Energy saving

The saving energy result from the limitation of production and Consommation of energy, in particular of not-renewable energy produced starting from fossile fuel: Pétrole, Gaz, Charbon, Tourbe (which accumulated during geological time passed, and which is not reconstituted or extremely slowly)

To energies of fossil origin releasing from (of which it is urgent to decrease consumption massively, being given the degradation of the climate and the problems of Acidification of the world ocean) are opposed;
- 1˚) the renewable energies, resulting from the Radiation of the Sun, either directly via the Solar panel, or indirectly by the production of Hydrogen by electrolysis, and more classically by the use of fuel plants (wood, agricultural produce, algae), by the recovery of biological waste (Biogas), by the or water run-off (Mill S and Turbine S with water, Hydroelectricity) Wind (wind energy), muscular force of pets (horse, ox, elephant. .) or of the human ones; he is necessary to add the tidal energy to it which does not result from the radiation of the sun but of its mass;
- 2˚) the nuclear energy, which emits proportionally only few Gaz to greenhouse effect, but contributes to heat the mediums and is a source of Risque S and durable Danger S and poses problems of a political nature and of treatment of the radioactive waste.

End of the Prehistory to the XVIIIe century, the Man practically used only renewable energies, before the Charbon, burned to heat the Vapeur water, does not play a central role in the 1st Industrial revolution (railroads, factories.) ; before starting from the end of the XIXe century, the Pétrole allows the development of the Engine spark-ignition then Diesel and Turboréacteur S, and thus of the Véhicule S truck drivers, of the Thermo plants, the Aviation…
La second half of the XXe century was characterized by an almost exponential growth

  • of the consumption of the Oil products,
  • of road displacements and air in particular (most consuming in energy)
  • of electricity consumption.
  • of a massive wasting of not-renewable energies
  • of a consumer society.

Total stake, personal stake

The question of energy is crucial for the whole of planet and each individual.

1. The exhaustion of the fossil resources is inescapable by definition (although the expiry is delayed compared to the forecasts of the Années 1970 according to which exploitable oil would be exhausted at the beginning of XXIe century); the planetary effect of the reintroduction in the atmosphere of carbon masses hidden during the preceding geological eras (the Greenhouse effect of human origin or Climate warming) was described as of the end of XIXe S., and announce like total danger as of the years 1970; it appears now in its obviousness, with the climatic Catastrophe S, the destruction of the natural environments of the Far North, of the tropics, etc

However the warnings since 30 years remained almost without effect on the policies and mentalities. By the Protocol of Kyoto (opened with ratification in 1998), the States signatories “began” to reduce before 2012 their emissions of Carbon dioxide of 5,2% compared to the emissions of 1990 ! It is clear that this objective, running up against economic inertia and the logic of the industrial profit in the short run, will be by no means achieved; on the contrary the emissions of continue to increase.

2. The individuals and the groups live neither better nor happier by consuming much energy: neither a heating of the rooms incentive to spend the winter in summer garments, neither an air-conditioning exempting in summer to feel heat, nor of frequent and remote displacements (individual pendular ways related to the dispersion of the habitat in houses; Tourisme of mass) did not show their need or their utility, if not for the profit of those which sell technologies devourers of energy allowing these “advantages”. One rather notes an embrittlement and a trouble growing of the “recipients” of this wasting.

has lives in apartment, goes to its work in public transport, with foot or in the bicycle (his/her children also, il/elle in a), one (E) is accustomed (E) of the trade and member of associations of his district, takes his holidays on a close coast or in the close mountain; its rooms are with 19 or 20 ˚C in winter, and around 30 ˚C in full summer; its food comprises little meat, much of vegetables and produced fruits in the vicinity. Il/elle extinguishes its electricals appliance with the button “off” or by disconnecting them rather than to put them in day before, etc

B , him (or it), has its house or villa to 30 km of its work place, with swimming pool, there is a car by major member his family (the children must be brought in the car at their schools; one of the cars, at least, is a 4x4); its destinations of holidays are often the islands of the Indian Ocean and always the seas hot; its house has 25 ˚C in winter, a little less in summer thanks to air-conditioning; at B one eats many meat, exotic products, one buys force clothing mode imported by plane of China; ten electricals appliance remain in day before in its house, etc

Consequently, B consumes from 5 to 10 times more energy than has . Without more on the individual circumstances, could you bet that B saw happier than has , than B and its family more often laugh, impassion itself more for than they/they make, have more friends, are in better health, call less upon the psychologists? To put the question, it is to answer it. And if the question is: which is more “ up to date ”, in the page? the answer is not more doubt: the lifestyle of has in the future in front of oneself, whereas B goes right in the wall.

One can even say, curiously, that there is, in the industrialized countries, a correlation between an energy expense lower than the average and a good health: the especially vegetable food, “muscular” displacements (walk and bicycle), the active and sociable leisures, all that is favorable to the good being (of course, such a correlation does not function in a poor or antiquated company, where to consume even less than the average amounts dying of hunger, cold, etc) However it is remarkable that the current articles in French language on the questions of fossil energy are placed especially from the point of view of the increase in hydrocarbons, presented like a threat. Presented the idea is hardly seen that this increase is a chance, if it brings to decrease or stop degradation in the course of the biosphere, and to bring back the individuals to reasonable consumption.

Thus the current vogue of “energy saving”, which remains largely at the stage of the declared intentions, is not that the starter of a return to the good sense which would preserve the future of planet. In fact, to praise itself of its high rate of energy saving, it is especially to reveal the extent of the wasting which one practiced until there. Then let us make energy saving, and make pressure on the decision makers so that they organize them, but let us not believe that there is a remarkable innovation: it is about a start vis-a-vis the inertia and the myopia which are, for the moment, dominant realities of economics and politics. As each time a moral concept continues, one sees hypocrisy flowering about it: it was the case with Christian charity - to see Tartuffe -, with the democracy, the Human rights. Currently ecological hypocrisy goes extremely well: the oil companies, gas, of electricity (of fossil origin) proclaim their environmental concern… while praising the growth of their activities. They will have left hypocrisy or the bad faith when they announce their decrease.

It will be seen whether the “ Grenelle of the environment ”, as one calls the meeting of decision makers convened for October 2007 by the French government, will lead to concrete measures of reduction in consumed fossil energy, or if one will remain about it with the posted good intentions. And we do not make illusions: introduced into the atmosphere will not disappear by miracle when one decreases the emissions by them; the greenhouse effect due to massive combustion of hydrocarbons will last of the centuries (until the oceanic biological processes precipitate of great quantities of calcium carbonate in sea-beds). But at least should make us very not to still worsen the greenhouse effect and degradations of the climate to which we assist.

Environmental impact or print on the medium

While bringing back the consumption of the various energy sources (hydroelectricity, containing hydrocarbon) to the Watt (unit of power corresponding to the consumption of a joule a second), one calculated that currently average consumption by anybody in Western Europe is approximately 6000 Watts. With the the United States about twice more.

The objective of the “company to 2000 Watts” is to divide by three average energy consumption by anybody into Western Europe. From these 2000 W, only 500 should come from nonrenewable energy sources, the remainder of renewable sources.

The label Minergie, which it is question of making compulsory for all new constructions, envisaging a tight envelope, a insulation and a system of ventilation, proposes a consumption lower than 3 liters of Fioul (or fuel oil) per m ² livable per year, at an advantageous price. The aiming of BedZED ( Beddington Zero Energy Development , residential small island of 82 residences in the south of London) is more ambitious: Assessment carbon of zero or neutral impact, without any use of fossil energies. BedZED functions since 2000-2002. The passive houses, have not only one assessment carbon weak even no one, but can inject electricity on the network. It is known that the “clean cars”, with hydrogen, without rejection in the atmosphere other than the steam, start to be marketed, in spite of resistance that oppose to it large the automobile firms.

The NégaWatt would be a measuring unit of the energy saving (“energy substituted to ensure the same service”). But this laudatory neologism can seem strange because it evacuates the question of knowing if the “service” in question is useful. Would one enter with praise the “ négaViolences ” of a man when it would give up beating his wife and her children, the “ négaMassacres ” at the time of respites in the bombardments of an inhabited area? By extinguishing an air-conditioner while establishing a draft, while slowing down on highway of 140 km/h to 110, while spending your holidays with less than 100 km of on your premise rather than with Bali or Moruroa, you accumulate certainly négaWatts: wouldn't cheer, but have been better not to have an air-conditioner, not to roll with the foot inserted on the accelerator, not to take the plane without utility?

Oil

Oil, since the beginning of XXe S., is the principal provider of energy (while providing, by its derivatives, the raw material of chemical industries and pharmaceutical). Moreover, oil industry is traditionally a large-scale consumer of energy. Indeed, so that the reactions of refining of oil start, it is necessary to bring the loads up to temperatures of 350 °C to 600 °C. To reach such temperatures, the refining must burn between 5% and 7% of the load. The good sense would like that the refiner seeks to reduce this consumption, giving the priority to energy saving in its production processs, but the solution of facility is to increase the quantity of extracted oil.

In addition, the large oil tankers also enormously consume Fioul (whereas wind energy is, on the oceans, the thing best distributed).

The Guerre of Kippour in 1973, which started the oil crisis and the increase in the crude, inaugurated an awakening of the problem of energy saving, but almost concrete measure. Since then, the considerable rise in the prices of the crude would make profitable of massive energy saving. However, since 1973, the production of oil, gas and coal constantly increased, and the economies are still weak compared to the possibilities.

Must one put aside, in this matter, the countries without oil resources like France, where " the problem of energy saving constitutes a major stake, because the country almost does not have a source of oil and the invoice of importation of energy accounts for approximately 75% of energy consommée" ? It would be to forget that the threat on the climate is total, and that the producer countries, in particular the United States, have very as many reasons to cease the wasting and the environmental pollution that the others.

The Norway, which has great hydrocarbon reserves, included/understood it well: it severely rations the exploitation of these resources. The Sweden its neighbor decided to be released from oil within 15 years. It is all the planet which, before long, should reserve this invaluable liquid fossil with its “noble” uses: “Will he Be god, table or basin”, plastic, drug or perfume? In any case the black gold will not be treated any more like a cheap fuel to heat water.

Control energy

The control of energy (MDE) gathers the techniques making it possible to decrease the consumption of energy of a building, a territory, of a country, in a preoccupation of financial economies (control of the costs) and with a reduction of the ecological Empreinte. One also speaks about rational use of energy (RUE) .

The proverb “the least expensive energy is that which one does not consume” could summarize the steps which go in the direction of the MDE, if the ultimate objective were the financial profit. “The energy which one does not consume is that who can improve the human life” could be the currency of those which want to really advance in energy saving.

Measurements of control of energy, by energy sobriety and the effectiveness, should be taken at various levels:

• at the individual and family level (by decreasing the heating, while renonçant with air-conditioning, the remote voyages, part of the product purchases imported by plane, etc)

• at the local or communal level (improvement of public transport, bicycles in free incentives use to give up the individual pendular ways, heating by district, advantages with industries low polluting)

• at the national level (inciting taxation of economies, anti-pollution laws, measurements to support the rail and the river transport with the detriment of the road, encouragement to an agriculture less mechanized thus less polluting and less destroying of the grounds)

• with the international level (the United Nations), in particular to stop the progression of air transports and to make move back those, by a international taxation of the kerosene - in this field nothing is done, and them planes, which do not pay any tax on that they emit, are among the largest pollutants of planet.

It is on the first point that the public institutions and the private companies insist more. It clearly put the individual at the center of the problem by defining it as culprit by his individual behavior, which he must hasten to modify. But can it if its social environment, economic and political do not allow it to him? One can think that the individual is ready to make efforts but which it cannot make them that within a framework really enabling him to change behavior. To encourage people to use more public transport when the railway network remains underdeveloped does not lead inevitably to nothing, if not to make feel guilty the individual. The political decisions are unfortunately too still much rare to make it possible each one to modify its behavior.

According to many French organizations such ADEME or CLER, it acts of an essential step for an energy policy in favor of the renewable energies. According to the German initiative Aktion Klimaschutz , the control of energy makes it possible to contribute to protection climate.

Means of action

To save energy, one can distinguish five different means of actions:

1. To make a good management of the power consumption,

2. On the existing installations, to invest usefully to reduce the consumption of energy,

3. To design the new installations by aiming at the minimum energy impact,

4. Periodically to make the development of novel methods of economy.

5. Especially, to give up making go an installation consuming energy or in to decrease the activity.

1˚ good management

The losses of energy will be located and eliminated as well as possible. An heating network limits the thermal escapes with the use of insulators; the boilers and the furnaces are to be regulated in order to obtain a optimal Combustion. To increase the Energy efficiency, it is to reduce the quantity of energy entering a factory while guaranteeing energy consumption necessary.

2˚ reduction of consumption of the existing installations

For the systems of pre-heating of air by smoke, on the furnaces of distillation, one can make profitable the investments in less than two years. If the refinery is in a zone, where there exist other refineries among fellow-members (Rotterdam, Singapore), one can also consider the exploitation of energy synergies between fellow-members.

In the systems of utilities (vapor/electricity, network fuel gas, cooling water, compressed air), like in the treatment units (choice of catalysts, normative objective of consumption of energy, simulation of processes, furnaces pilot, assistance with the control of the units…) substantial economies are realizable.

3˚ design adapted on the new installations

On the installations to be built, the energy saving can amount to 30 40%, sometimes even up to 60%.

With one quintuplement or sextuplement of the price of energy, much of techniques and designs must be reconsidered, but this turn takes much time because mental inertia is considerable among decision makers, as well as the fear of investments of which profitability is not immediate.

The design of the buildings according to the principles of Bioclimatic architecture and Maison passivates ( Passivhaus) allows major energy-savings, precondition necessary to the use of the renewable energies.

4˚ update in industry

The industrial plants all were designed with the barrel of crude oil with 20 $. However in 2007 the barrel is exchanged at a price higher than 60 $/baril. The place of energy in industry strongly changed; the design of the industrial plants must be adapted and optimized.

For the existing industrial plants, a meticulous analysis must identify the " sources" i.e. flows which make it possible to recover unexploited energy and on the other hand to identify the " puits" i.e. of flows which make it possible to reinject the energy thus recovered on the sources in the place of primary energies in general fossils. Once " sources" and " puits" identified, the task is to find the couplings which go makes it possible to revalorize the energy of the " sources" on the " puits" , this with a SORTING (Time of Return on investment) short term.

5˚ renunciation of an activity or reduction in this one

Air-conditioning, heating and lighting of buildings little used, escalators, shuttles, diffusion of document-paper that nobody reads, cleaning of buildings not used, voyages “of businesses” or “seminars” in seaside resorts of which the real goal is strictly tourist, purchase and maintenance of company cars, packing increasingly sophisticated products, “standby power” or consumption of apparatuses in day before: all that can be removed or at least decreased. All the economies described above for companies are transposable for the private individuals. Cf supra .

Legislation

In France, establishes it energy saving like the first priority of the French energy policy. It defines purely national measurements (certificates of energy saving, for example) while transposing all the European directives in work in the field to this date. Since, the European Union set new ambitions (top of spring of March 2007) which should be translated in new directives. The " Grenelle of the environnement" perhaps French will bring a new dash.

But like the Roman law says it “ Quid light sine moribus? ”, that are the laws without manners, or practices?

Conclusion

The question of the change and its motivations remains posed, as well at the individual level as planetary. Indeed, the report is that in spite of the sensitizing efforts, the individual and collective practices of wasting remain, in spite of alarms, of the GIEC in particular. New wastings emergent even (e.g.: air-conditioning of the vehicles, days before electric, screens giant of TV, mode of the 4x4, air transport short distance…). Why the behaviors change don't more quickly? The signals (whose Signal-price ) isn't yet rather clear, whereas the climatic catastrophes, the destruction of the natural environments of the Far North and the tropics, the risks and pollution related to energy are not denied any more? Why adhesions of many States to the protocol of Kyoto, and many politicians, whose in France the current president of the Republic, with the ecological Pact of Nicolas Hulot, do have if few effects?
Les technologies seems to evolve/move much more quickly than mentalities, and the values of expansion , acceleration , etc remain very associated with the idea with progress, making difficult the generalization of sobriety energy. The signal-price has only few incidences in environment and he is often contradicted by publicity (Thus of many drivers buy expensive 4X4 rather than sober cars which would render the same service at a quite less cost and with improved comfort).
De new technical steps (HQE) and collaboratives (Diary 21, Grenelle of the Environment in France) emergent. In addition to a Taxation encouraging energy saving (allowance of the loans, easing of the conditions of saving for house-purchase when work is with energy aiming). new tracks take shape, of which a for example encouragement with large scales to guarantee future energy saving to finance work (in the form of “contract of energy performance” by which a “third investor” (the company which completes work) is financed with the income resulting from the savings made. Grenelle of the environment has taken again in October 2007 this proposals, with for the private individuals, a system “simple and forfaitized” . Important controversies persist on the question of the nuclear power and the Agrocarburant S, even about the hopes raised by the Combustible battery and hydrogen.

See too

Related articles

Reference books

  • Control of energy in the local government agencies , published by CSTB, downloadable on * Control of energy for a world livable , of Bernard Laponche, published by ICE (the International Council Energy) in 1997
  • saving energy in the existing habitat , Olivier David and Adeline Fabre, published by the Presses of the École des Mines in 2007
  • Serge Meyer, Saving energy and comfort in the habitat , ED. SAEP

Random links:Disappearance | French association of artistic action | Metal GEAR Solid 3: Snake Eater | Marine monster | Speedmaster | Un_rapport_à_une_académie