Energy efficiency is often cheaper to implement than renewable power generation.
We could be saving trillions of dollars
Posted in General by NetZero USA
Isn’t it ironic that many of us in the industry refer to energy efficiency as the other way to reduce power costs? The irony comes from the fact that energy efficiency opportunities are in our faces every day, and also that these measures are often cheaper to implement than is renewable power generation, although every other day we here about a new 1,000+ solar panel farm.
A recent article posted on New York Times entitled “Energy Efficiency May Be The Key To Saving Trillions” discussed the idea of how energy efficiency may in fact be more important than energy production from renewable power sources:
Worldwide, governments, companies and families could be saving trillions of dollars by improving efficiency with cars that go farther on less fuel and improved appliances, light bulbs and factories, experts say.
It’s logical, because we simply waste so much. Some people call energy efficiency low-hanging fruit. I would even say energy efficiency is fruit lying on the ground. We only need to bend over and pick it up.Harry Verhaar, Chairman of the European Alliance to Save Energy
Indeed, solar and wind energy take the limelight far more often than lighting retrofits even though efficiency improvements cost far less and pay for themselves much faster (“low-hanging fruit” is a buzzword often thrown around in the lighting retrofit industry).
So, if this is true, why is it that efficiency is so often overshadowed by renewable forms of power generation?
After all, energy efficiency can be achieved in much smaller steps,for example by retrofitting of every single 40 watt T12 fluorescent light bulb, millions of which are currently in use today, while solar power generation requires building a massive solar power farm using hundreds of thousands of dollars:
Through energy efficient improvements most companies can cut energy costs by between 10 percent and 20 percent with measures that pay for themselves within three years. Some changes, like resetting heating systems and getting employees to turn off lights, bring big savings almost for free.
But, energy efficiency is one of these funny things: If it is so attractive financially, why aren’t people doing it?
From a business standpoint, energy efficient lighting improvements are the same as increasing sales:
Another less discussed topic is that energy efficient lighting retrofits are just as good for the environment as is the power produced from a hillside full of wind turbines or solar panels:
Net Zero USA Light Bulb Energy efficiency is the only energy that you could say is for free, where you get your money back, because it’s energy that you simply don’t use.