Negawatts and negalitres: steps to a sustainable future

Conservation and efficiency should be measured in negawatts (for energy) and negalitres (for water). These steps have been proposed to the UN General Assembly's OWG studying targets and indicators for Sustainable Development Goals. 

The idea originally came to Amory Lovins when a coal-burning utility sent him a bill with a typo: "negawatt" instead of megawatt. Inspiration struck, when he realized that to consumers there was no difference; that avoided use (i.e. conservation by the consumer, or energy efficiency by the producer) would always be cheaper than new "hard energy". A win-win. But North American utilities have a different ideology: they prefer to blindly continue using massive amounts of fossil fuels, to predict endless rises in demand, lure industry with artificially with cheap rates, and lobby legislators to stick it to householders. So his Rocky Mountain Institute has led a campaign for "soft energy" for more than three decades. See his video Reinventing Fire, reviewed in our blog in 2010.

Measuring energy in negawatts negalitres would not only demonstrate cost savings. It would deliver more human benefit from the same throughput of resources, a concept that needs to be applied to all products of the Earth if planetary boundaries are to be respected, and human needs to be met.

Ecojustice: planetary boundaries and human needs: Kate Raworth's Oxfam doughnut

According to Lovins, gradual but mindful personal lifestyle changes can provide:

20% of negawatts from personal conservation + 20% from energy efficiency = 40% reduction

courtesy smartenergyliving.org

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists' figures, that is the equivalent of eliminating over 500 coal plants! Despite the claims of industry lobbyists, the process could be gradual, eliminate no jobs, and start with the dirtiest plants. A mandatory 5% yearly reduction in all fossil and mineral energy sources over 17 years would result in over 80% reduction in CO2 emissions and noxious pollutants.

And renewable energy increase of 5% a year is quite possible! For example, by solar rooftops. They may already be cheaper than normally generated electricity, according to to new report by Rocky Mountain Institute.

References: RMI, The Economics of grid defection, Feb 2014; OWG, Focus areas of the SDGs, Feb 2014; GEAS report Feb 2014, summarizing IPCC5 and UNEP EmissionsGap Report 2013.

Related concepts: Herman Daly on "throughput" in a steady-state economy, cradle-to-cradle design, Lovins' negawatt and soft energy path (20% efficiency + 20% conservation= 40% reduction in use of present fossil source and GHG emissions), County of Maui water conservation, GCI contraction and convergence, CBDR, Raworth's Oxfam doughnut (satisfy human needs while respecting planetary boundaries), a mandatory renewable portfolio standard, solar rooftops in the US, zero-energy bottle lighting in Kenya.

Thanks to Quaker economic analyst Jack Bradin for this overview. See also David Roberts, "Preventing climate change and adapting to it are not morally equivalent" Grist 16 Sep 2014. 

Is your computer a vampire?

...or your TV, home cinema, videogame, sound system, chargers, transformers and adapters, microwave, anything with a standby display. They suck energy even when they are not turned on!

Click on graphic to see details -- courtesy of Geeks are sexy

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates "vampire power" consumption at 200-400 terawatts per year, an astonishing 5-15 percent of home energy use in developed countries. The percentage in commercial buildings is also high. Our standby power use causes ~1% of global CO₂ emissions and is expected to triple by 2030. It can be reduced 30-75 percent. How?

• See this table of energy hogs. Computer monitors and printers are high on the list.
  
• If you don't frequently use a device, unplug it. This works fine for the extra TV, VCR or DVD. A monitor left on can cost you $125 a year! (US data)
• Use a power bar (aka surge protector) for clusters of computer or video products. You can switch everything off with one button.
  
• Shop for low standby appliances. Your microwave clock uses more energy over its lifetime than all its food heating combined. Don't frequently unplug and plug in major appliances because you could get electrocuted from frayed wires and plugs.
• Unplug the chargers of your toothbrush, cellphone. Any black box adapter sucks power.
  
• Buy a low-cost watt-meter (photo at right), measure the devices in your home and take targeted action. You will be surprised at what you find; the power savings could pay the meter's cost.

"As one global nation seeking lower CO2 emissions, we must get back to basics and extend a reliable and efficient power supply – from strategic technology developments for next generation high performance batteries for consumer devices and electric vehicles to large-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) for grid interconnections. We're at a critical path, where together everyone can focus on minimizing unnecessary power pull." – Professor Ryuichi Yokoyama, IEEE Fellow

See also Wikipedia on Standby power, MEPS, Energy Star controversies; "occupancy sensors" described by BC Hydro and Wattstopper turn off when you are not in the room.