Posts filed under 'Energy technology'
Energy efficiency has a key role to play in enhancing the performance and economics of new power generation technologies, and combining different technologies into viable energy supply systems. A partnership including EdF is installing the first commercial prototype for generating electricity from underwater tidal currents in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland. The world’s first electricity supply system combining wind generation with hydrogen storage has started operation on the island of Utsira, Norway.
Such developments are likely to be an increasingly important focus for energy efficiency actions and investments, as well as a major driving force for the development of new energy efficient products, materials and methodologies.
January 5th, 2006
Refrigeration and air conditioning account for about 15% of worldwide electricity consumption. Demand is growing rapidly, with the number of domestic refrigerators doubling every 12 years.
The International Institute of Refrigeration (IIF/IIR) has set challenging targets for the industry, to reduce the unitary energy consumption of refrigerating plants by 2020 by 30-50%, according to application.
The industry faces an additional challenge, as direct emissions of refrigerant gases are estimated to contribute about 20% of the total global-warming impact of refrigeration processes.
December 21st, 2005
A generally poor capability to measure energy consumption accurately is a major barrier to energy efficiency. The Italian utility ENEL is running a programme, which started in 2003, to install 30 million smart meters at a cost of €2.1 billion.
Smart meters are claimed to result in changes of consumer behaviour which produces energy savings of between 3-15%.
December 15th, 2005
The average efficiency of non-condensing gas boilers running in the EU is about 70% where condensing boilers can achieve 95% efficiency (based on higher heating value). Taking the view that the heat output from the boiler is an energy service provided to the building, the energy consumption of the boiler is its energy loss, which in this case reduces from 30% to 5%. Condensing boilers are a standard solution in the Netherlands (almost 100% market share), and growing fast in Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium, where the share is currently around 30-40%. In other countries, such as UK and Italy, the use of condensing boilers is much lower (source MAMPAEY).
November 17th, 2005
Electrically-driven heat pumps for heating buildings typically supply 100 kWh of heat with just 20-40 kWh of electricity. Heating buildings causes 30% of global CO2 emissions. More wide-scale use of heat pumps could save 1200 million tonne of CO2 emissions annually, i.e. about 6% of global emissions, or 30% of the EU’s emissions. According to an UIE report on electric technologies, it is one of the largest savings that a single technology can offer.
November 5th, 2005
Transformers are an essential part of our electricity system. Depending on their size and loading, the efficiency of distribution transformers varies between 95 to more than 99%. On average, around 2% of electricity generated is lost in transformers. Around the world, over 300 TWh of electricity is lost in this way. With amorphous iron transformers, this loss can be reduced by a factor 4. For Europe, this means 22 TWh of electricity saved, equivalent to 11 million tonne of greenhouse gas emissions. So far, only a few 100 of these transformers have been installed in Europe, on a total transformer population of 4 million units.
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November 2nd, 2005