Energy Waste – You must show all work for math calculations!

Objective: To understand energy waste in the home. We will examine how much heat is lost through single
pane glass and from a dripping faucet.

Introduction: Citizens of the United States have much higher per capita energy consumption than people from
most other countries. Most of this difference stems from our purchase of products which require petroleum for
their production. There is also a considerable waste associated with inefficient products and practices. We have
control over some of these practices, which include heating and air conditioning, heating water, lighting,
transportation and the purchase and use of electrical appliances.
The units used in North America to measure quantities of energy are quite diverse. Many kinds of heat
measures are commonly given in British Thermal Units (BTUs), whereas electrical energy is usually measured in
metric kilowatt-hours. Rather than try to convert all of the different units to the metric equivalent, we will use the
standard units used in ordinary commerce.
Number of BTUs in various amounts of fuel
1 gallon of fuel oil: 145,000
1 cubic foot of gas: 1,031
1 kilowatt-hour of electricity: 3,412
1 ton of coal: 25,000,000
1 cord of wood: 20,000,000
1 gallon of gasoline: 125,000
Procedure: In this exercise, we will look at a variety of energy uses and losses and calculate the energy that could
be saved by a variety of changes in the way we do things.

Heating and Air Conditioning

One of the major ways that energy leaves or enters a building is through windows. A single pane window
has an R value of 0.9. 1/R is equal to the number of BTUs that would pass through a 1ft2 surface in 1 hour if the
difference in temperature on opposite sides of the surface is 1°F. Therefore, we can calculate heat loss or gain
through a window by using the following formula:
Heat loss/gain in BTU per hour = ft2 x difference in temperature (°F)
R-value
1. A single pane window measures 3.33 ft by 2.7 ft. Calculate the surface area. Calculate the difference in
temperature between the inside and the outside of the window if the inside temperature is 70.0°F and the outside
temperature is 60.0°F. Calculate the rate of heat transfer through the window by using the formula above.
Surface area ____ft2 ∆ temp ______°F

2. What effect would a 5°F decrease in the temperature difference have on the rate of heat transfer?

3. What would happen to the rate of heat transfer if the size of the window were reduced by 50%?

4. Double pane windows have an R value of 1.85. Triple pane windows have an R value of 2.8. What would be
the effect on the rate of heat transfer if the single pane window were replaced with a double pane window?

5. What would be the effect on the rate of heat transfer if the single pane window were replaced with a triple pane
window?

6. Obtain R value for special low emission glass (look up online) and calculate heat loss. R=______
Heating Water
Water resists changes in temperature. In other words, it takes a lot of heat energy to make a small change
in the temperature of water. Water has a high specific heat. Therefore, water heaters are quite expensive to
operate. It takes 1 BTU of heat energy to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water 1°F.

1. If a water faucet is leaking at a rate of one drip per second and each drip of water has a volume of 0.25 mL,
how many pounds of water are lost in one year? (Density of water is 1g/mL, 1 pound is approximately 454 grams)

2. Assume that the water entering the water heater enters at 40°F and leaves the heater at 120°F. How many BTUs
of heat energy would be lost in one year if the leak were not fixed?

3. How many gallons of fuel oil would it take to produce this much heat? (see front sheet for conversion factor)

4. How many cubic feet of gas would it take to produce this much heat? (see front sheet for conversion factor)

5. How many kilowatt hour of electricity would it take to produce this much heat? (see front sheet for conversion
factor)

Questions & Analysis

1. Summarize what you learned from this activity. Apply knowledge to real life applications.

2. State the Law of Conservation of Energy also known as the First Law of Thermodynamics.

3. State the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

4. Name four examples of renewable and four examples of non-renewable sources of energy.

5. What type of fuel is used in your community to generate electricity?

6. In a typical US household, what appliance consumes a majority of the energy?

7. How can energy be conserved?