Sunday, February 1, 2015

Energy Saving

 It’s usually agreed that investing in energy saving measures is the cheapest energy option. But when it comes to actual programmes,  energy saving is nearly always the cinderella option. Last year, after a long delay, as part of its target to cut carbon emissions by 40%, the European Commission (EC) suggested an energy efficiency target of a 30% primary energy reduction by 2030, to follow on from the current ‘20% by 2020’ target. That’s pretty limited.  One perverse issue was that a higher level of efficiency would undermine the EU Emissions Trading Scheme -the carbon price would fall as there would be less carbon to trade! Greenpeace saw the 30% target as ‘gutless’. It had come up with its own 2030 targets - a 45% share of renewables, 40% energy savings (compared to 2005) and a 55% cut in domestic CO2 emissions (compared to 1990). That, it said, would cut annual imports of fossil fuels dramatically, with by 2030, gas imports cut by 35% and oil imports 45%. As coal power plants were phased out in the 2030s, coal imports would cease altogether before the end of the next decade. But it was not to be, and we’re stuck with a proposed 30% overall reduction non-mandatory target

One problem is that we are trying to hit a moving target- energy use in most sectors  keeps growing and if energy use become cheaper, due to the development of more efficient end use technologies, we may use even more of it. That's’ the so-called rebound effect.  Cash savings from energy efficiency are re-spent on extra energy based goods and services, so that overall energy use may not fall significantly. Maybe 40% or more of the gains may be wiped out. http://e2e.haas.berkeley.edu/pdf/workingpapers/WP013.pdf

One area of growth is computing and telecoms and the networking systems that enable it.  In a new report the International Energy Agency (IEA) says electricity demand of our increasingly digital economies is growing at an alarming rate. While data centre energy demand has received much attention, of greater cause for concern is the growing energy demand of billions of networked devices such as smart phones, tablets and set-top boxes. In 2013, a relatively small portion of the world's population relied on more than 14 billion of these devices to stay connected. The IEA says that number could skyrocket to 500 billion by 2050, driving dramatic increases in both energy demand and wasted energy.

Being connected 24/7 means these information and communication technology (ICT) devices draw energy all the time, even when in standby mode. The IEA probes their hidden energy costs. In 2013, such devices consumed 616 TWh of electricity, surpassing the total electricity consumption of Canada. Studies show that for some devices, such as game consoles, up to 80% of the energy consumption is used just to maintain a network connection.  Implementing best available technologies could it says reduce the energy demand of network-enabled devices by up to 65%. But in the absence of strong market drivers to optimise the energy performance of these devices, policy intervention is needed. Building on its experience in setting international policy for standby energy consumption of stand-alone devices, the IEA tries to tackle the much bigger challenge of network standby. But it’s tough: the IEA says there is a need for international co-operation across all parts of the ICT value chain.  www.iea.org/etp/networkstandby

Another big area is of course energy use in buildings- for heating lighting and  increasingly cooling.  There are houses around which can reduce energy losses and use dramatically via proper attention to insulation and building envelop design. See the IEAs recent report: www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/TechnologyRoadmapEnergyEfficientBuildingEnvelopes.pdf
It's a booming field with the emphasis often on new build, but there are also retrofit options for existing and refurbished buildings: http://greenbuildingmagazine.co.uk/

 
  Certainly there is no shortage of technology and advice, e.g.  in the UK: http://www.greenbuildingstore.co.uk/ 
However these technologies cost money and it’s not always easy to assess the real world cost effectiveness of energy efficiency measures. Indeed some say that in some situations it’s more expensive to rehab an old building with insulation upgrades than to link it to a district heating  (DH) network fed by a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant. It certainly can get pricey for high levels of energy saving, especially for hard to access high rises, but also, some say, for old terraced houses. More maybe than from CHP/DH, if available, since that has low marginal costs. A SETIS JRC study claims that CHP/DH has a lower capital cost/tonne CO2 saved than renovation. http://setis.ec.europa.eu/system/files/JRCDistrictheatingandcooling.pdf
The superinsulation and Passivhaus lobby however thinks otherwise. And there is certainly a strong case for this approach: http://energytransition.de/2014/05/the-winner-is-passive-house/  But the debate over who is right and what to do will run and run! It is true that CHP/DH heat is in effect free (it’s energy that would otherwise be wasted), but the plants and the pipes are not, and take time to install, whereas insulation is fast. Though fully airtight buildings can have air quality/damp problems. And despite years of monitoring, evidently we actually don't know enough about real house performance even in simply physical terms: www.bpie.eu/eu_buildings_under_microscope.html#.U0gd2bw2ZO0

There is also the problem that actual energy use depends on resident’s behaviour and lifestyle –e.g. in the worst case, they may just open doors or windows when it gets too hot! Or plug in fires when it gets too cold. And we have only just got started on smart metering and similar approaches which might change behavioural  patterns. While for good or ill, full-on domestic energy or carbon rationing/trading approaches are long off. So it’s perhaps not surprising then that technical approaches are favoured. 

Certainly gains can be made. In the UK DECC says the costs of household appliance use has fallen by up to a half in some cases, due to the various device efficiency upgrades/standards. www.gov.uk/government/news/dramatic-fall-in-cost-of-running-household-goods And CHP/DH projects are at last getting going in the UK, e.g see www.cospp.com/articles/2014/04/2-6m-central-london-district-heating-contract-awarded.html But there is also a need to build houses properly. Here’s a good practice low energy housing guide: www.gbpn.org/reports/best-practice-policies-low-carbon-energy-buildings-based-scenario-analysis.  And some rehab/ retrofit examples: www.lowenergybuildings.org.uk/projectbrowser.php?fmd=0  And TSB’s analysis: www.innovateuk.org/retrofit-analysis 

However there is clearly still a long way to go in this sector.  It’s similar in other sectors, for example industry, although the clear economic benefits of saving energy have meant that action has been taken, especially by companies involved with energy intensive production like aluminium smelting and steel making.  Savings of up to 40% are deemed possible in some sectors, maybe more long term. There is all to play for. www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/emissions/edr/edr.aspx

Germany and France currently have targets of cutting overall energy use by 50% by 2050, which means all of the above plus serious attention to transport – the hardest nut to crack of all. But that deserves a post of its own.  Can it all be done- 50% cuts and even beyond?  Probably not without behavioural changes. But that too is another story!