When you look around you at all the machines that are running, the lights, fans, cars, etc., you simply cannot imagine life without all these. But can you imagine the amount of energy that is being used to run all this? Fortunately, people all over the world are becoming aware of the problem of consuming too much energy and are making a conscious effort to conserve it and thereby put less pressure on the earth. By conserving energy we also lower the amount of pollutants we release into the air and thereby help to keep the air clean.

The interaction between the natural resources and the population has to be maintained at a balance in order to ensure the continuity of the human race. Energy is essential to life and its conservation has become an absolute necessity.

There are two types of energy, renewable and non-renewable sources of energy. The non-renewable sources of energy such as coal, natural gas, and mineral oil are gradually becoming exhausted as we are over-tapping these resources. People are now looking towards alternative sources of energy such as wind, sun, the ocean, etc. for taping energy. These are the renewable sources of energy and will not exhaust.

India's overall consumption of energy is very low, but compared to its gross domestic production its relative consumption is very high. The cost of commercial energy is also high compared to that in most other countries. The industrial sector consumes about 50% of the total commercial energy produced. There is a growing need to bring about improvement in the efficiency of energy use in the industrial sector.

Concerns over the negative environmental impacts of inefficient uses of energy are growing, both globally and regionally. Such concerns require greater national efforts and greater international cooperation to promote energy efficiency and energy conservation. Local air pollution, emissions of greenhouse gases, and acidification of soil and water can all be reduced if energy and resource conservation concepts are more widely applied. Such concerns require greater national efforts and greater international cooperation to promote energy efficiency and energy conservation. More efficient energy use can increase productivity and economic competitiveness as well as lower greenhouse gas emissions per unit of output.

Energy conservation has been recognized as a national priority for a very long time, but concrete steps have not been taken seriously and the few that have been taken lack in perspective and determination. The growth and demand for energy is increasing at a very fast rate, specially in the industrial sector, the transport sector and the house hold sector, thereby putting a great deal of pressure on the available resources. The need of the hour has now become conservation and preservation. Conservation and efficient use of energy in industry has for a long time been a priority of the Government of India. People on their part should become aware of the seriousness and do their best to conserve and preserve this energy.

Contents

01. Preface
02. Introduction
03. Different Energy Sources
04. The Environment
05. The wastage factors
06. Locating and saving Energy
07. Maintenance and safety
08. Using more efficient gadgets
09. Energy Audits
10. Useful Links

Preface

Energy is required for every aspect of our daily life. The requirement of energy has gone up in last few years and would touch unimaginable proportion because of population explosion and improved living standards in our country.

In Rural India, people used cow dung and wood for their energy needs. With better economic conditions, more and more people are using cleaner and more convenient forms of energy viz. Electricity and Gas for home usage. The availability of both these forms of energy are limited. The shortage results in frequent power breakdowns - disrupt daily life, manpower loss in offices and adversely affect the industrial production and thereby the economy.

Can we save energy losses? - A Big question.

Introduction

The shortage of energy and increasing tariff trends, dictates that every socially responsible individuals should conserve energy as much as possible. That will in turn reduce the load on National Utility Services as well as the economic burden.

This effort required are:

Public awareness on energy types

Utilization Methods
Source of wastage
Maintenance procedure
Change of habits
Replacement of inefficient gadgets

This article is an attempt to educate individuals to conserve energy and thereby help the country at large.

Different Energy Sources

Common Energy sources used in a home are:
Electricity
Liquid petroleum gas
Kerosene
Coal (Nowadays Coal usage by Individuals is negligible )

The Environment

House is a fixed factor in energy consumption. A properly designed house would provide ample light in the daytime and thus energy consumption for light in daytime would be near zero. By using proper material for construction and the right direction of windows, Energy requirement for Air-conditioning (cooling) and heating can be reduced drastically. Solar energy can be used in the design to either keep the house cool in summer/or Heat in winter.

In India, generally houses are not designed to be Energy efficient - if so it is rather accidental rather than a well-focused design concept. One cannot change the house design drastically after building. However if one is planning to purchase a house or relocate a house, one can look for energy efficient design. If one is planning for constructing a house, he has the freedom to design energy efficient house, in consultation with Energy Experts.

Certain gadgets like Water Tank Level indicators really help not only to save electricity but also help to avoid water wastage (overflow) by blind pumping. These gadgets really help to save energy and give indication and timely warning about water availability.

The wastage Factors

Insulation
Faulty wiring
Over rated heating gadgets
Improper fittings
Wrong placement
Negligence in usage
Wrong habits
Improper usage
Improper ventilation
Negligence toward maintenance

Locating and Saving Energy losses

Locating the source of wastage will help us to plug the wastage and find alternatives and corrective action required

Electricity Usage

Lightning is the most common use of electricity. Lightning contributes to about 20 to 25 % of electricity consumption in a household.

Air Conditioning could contribute 40 to 70% of consumption in a household in summer months.

Water heating in winter for taking bath could contribute to 30 to 40% of consumption.

Room heating using room heater could contribute 30 to 50% of electric consumption in winter

Well designed Refrigerator consumes around 10%

Television is responsible for about 5% of electric consumption.

Less than 5 to 15% of consumption is from other gadgets like Press for ironing and other miscellaneous gadgets

The percentage of consumption share depends on life style and family size and number of hours utilized in each function.

Especially in the Air-conditioned Rooms, It is a good idea to use double glass properly fitted window. The window cost may double but in the long run energy saving would make it economical. Doors of good insulating material are recommended. There should be no leeks through doors and windows.

If a new house being constructed, hollow bricks may be used. One can consider insulating walls by using double walled insulating material.

Choose the proper colour to obtain maximum reflection or absorption of heat energy. Surface finish can be designed to obtain proper reflection/absorption characteristics. Using properly design fan and humidity control may reduce number of hours/days Air-conditioning need to be used in summer.

Think and adopt methods to reduce volume of the living room. This will result in saving energy, as the requirement of energy will be reduced both in summer and winter.

Saving Energy in Kitchen

Kitchen is the center of cooking activity-requiring energy for all activities. Utensils like kadai and tawa get deposits due repeated use of oil, giving them a layer of bad conductor. This results in gas wastage. The deposits need to be removed regularly. Use proper size of burner. A right utensil for the right job saves gas usage. Utensils with flat bottom get heated faster but are not suitable for deep frying.

Switching off gas when not require and not leaving gas on with utensil on gas waiting for vegetable to be cut etc. would result in gas waste. Cooking in excess of requirement results in excess energy while cooking. Then, energy used in Refrigeration to save the food from spoiling and ultimately a major wastage as most of the excess old food goes to dustbin.

Leaving the water tap open or opening the tap more than required with full force, results in water wastage and energy wastage as the water has to be pumped using Electric Energy.

Using Cooker or cooking under pressure by closing the lid of utensil saves considerable energy and time.

Exhaust fan in the kitchen if too big would create vacuumed in the kitchen resulting in cool air to be sucked in from outside and flow over cooking utensils on the gas, delay in delivering heat within utensil.

Avoid preheating oven to save energy.

Liquid Petroleum Gas
At present LPG is exclusively used in Kitchen for cooking. Today it is the most economical fuel and its usage can be extended to water heating and running Generators at home and also as a stand by power. An average family uses one gas cylinder of 14.5 Kg per month.

Saving Energy in Bathrooms

Use washing machine with full load. Less energy is consumed with one full load than two half load. This will also save time. Using shower requires less water and less hot water. This could result in big saving.

Lot of energy could go wasted through leaking hot water tap.
Generally pipes from storage heater to taps go through wall, In winter the wall becomes cold and lot of energy gets wasted while water is getting delivered through such pipes. Pipes should be insulted and not to far from water heater. Another aspect of storage heater is while the hot water is drawn, cold water fills the tank cooling the hot water. So while 25 Litres may heated to say 80 degree, but a bucket of 25 litres when filled will be 50 to 60 degree or less depending on temperature of inlet water. The solution may lie in using pre-heated water from solar heater or simply use a instant heater as it does not store much water. Energy is not wasted in heating excess water. Hot Water should be drawn when needed and not in advance as the water would cool down fast in winter.

Your best choice in low-flow shower heads is one with a temporary shut-off button that allows you to turn off the water while lathering up without having to readjust the temperature when you turn the water back on.
Turn off the water while shampooing or soaping up. Use a brush or washcloth to get rid of stubborn dirt quickly.

House electric wiring should be fault free, equipped with proper fuse and over load protection. The wire rating should be at least twice the load otherwise the wires carrying current will become hot and lose energy and would be in danger of catching fire and may result in short circuit.

The consumption by way of lightning though not very high is a common function and is required through out the year as bare minimum for today's society norms. Therefore the cumulative effect could be substantial.

Whenever water is heated, the loss of heat depends on area of surface exposed to air, the conductivity of vessel and also the difference between water temperature and atmosphere temperature. 35% of energy is last through walls in case of Air conditioning and heating and 25% through roof. Only 45% of energy is utilized in that case.

Areas not used can be lighted with lower wattage bulbs to save the energy. Gadgets like TV should be switched off when not being watched. Many new technologies are coming up for lightning before using and investing on them, one must calculate their economy. Some times it is not possible to recover the additional cost in the life time of the lightning gadget. CFL lamps of appropriate wattage are good solution at this stage. Using electronic regulators instead of resistance type may save energy.
Maintenance & Safety

Keep the electric wiring in good health change any wire getting hot. Use good quality of plugs and sockets to avoided loose contact. Clean bulbs and tube lights regularly as the dust deposited over them can cut out as much as 50% of light.

Leaking pipes especially hot water pipes and fault taps need to be attended urgently. Water leakage from flush could empty the overhead tank in few hours.

Get the geyser cleaned every year to remove salt and scaling. Scaling and deposits result in delayed heating and energy wastage.
Using more efficient gadgets

A Sure way of reducing the wastage is to use more efficient gadgets especially like Air -Conditioner, Water heater, TV and light bulbs.

Tips for Using Refrigerator/Freezer

· Set the refrigerator temperature between 36 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the freezer not lower than 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

· Open the doors as seldom as possible and close them quickly, Do not remove and keep putting things with the door open for more than required time. When telephone bill rings as you open the Fridge close the fridge before attending to the call.

· Cool foods to room temperature before placing them in the refrigerator unless otherwise noted in the recipe. But don't leave food out so long at room temperature that you start growing salmonella, botulism or other nasty food poison. Don't leave food out on for longer than 30 minutes.

· Defrost manual refrigerators when the frost is ¼ inch thick.

· If you do not need a second refrigerator, then unplug it and have the door removed.

· Keep condenser coils clean.

· Keep the freezer portion full. This will help you to retain cold air as you open and close the door. Your freezer works more efficiently when full than when nearly empty, so put some plastic containers like old milk jugs with water in them in the freezer to take up empty space. Really. This isn't a joke.

· Make sure foods are covered before you put them in the refrigerator. Otherwise the moisture in them will evaporate, which makes the refrigerator use more energy.

· Make sure you get everything out the first time you open the door. This will help to eliminate unnecessary door openings.

Range/Oven

· Only use pots and pans that fit the heating units.

· Use a flat bottom pan with a tight fitting lid.

· Don't preheat the oven unless the recipe calls for it.

· You do not always have to preheat when you are broiling.

· Use a timer and try to avoid opening the oven door before the food is done.

· Plan meals ahead so that several foods can be cooked at one time.

· Use a pressure cooker, instead of oven - it can save energy and shorten cooking time.

Microwave

· Use when reheating leftovers.

· Use to thaw out foods when time does not permit natural thawing.

· Use the microwave oven in place of the conventional oven whenever possible in the summer because the microwave does not heat up the kitchen.

Easy Cooking Tips
You don't have to relearn how to do everything from making a feast to boiling water to achieve some easy energy-savings in the kitchen.

"Smaller is better". Smaller pans need less energy to heat up. Microwaves use less energy than full-size ovens. Smaller ovens use less energy than larger ones. Match the pan size to the size of the element on your electric cook-top. Make sure the pan covers the burner without going more than an inch beyond it. If you use a burner that is larger than the pan, you are paying to heat not just the pan but the air over the uncovered part of the burner.

Clean those metal burner pans under the burners so they are bright and shiny. They'll reflect the heat better back up to the pan. (It stands to reason that chrome-finish burner pans reflect more heat than black metal burner pans, but I haven't found my theory confirmed anywhere. Can anyone tell me if I got this right?)

Cover your pots when you can. The water will boil faster. That's physics.
Use the least amount of water you can get away with. It will take less time and energy to bring it to a boil. Use the lowest possible heat setting to keep the water boiling, steaming, simmering, or whatever your recipe calls for.

If you have an electric cook-top, turn the burner off right before you finish cooking. Make use of the heat the burner continues to give off as it cools down.

The flame on your gas burner should be blue. A yellow flame means the gas is not burning efficiently. Call the gas company to check it.

Defrost frozen food in the refrigerator before cooking. None of that "just run it under warm water until its ready." That wastes hot water. And don't just toss the hamburger on the counter to thaw. You are asking for visit from the food poisoning fairy.

Preheat your oven the minimum amount of time. In fact, while breads and pastries need a preheated oven other foods may not.

Turn on the oven light and look through the window in the door instead of opening the door to check if the food is done. Every time you open that door it takes the food longer to finish and you waste heat that the oven worked hard to make. For the same reason, don't peak under the lids on the stove-top.

Don't put foil on the racks or block the flow of air in your oven any other way. To keep that air flowing, stagger pans on the upper and lower racks if you are using more than one pan at a time.

Don't overcook food. Set a timer. Use a meat thermometer.

If you are going to use the self-cleaning feature on your oven (and do you really need to?), start the feature right after you've cooked something so the oven starts out already hot. Remember not to use it more than once a month (less if possible). Be sure your ventilation fan is on when cleaning the oven.

Your microwave will work more efficiently if the inside surfaces are clean. So if yours looks like the microwave at work, with three inches of crud on the walls, it's time to get out the sponge.

If you have microwave-safe serving dishes, use those in the microwave so you only have one dish to wash instead of two.

Energy Audit

If you want to be more scientific, either you can do the energy audit your self or take the help of an electric engineer. Make a chart of all gadgets including bulbs etc along with the wattage. Not down the time for which they are used in day. Multiply wattage and time in hours to get individual Kilowatt hour used by individual item, Add Kilowatt hour used by each item to get the total consumption of the day.

Gadgets with auto cutouts like geyser Air-conditioners, Ovens etc - it is the time actually the gadget used electricity and not the time for which it remained on.

Useful Reference Links:

International Institute for Energy Conservation
Energy Conservation Centre
Energy Conservation Handbook 2001
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Saving At Home
Tackling Environmental Issues Close to Home
Energy & Energy Conservation Firms
Energy Consultants
Consultants & Energy saving Devices
Energy Conservation In India
Energy Conservation Act - India
Bureau Of Energy Effiency
UNDO Regional Centre for Small Hydro Power