Energy Conservation
Geography: AQA GCSE, topic 6.4.11
Ways of Conserving Energy
The sustainability of energy supply can be increased by conserving (using less) energy. Strategies for energy conservation include:
Designing homes and offices
- Building new homes with proper insulation means that less heat is lost to the outside environment and less heating (less energy) needs to be used.
- Adding solar panels or mini wind turbines to houses could provide them with a source of renewable energy.
- SolarCity is a business owned by Tesla that tries to encourage each home to have its own energy supply and battery.
Demand reduction
- Encouraging public transport and walking instead of driving reduces people's energy consumption.
- Encouraging people to buy fewer goods, discouraging consumerism and encouraging the purchase of local produce with lower food miles would reduce energy consumption.
Increasing efficiency of fossil fuel use with technology
- Hybrid and electric vehicles produce 17-30% fewer emissions than petrol or diesel vehicles.
- Autonomous vehicles could increase energy efficiency. Human drivers brake and accelerate aggressively. Autonomous vehicles could optimise for fuel efficiency. They are are also likely to save lives given that most car accidents are caused by human error.
- The UK has banned businesses from selling any new petrol cars from 2035.
Sustainable transport
- Public transport like the London Underground, public bus services, or carpooling reduce the number of individual cars on the road, lowering individuals' carbon footprints.
- Electric cars are more environmentally-friendly than diesel or petrol cars because they produce 17-30% fewer emissions.
Test yourself on Energy Conservation
Which of the following is not an example of an energy conservation strategy?
How much lower are electric vehicle emissions vs petrol vehicle emissions?