Energy Efficiency: Overview

Dr. Paul Komor

Renewable & Sustainable Energy Institute
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO USA

1
 Electricity for Ruritania
-You are designing the electricity system for Ruritania.
-Here are your options:
-Natural gas turbine for $800/kW
-Incandescent light bulbs (100 watt) for $0.50
-LED light bulbs (15 watts) for $7
Assume:
-Lighting is the only need
-Light quality for the two light bulbs is the same
-You need 100,000 light bulbs; half are on at any one time
-What’s the lowest first cost mix of gas turbines,
incandescent bulbs, and LED bulbs that provides lighting?
 Electricity for Ruritania
-What if you consider the costs of the transmission and
distribution (T&D) system?
-What if you consider fuel costs?
-What if you consider environmental impact, notably CO2
emissions?
 Energy Efficiency
-Improved energy efficiency is almost always much less
expensive than energy supply.
-However, it doesn’t happen on its own.
-We’ll discuss energy efficiency technologies, finances, and
policies.
 Energy efficiency concept:
Energy Services
• Energy Services: Light, space heat, cold
food, motor drive…
• Energy is consumed in order to provide
energy services
• These services, not the energy itself, are of
value to individuals and society
Spruce St., Boulder CO
Aspinall building, Grand Junction, CO
Source: M. Tabrizi MT August 2012
Source: M. Tabrizi 10
 Energy Conservation
Major Projects Contributing to Reduced Energy Usage
• Indoor & outdoor lighting upgrades
• Min. T-8, T-5 & LED
• Lighting controls
• Building mechanical system re-commissioning- campus wide
• Tuning HVAC System
• Focus on laboratories’ energy conservation and optimizing air changes
• Building envelope re-commissioning
• Weather-stripping
• Insulation
• Infrared (IR) Scanning and Flyover
• Focus on dining centers and kitchens for energy and water conservation
• Data center/server room energy optimization (RL-2 Green data center)
Behavioral changes & rewards
• Buff Energy Star
• Posters/Stickers

Source: M. Tabrizi MT December 2012

 California: electricity use per person ~ constant
since 1976.

Source: Art Rosenfeld, 2005,

http://aceee.org/conf/05ee/05eer_arosenfeld.pdf
Economic growth and energy use:
the ‘decoupling’
Source: IEA, 2014
Source: National Academies, 2009
Energy efficiency as a ‘resource’:
the negawatt concept
 Energy efficiency concept:
Efficiency as a Resource

• Example: Replace a 100-watt light bulbs with a 20

watt compact fluorescent (CFL). Electricity demand
reduced by (100-20) = 80 watts.

• Replace 10,000,000 100-watt light bulbs with 20-watt

compact fluorescents. Assume that, at any one time,
half of those are operating. Demand reduction = 80
watts * 10,000,000 bulbs * 0.5 = 400 MW.

• CFLs cost ~$2. ($2*10,000,000)/400MW = $50/kW

(compare to new coal at ~$2200/kW).
Efficiency is often less expensive
than new power plants
1

Source: P. Smith, 2005,

http://aceee.org/conf/05ee/05eer_psmith.pdf
Demand response

Graphic Source: mge.com

 Summer 2006 Heat Wave in the U.S.

Source: P. Komor, 2007

E Source report
 Demand Response -
Costs and Savings

Source: P. Komor, 2006,

E Source report
 Demand
Response

Source: P. Komor, 2006,

E Source report
 Example: “Direct Load Control”

• Utility has direct control of customers’ air

conditioners
• Air conditioners turned off (“cycled”) on
peak load days.
• Can provide peak load reduction
Demand response
Demand response: ~22 GW (U.S. and
Canada)
• 2006: Capacity of demand-response programs
increased to about 21,900 MW. About 3 percent
of North American peak demand can be reduced
through interruptible demand and direct load
control.
Source: FERC 2007, www.ferc.gov/legal/staff-reports/09-07-demand-response.pdf
‘Negawatt’ merchant power plants

Source: Enernoc.com
 Utilities and energy efficiency -
conclusions

• Increasing energy efficiency is usually less expensive

than building new power plants.
• There are many approaches utilities can use to
influence their customers’ electricity use, including
electricity pricing and energy efficient equipment
subsidies.
• Demand response can reduce peak loads, at a
reasonable cost.
• Demand response can be significant. In North
America, ~3% of peak demand is under utility control.
 Energy efficiency:
Low hanging fruit that grows back!

  
?
-“The lunch you get paid to eat.” (A. Lovins)

-“Energy efficiency is one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to combat climate change, clean the air
we breathe, improve the competitiveness of our businesses and reduce energy costs for consumers.” (DOE,
energy.gov/science-innovation/energy-efficiency)

-“…higher efficiency may in fact result in higher energy consumption than there would have been without those
technologies.” (Shellenberger and Nordhaus, NYT 10/8/14)
Earthrise, 1968