Wind Energy Voice

January 7, 2009 lecture by Lee Schipper for the Woods Energy Seminar (ENERGY301). In his talk “When the Rubber Hits the Road: The Real Story on Fuel Economy in the US and other Developed Countries, with Implications for Developing Asia,” Schipper discusses better and more realistic fuel economy options in the US and other industrialized nations. The Woods Energy Seminar is an interdisciplinary series of talks primarily by Stanford experts on a broad range of energy topics. Lee Schipper is a Senior Research Engineer at the Precourt Institute for Energy Efficiency at Stanford University. Woods Institute for the Environment woods.stanford.edu Stanford Channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com

Technorati Tags: Economy, fuel, REAL, Story

EECS 500 Seminar Harvey M. Sachs, Ph.D. Senior Fellow October 7, 2008 There are many barriers to increased efficiency, but all can be handled with an appropriate policy environment. It turns out that the social sciences are as important as engineering in achieving change: behavioral patterns and conventional economic analyses can impede progress. Examples drawn largely from the built environment will illustrate some policy levers, such as tax policy, efficiency standards, building codes, and market transformation programs, and their limitations.

Technorati Tags: efficiency, energy, First, fuel

With an average energy bill set to climb to £1406 in 2009 (from £676 in 2005), the Government has given a commitment to help consumers improve household energy efficiency and permanently bring down energy bills.

As the nation waits for confirmation of where Government support will be given, many organisations are offering advice and guidance into where and how families can make changes that will cut their household energy costs.

Figures from the Energy Savings Trust suggest that if everyone undertook a number of simple measures including: Fitting energy saving light bulbs, double glazed windows, installing a condensing boiler, cavity wall and loft insulation and jackets for hot water tanks, UK households could reduce energy bills by over £270 a year and save over £1.9bn in fuel costs*.

Paul Kellett, Technical Director at Anglian Home Improvements, an Energy Savings Trust recommended supplier said: “It is increasingly becoming apparent that current fuel price increases are set to have dramatic effects on many people’s household bills.

“But making energy efficient changes, ahead of the winter months, could lead to savings of thousand’s of pound on future fuel bills – as well as adding to a house’s value. If people are considering making improvements we would urge them to look at the most energy efficient options.

“Installing double glazing for example, cuts heat lost through windows by half. At Anglian we fit B-rated energy saving double glazing as standard, which offers potential savings of over £110 per year per household.”

Further estimations on savings to be gained from implementing energy efficiency measures in the home include*:

Around a third of all the heat lost in an un-insulated home is lost through the walls. Fitting cavity wall insulation could save up to £120 on an annual fuel bill

Insulating an uninsulated loft can save around £155 a year If everyone in the UK topped up their loft insulation to 270mm, around £560m would be saved each year. That’s enough money to pay the annual fuel bills of around 530,000 families.

An ultra efficient condensing boiler will be 20% more efficient and could save up to £130 on heating bills.

Fitting an insulating jacket to the hot water cylinder could save around £30 per year

Setting hot water cylinder thermostats to 60°C/140°F could save up to £10 over the year

Using low energy light bulbs to save £10 on electricity bills each year.

By installing draught proofing you could save around £25 a year on your heating bills

Financial help may be available if you’re planning to make energy saving improvements to your home

*Figures are from www.energysavingstrust.org.uk