
2. Reduced greenhouse gas emissions: Less energy production means
less carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. This contributes to
environmental benefits such as slowing down environmental pollu-
tion and global warming and preserving natural resources and the
ecosystem.
3. Improved competitiveness for local manufacturers: Local companies
that upgrade the efficiency of their products can compete better with
multinational companies, especially with lower production costs.
4. Higher consumer disposable income: Lower spending on electric
bills increases consumer purchasing power for other products,
which helps local businesses.
5. Increased cash flow in the local economy: With higher dispos-
able income, consumers are more willing to spend, thus injecting
money into the local economy.
6. Improved trade balance: Decrease in energy demand will reduce
the consumption of indigenous resources (i.e. natural gas and oil),
allowing more to be exported (for Lebanon, less to be imported).
Increased export earnings (or less import spending) help alleviate
trade deficits of Arabian countries.
7. Avoid future energy deficit as power demand rises: Energy export-
ing countries have become net importers due to dramatic increases
in electricity demand. Energy efficiency programmes can help slow
down the demand and prevent energy deficit in the future.
7.1.3 The Holistic Approach: Think 'Pyramids'
The assessment of the overall energy performance of a building, including
the technical building systems, comprises a number of successive steps,
which can be schematically visualised as a pyramid (Figure 7.1) [11].
