Sustainable Energy Consumption

Journal of Ecological Society

Energy use has a significant impact on the environment, economy, and society. The correlation between increased energy use and development has led to excessive energy use and waste. Energy use leads to a vicious circle of increasing natural resource consumption and waste. Much of the energy used in energy production goes towards the manufacturing and installation of energy infrastructure and creates pollution and habitat destruction. A significant amount of energy is wasted in the conversion, transmission, and distribution process. The challenge is to minimize energy losses and waste by using the right form of energy for the right application and understanding the outcome of energy use.

2014

Energy consumption inconspicuously bridges nature and culture. Modern societies and cultures depend on intensive energy use from the extraction of natural resources. In fact, the industrialization process required large amounts of energy, but main sources such as oil and coal, have been gradually depleted and found to be heavily polluting the environment. Despite their environmental impacts, these resources have provided cheap and abundant power to fuel technological progress and economic growth. (See Agustoni and Maretti [2012] for a good historical summary of the relations between energy production and usages.)

SpringerBriefs in environment, security, development and peace, 2016

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.

Electronic Green Journal, 2004

Electronic Green Journal, 2006

BIO Web of Conferences, 2024

Modern economies are centered on electricity, which is also contributing to an increasing amount of energy services. As a result of increased household incomes, electrification of transport and rising demand for digital connected devices and air conditioning, there will be a rise in the need for energy. Residential electricity consumption in India has tripled over the past few decades with houses having access to uninterrupted power supply. This study is conducted in order to understand the determinants of electricity consumption such as income, family size, stock of electrical appliances, size of dwellings and their influence on consumer's electricity consumption. It also seeks to examine if the consumers are willing to reduce their electricity consumption and are interested in shifting to renewable energy resources considering the costs involved in shifting to more sustainable energies. Due to the nature of power, which is invisible from the moment it was discovered, as well as consumer attitudes and behavior, saving electricity may appear to be a challenging undertaking. However, if the consumer acquires a basic understanding of what electricity is, how it is utilized, and, more significantly, how energy is wasted, the problem might become very simple. This will make consumers more aware of wasteful electricity use and perhaps encourage them to modify their daily consumption of electricity.

2020

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon-dioxide emissions, has been an agenda adopted by organizations, governments, businesses and citizens alike all over the world over the last few decades. Energy efficiency, energy conservation and renewable or alternative energy sources to lower in greenhouse gas emissions has been the most popular approach taken by various organizations, governments and individuals to reduce their carbon footprint. Being energy efficient and reducing energy consumption has not only started making business sense but increases reliability and availability of infrastructure. Introducing an environmentally friendly energy source provides a certain level of energy security by reducing dependence on depleting fossil fuel energy sources and purely by diversifying the approach of diversity in the utilization of energy sources (energy mix). However, when looking at the penetration of energy efficiency into the world’s built environment and the much needed ...

SPIE Professional, 2012

The UN Secretary General established the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative in order to guide and support efforts to achieve universal access to modern energy, rapidly increase energy efficiency, and expand the use of renewable energies. The High-level Group, which leads the Initiative, formed Task Forces involving prominent energy leaders and experts from business, government, academia and civil society worldwide. The goal of the Task Forces is to inform the implementation of the Initiative by identifying challenges and opportunities for achieving its objectives. This report contains the findings of the Task Force Two dedicated to energy efficiency and renewable energy objectives. It convincingly shows that doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvements and doubling the share of energy from renewable sources by 2030 is challenging but feasible if sufficient actions are implemented. Strong and well-informed government policies as well as extensive private investment should focus on "high impact areas" identified by Task Force Two. We would like to thank the authors and the members of Task Force Two for their dedicated work and wish the readers to incorporate the findings and the recommendations of the report into their policy, commercial, research, educational or other work, thus making a contribution toward a sustainable energy future.

Most commentators expect improved energy efficiency and reduced energy demand to provide the dominant contribution to tackling global climate change. But at the global level, the correlation between increased wealth and increased energy consumption is very strong and the impact of policies to reduce energy demand is both limited and contested. Different academic disciplines approach energy demand reduction in different ways: emphasising some mechanisms and neglecting others, being more or less optimistic about the potential for reducing energy demand and providing insights that are more or less useful for policymakers. This article provides an overview of the main issues and challenges associated with energy demand reduction, summarises how this challenge is 'framed' by key academic disciplines, indicates how these can provide complementary insights for policymakers and argues that a 'socio-technical' perspective can provide a deeper understanding of the nature of this challenge and the processes through which it can be achieved. The article integrates ideas from the natural sciences, economics, psychology, innovation studies and sociology but does not give equal weight to each. It argues that reducing energy demand will prove more difficult than is commonly assumed and current approaches will be insufficient to deliver the transformation required.