Transcript United Nations Foundations on Improving Energy Efficiency

United Nations Foundations on Improving Energy Efficiency
•Reducing the amount of energy the world wastes is the first and best step toward fighting
global warming.
•Realizing the Potential of Energy Efficiency (UN report) found that, if extended to other
major, energy-using countries, achieving 2.5% efficiency/year would contribute to holding
carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere to a manageable level for the rest of the century
•China set a goal that would result in 4% annual improvements in energy efficiency
•2014 State of the Union: "climate change is a fact" and lawmakers should be able to tell
their grandchildren they built "a safer, more stable world, with new sources of energy.“
•Mar 31 2014 report of IPCC in Yokohama, Japan.
•Climate change is already having sweeping effects on every continent and
throughout the world’s ocean
•Problem is likely to grow substantially worse unless greenhouse emissions are
brought under control
•Ice caps are melting, sea ice in the Arctic is collapsing, water supplies are coming
under stress, heat waves and heavy rains are intensifying, coral reefs are dying, and
fish and many other creatures are migrating toward the poles or in some cases
going extinct
•Oceans are rising at a pace that threatens coastal communities and are becoming
more acidic as they absorb some of the carbon dioxide given off by cars and power
plants
•Worst is yet to come
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/31/science/earth/panels-warning-on-climate-risk-worst-is-yet-tocome.html?hp&_r=0
CAFE: Corporate Average Fuel Economy
• US Congress in 1975 intended to improve the average fuel
economy of cars and light trucks (trucks, vans and sport utility
vehicles) sold in the US in the wake of the 1973 Arab Oil
Embargo
• Fuel economy is defined as the average mileage traveled by
an automobile per gallon of gasoline (or equivalent of any
other fuel).
• CAFE is the sales-weighted average fuel economy, expressed
in miles per gallon (mpg), of a manufacturer’s fleet of
passenger cars or light trucks with a gross vehicle weight
rating (GVWR) of 8,500 pounds or less manufactured for sale
in the United States for any given model year. Current
standards: depends on footprint (size) of the vehicle.
http://moreenergynow.org/energy-facts/energy-efficiency-conservation/cafestandards/
2011-2025 CAFE standards for each model year in miles per gallon.
Passenger Cars
"footprint": 41 sq ft
2
(3.8 m ) or smaller
Model
(e.g. 2011 Honda Fit)
Year
[44]
Light Trucks
"footprint": 55 sq ft
2
(5.1 m ) or bigger (e.g.
Mercedes-Benz SClass)
"footprint": 41 sq ft
2
(3.8 m ) or smaller
(e.g. Nissan Juke)
"footprint": 75 sq ft
2
(7.0 m ) or bigger
(e.g. Ford F-150)
CAFE
EPA
Window
Sticker
CAFE
EPA
Window
Sticker
CAFE
EPA
Window
Sticker
CAFE
EPA
Window
Sticker
2012
36
27
28
21
30
23
22
17
2013
37
28
28.5
22
31
24
22.5
17
2014
38
28
29
22
32
24
23
18
2015
39
29
30
23
33
25
23.5
18
2016
41
31
31
24
34
26
24.5
19
2017
44
33
33
25
36
27
25
19
2018
45
34
34
26
37
28
25
19
2019
47
35
35
26
38
28
25
19
2020
49
36
36
27
39
29
25
19
2021
51
37
38
28
42
31
25
19
2022
53
38
40
30
44
33
26
20
2023
56
40
42
31
46
34
27
21
2024
58
41
44
33
48
36
28.5
22
2025
61
43
46
34
50
37
30
23
National
Highway Traffic
Safety
Administration.
"2017-2025
Model Year
Light-Duty
Vehicle GHG
Emissions and
CAFE Standards:
Supplemental".
Energy efficiency is increasing
•Energy Intensity: E/GDP
•Intensity Index: Like EI but only include efficiency
improvements
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/ba/pba/intensityindicators/total_energy.html
Primary and end-use energy
• Primary energy is the energy embodied in natural
resources prior to undergoing any human-made
conversions or transformations. Examples of primary
energy resources include coal, crude oil, sunlight,
wind, running rivers, vegetation, and uranium.
• End-use energy: Always less than primary use (2nd
Law of Thermodynamics). Examples: Electricity used
to power appliances (obtained from turbines often)
• Savings in end-use energy correspond to much more
savings in primary energy
Hybrid cars
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid http://automobiles.honda.com
2012 Toyota Prius (http://www.toyota.com)
Advantages of Hybrids
• Hybrids combine clean energy of the electrical motor with the power of
the gas-powered engine which results into lower emissions and better
mileage.
• Thanks to the ever improving technology, hybrids perform at par with the
normal gas-powered vehicles, if not better.
• Hybrids are reliable and comfortable as any traditional car and they have
a tax benefits(only till 2006).
• There are purchase incentives for Hybrid vehicle owners (varies by state).
• Hybrids are much cleaner cars than normal vehicles with lesser CO and
other greenhouse gas emissions.
• Hybrids provide a better mileage.
• The future for hybrids looks bright with rapid developments in hybrid
technology to improve engine efficiency.
• Due to the Regenerative Braking technology, the batteries need not be
charged by an external source.
• Special warranties are provided for the battery pack, the electric motor
other costly items.
• Hybrids help reduce the dependency on fossil fuels which directly affects
fuel prices.
http://www.allhybridcars.com/advantages-of-hybrid-cars.html
Disadvantages to hybrid cars
• High cost: hybrids cost anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000
more their non-hybrid versions.
• More weight due to battery packs.
• Some states charge additional fees for registration.
• In the event of an unfortunate accident, there is a risk of
exposure to high voltage wires.
• They have a complicated system which needs to be taken
care of by experienced mechanics only.
• Spare parts maybe hard to find and may be costly.
• Usually, hybrids have a lower acceleration than that their
normal counterparts.
http://www.allhybridcars.com/advantages-of-hybrid-cars.html
Recommendations for reducing GHG’s
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•
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•
•
Strongly recommended
Improve efficiency (energy saving appliances,
improved CAFÉ standards, recycling, etc)
Replace coal burning plants with natural gas (low
emissions) or nuclear power plants (no emissions)
Use more wind (need improved national grid)
Use solar thermal heating
Carbon tax on greenhouse gas emitters
Recommendations for reducing GHG’s
•
•
•
•
•
Less Recommended
Hydropower (negative: adversely affects ecosystems)
Photo-voltaics (But price is coming down!)
Carbon capturing or sequestering: needs more
research
Bio-fuels: Not corn ethanol– does not save on
emissions
Carbon cap and trade: Complicated
California’s cap and trade law A.B. 32,
• On Jan. 1, 2013 it became the first state in the nation to charge industries
across the economy for the greenhouse gases they emit.
• The state will set an overall ceiling on those emissions and assign
allowable emission amounts for individual polluters.
• Over time, the number of allowances issued by the state will be reduced,
which should force a reduction in emissions.
• Emitters can secure offset credits, either by buying leftover allowances
from emitters that have met their targets or by purchasing them from
projects that remove carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases from the
atmosphere
• Dozens of verifiers from different fields, will make sure benefits are real.
• The European Union’s eight-year-old carbon trading market has been
tarnished by fake credits and audits that failed to meet minimum
standards.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/science/earth/in-california-agrand-experiment-to-rein-in-climate-change.html?src=me&ref=general
For information on US energy bills:
http://energy.senate.gov/public/