Energy Efficient Technologies - Essay Example

? Energy Efficient Technologies of the Institute Appears Here Appears Here Table of Contents Introduction 2 Discussion 3 Conclusion 6 References 7 Introduction Energy efficiency refers to actions taken to minimize the energy consumption or avoid losses on energy. Energy efficiency is a measure of the energy required to achieve a specified benefit. An operation is then efficiently when a particular benefit is achieved with minimum energy consumption. Improving energy efficiency in the economy will lead to energy savings. Rising energy prices makes it necessary for business entities and household consumers to adopt efficiency in energy consumption (Blair, John and Gowan, 1993). Energy efficiency refers to both improvement in technology and changes in behavior. The paper evaluates whether current developments in energy-efficient technologies will be able to address concerns over natural resources depletion and if there is a need to adopt different routes for attainment of these objectives. Discussion Several methods of increasing energy efficiency are being implemented in developed countries of the world. The potential of these methods, according to Kounetas and Tsekouras (2010) is to reduce consumption of fossil fuels through improved energy efficiency in buildings, transport and industrial processes is 17 to 33%. Key innovations in energy efficient technologies which can be adopted on wide scale are discussed below: Energy Efficiency in Industry many industrial processes require large amounts of heat and mechanical energy, which is mostly generated by fuel and electricity. In addition, some industries produce fuel from waste. Since the industrial processes are so varied, there are numerous ways to increase efficiency. They are often based on the specific technologies and processes of each industrial plant. There are some typical processes and energy services, which are found in the industry very often (Kounetas and Tsekouras, 2010). Conventional electricity generation by steam power plants, which escapes from the heat produced as waste heat is typically at least 30% to 60% efficient at best. Efficiency of this industrial process has been improved in recent years through combined utilization of heat and power, are used both for heat and electricity, it uses up to 90% of the energy. Improved boiler and burner can operate at higher temperatures and burn less fuel at the same time. This makes them more efficient at lower pollutant emissions. Another method adopted to increase efficiency is the use of porous burners and suitable catalysts (Mulder, 2005). These reduce combustion temperature resulting in lesser formation of nitrogen oxides and lower enthalpies consumed through which considerable amount of heat energy can be saved that increases energy efficiency. In industrial processes, many electric motors run at constant speed. Adoption of energy efficient technology in this process involves installation of an electronic speed controller to adapt energy output of the motor to the load. This can help achieve energy savings of 3% to 60% depending on the type of engine use (Thiruchelvam, Kumar and Visvanathan, 2003). Industrial processes also use compressors to create compressed air for production of tools, sand blasters and sprayers. The energy efficiency of this technology is being improved by 20 to 50% through the installation of speed controller and sealing of leaks through of preventive maintenance (Mulder, 2005). Automation one of the major utilization of energy at global level is for transportation through automobiles. Energy efficient technology is being adopted in this sector of energy consumption as well. This energy efficient technology replaces the usual internal combustion engine vehicles to create environmentally friendly electric-car (Blair, John and Gowan, 1993). These electric-cars can be recharged at special charging stations. Such an approach to energy usage considerably solves the problem of a low efficiency of hydrocarbon engine by replacing it with a much more efficient engine that runs on electricity. This technological improvement is still in nascent stages and far from commercial adoption because batteries which store electricity for these automobiles were very expensive to produce, and need to recharge or replaced at a considerably high frequency. Some researchers have also questioned the improvement of the environment given the fact that majority of vehicles are dependent on the production of cells which are associated with the use of large amounts of heavy metals such as lead and cadmium (Kounetas and Tsekouras, 2010). The environmental costs of these metals are high. As regards to the potential of this technological improvement, it is believed by experts that electric vehicles are likely to be used only for specific tasks, such as the organization of commercial traffic in urban centers. A more appropriate way to evaluate the promising future of this energy efficient technology is to divide electric-cars into their different types. The first type of electric cars refers to a simple battery electric vehicle. The second form of electric cars is a Hybrid Electric Vehicle, in which an internal combustion engine drives a generator that produces electricity to drive the wheels. Third type of electric-car comprises of vehicles in which electricity is obtained by using a fuel cell. Geller and McGaraghan (1998) consider these third type of electric cars - Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle – as a promising energy efficient technology and estimate that over the next half century, Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles will gradually become the standard type of car. Household Technologies one of the largest consumption of energy at global level is consumption of energy for household appliances. Various technological improvements are being made to make these appliances energy efficient, however, these improvements can best be termed as incremental and nominal, rather than a breakthrough (Gellings, Faruqui and Seiden, 1991). One of the most promising forms of energy efficiency in household appliances is harnessing the power of steam for energy efficient cooking. Novel forms of ovens which cook food through steam are equipped with featured steaming which not only keep food tasty, but consumes far less energy than traditional open fire method of cooking in which majority of heat is wasted to the surroundings. Steaming food is more energy efficient than many other methods, and maintains higher nutrient content (Geller and McGaraghan, 1998). The self-cleaning steam of these cooking systems use less energy than conventional heat methods, requiring only 25 minutes to clean, and minimal heat is dissipated to the surrounding, which means that consumption of energy for cooling of kitchen is also saved. The potential of this technological change is not as promising as the above too, since adoption rate of households for this technology is expected to be slow. Energy Efficiency in Structures creation of energy efficiency technologies in the areas of creation of residential/commercial buildings and other structures has been termed most promising of all others. Perhaps greatest potential of energy efficiency lies in thermal resistances of structures since a large percentage of energy consumption is developed world is cooling or heating of buildings. Latest innovations in improving the thermal resistance of walls and roofs of buildings complex is designed to achieve the best performance, according to Thiruchelvam, Kumar and Visvanathan (2003). It may be necessary to perform a simulation to get the best choice, given the complexity of the energy consumption of large office buildings. Minimization or elimination of thermal bridging is achieved by providing non-conductive fasteners or adding a thermal barrier, as an insulating coating. Continuous air barrier are created to envelop the building envelope to resist wind or pressurization without moving and have a useful life as long as that of the building. Windows are a key component of building energy performance. They play a significant role in heat loss, solar gain, natural lighting and visual access to the outside. Improvements are made in recent years in window design which make them most conducive to repair and maintain them for preventing air from leaking around the edges or to modify the transmission of solar radiation by the addition of reflective sheeting (Thiruchelvam, Kumar and Visvanathan, 2003). Improved choice of glazing and frames in recent years shall be governed by the considerations of heat loss and solar gain. The overall coefficient of heat transmission of a window unit depends on the effects of the weighted center of the glazing, the periphery of the glazing, where the spacer is more permeable to heat, and the type of frame. Each one of these factors has been optimized in recent years resulting in energy savings of around 40% according to some studies (Mulder, 2005). In addition, admission of the daylight and integration of daylight into the strategy can reduce lighting energy costs of operating the building. Specific high-performance glazing, whose thermal resistance is based on a comprehensive study of the energy consumption of the building, has also been used successfully in supplementing the above mentioned 40% saving in heating and lighting expenses. Therefore, the potential of energy efficient technologies in construction of structures is highly promising, since their adoption rate at commercial level is also high. According to, Kounetas and Tsekouras (2010) the reason for swift adoption of these technologies is the direct impact of cost saving on the adopter. Conclusion The paper evaluated whether current developments in energy-efficient technologies will be able to address concerns over natural resources depletion. Evaluation of relevant research evidence showed that in recent years, saving consumption of energy has become an important goal at the global level. It is concluded that sizeable improvements in energy efficient technologies is being made in the areas of transportation, industrial usage of energy and formation of structures. The rate of adoption of these technologies is significantly high. Therefore, it is concluded that energy efficiency can address concerns from the fear of resource depletion and global warming. References Blair, P., John, L. and Gowan, E. (1993) Energy Efficiency: Challenges and Trends for Electric Utilities, New York: DIANE Publishing. Geller, H. and McGaraghan, S. (1998) 'Successful government-industry partnership: the US Department of Energy's role in advancing energy-efficient technologies', Energy Policy, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 167-177. Gellings, C., Faruqui, A. and Seiden, K. (1991) 'Potential energy savings from efficient electric technologies', Energy Policy, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 217-230. Hasatani, M. (1997) 'Highly efficient conversion technologies for energy utilization', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 38, no. 10, pp. 931-940. Kounetas, K. and Tsekouras, K. (2010) 'Are the Energy Efficiency Technologies efficient?', Economic Modelling, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 274-283. Mulder, P. (2005) The economics of technology diffusion and energy efficiency, Ohio: Edward Elgar Publishing. Thiruchelvam, M., Kumar, S. and Visvanathan, C. (2003) 'Policy options to promote energy efficient and environmentally sound technologies in small- and medium-scale industries', Energy Policy, vol. 31, no. 10, pp. 977-987. Read More