Energy efficiency is a bigger and cheaper resource than currently assumed



October 3, 2018

Our capacity for energy efficiency is much greater than climate models assume, according to an editorial published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research Letters.

Energy expert Amory Lovins, co-founder and chief scientist of Rocky Mountain Institute, says that the potential for energy efficiency has been massively understated, and its cost overstated, by analysing individual components and systems rather than whole buildings, vehicles and factories. This overlooks valuable ways to help the parts work together to save more energy at lower cost.

Current thinking on climate change suggests that we need to use energy at least 3% more productively each year in order to stay below 2 degrees of global warming. Lovins argues that, in both newbuild and retrofit applications, the world's ability to sustain such rapid savings is far greater than previously thought.

While the cost of renewable energy has fallen significantly in the past decade, energy efficiency had been assumed to cost more as the cheapest methods are exhausted. However, this widespread assumption was based on economic theory not engineering practice.

"In the same way that no one expected the cost of solar and wind to plummet, driving faster adoption that cuts their cost further," Lovins said, "we have overlooked the ability of modern energy efficiency to do the same thing."

The paper, titled 'How Big Is the Energy Efficiency Resource?', highlights the importance of "integrative design" in achieving the full potential for saving energy, emissions and money.

"Integrative design makes bigger savings cost less because it doesn't add stuff; it leaves stuff out," Lovins explained. "It designs energy-using systems not as isolated components but as a whole, so the parts work together to create bigger savings than the sum of the parts."

Lovins claims that the impact of energy savings is currently three times that of renewables.

"Both are vital; both reinforce each other; but it is the sum of both parts that matters for climate. Renewables, however, get nearly all the headlines, because unused energy is invisible."

To find out more about energy management solution, visit this site http://www.konsys-international.com/energy-management-software-case-studies





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Will COVID-19 accelerate the shift to Industry 4.0?

Image
The current global health crisis is also a business and economic crisis and will change the way we work, with a greater focus on technology. That's according to Nigel Green, CEO of financial advisory firm deVere Group, who says that a recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to a "fundamental shift" in how we live, do business and invest. In particular, Green expects to see an acceleration in the adoption and development of Industry 4.0, or the fourth industrial revolution, reports technology and business news provider Verdict. "The coronavirus outbreak can be expected to speed up the so-called fourth revolution, which is fuelled by new technologies such as artificial intelligence and mobile supercomputing," he said. The physical distancing and self-isolation measures currently in place around the world are likely to help reinforce the adoption of digital technologies, Green added. "Enforced social distancing will highligh
Read more

Manufacturers turn to automation and smart tech as coronavirus hits production

Image
The coronavirus pandemic is likely to hasten the rollout of automation and smart technology in the manufacturing industry. Government rules aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19 have kept employees at home and disrupted supply chains. As a result, manufacturers around the world have been forced to chose their factories and radically rethink how they operate.   In a recent article for CNBC.com, Rebecca Fannin looked at how the virus has impacted manufacturers based in China, the first country to be hit by the virus. The biggest impact was seen in sectors with large assembly operations such as auto manufacturers and electronic component makers. Resuming production "has been a struggle" at many factories, but highly automated plants such as Cadillac's new Shanghai facility had a head start, Fannin explained.  The Cadillac factory, opened in 2016, has 386 robots and two fully automated production lines that do welding and painting.   One clear, long-term imp
Read more

Crisis presents opportunity for manufacturers to reassess their digitalisation

Image
A crisis is a defining moment, and it can take a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic for people -- and companies -- to find the courage to make significant changes to the way they do things. In the manufacturing industry, the pandemic represents an opportunity for firms to reassess their digital strategy, writes Paul Hogendoorn in an article for Manufacturing Automation. The current crisis is of sufficient magnitude that the trajectories of many businesses will be altered, Hogendoorn explains. How they fare will be to a large extent affected by the decisions and choices they make. Hogendoorn goes on to discuss the three most common conversations he had with manufacturers before the pandemic struck: - the challenge of digitising their work flow; - gaining visibility into their production condition in real time; and - the need to make their factories and jobs more attractive to a younger work force. When it comes to attracting the next generation into manufacturing, we need t
Read more