![]() Seeking out models labeled with Energy Star-a voluntary program managed by the U.S. Hunt down “energy vampires” that consume electricity even when idle. Start small by turning electronics off, tweaking your TV settings, adjusting temperature settings, and setting timers. Ready to join the energy efficiency revolution? Here are some ways, large and small, to participate. On a larger scale, energy efficiency can improve energy security, creating a more resilient power grid and making the country less dependent on foreign sources of fossil fuels. Energy efficiency can even improve the comfort of everyday life, which may not be factored into benefit statistics. Inside a home, inefficient ventilation and weatherization can also contribute to respiratory illnesses. When power plants burn coal, oil, and natural gas, they release tiny particles into the air we breathe these particles are linked to asthma, heart attacks, and lung cancer. Cutting nationwide energy consumption by 15 percent for one year via efficiency measures could help save six American lives a day and avoid up to $20 billion in health-related problems. Improving LivesĮnergy efficiency can also help people live healthier, longer lives. Similarly, the energy burden on low-income rural families is nearly three times that of other rural households. Low-income urban households have an energy burden-the proportion of income spent on energy-three times higher than that of higher-income households, partially due to lack of weatherization. People who live in the five least-efficient states (Wyoming, North Dakota, Alabama, South Dakota, and Mississippi) have seen their electric bills increase twice as much as those who live in the five most-efficient states (California, Oregon, Connecticut, Vermont, and New York), according to 2016 rankings. household up to $500 a year on utility bills. Lowering BillsĮnergy-efficient appliances can save a U.S. In fact, about one in every six construction jobs in the country is connected to energy efficiency. ![]() That’s more than five times the jobs in the dirty energy industries, including coal, gas, and oil. More than 2.2 million Americans have jobs in energy efficiency or clean energy production. Widespread use of efficient appliances, electronics, equipment and lighting, along with better insulation and other weatherization, could cut 550 million metric tons of carbon pollution a year by 2050-equal to the electric power emissions produced by Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Virginia, and California in 2016. One extremely effective way to cut carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions is through a more efficient home. Cutting Carbon Pollutionīoosting energy efficiency in buildings, vehicles, and appliances and equipment is an inexpensive, low-impact way to reduce climate pollution on a grand scale. It can also relieve stress on the power grid. It can help to reduce air and water pollution caused by certain types of energy generation and avoid negative impacts on critical ecosystems-such as the obstacles a new hydroelectric dam could impose on migrating salmon. By reducing the amount of energy required for certain tasks, energy efficiency is also good for the planet. Using less energy through efficiency measures is good for the economy and your wallet. It really all comes down to smarter energy use. Energy efficiency harnesses technology to help avoid or reduce energy waste so that you can still turn on the lights, drive, or wash your clothes but use less energy doing so. Energy conservation relies on people cutting back on activities that consume energy-by turning off lights or driving less or using appliances less often. What Is Energy Efficiency?Įnergy efficiency and energy conservation aren’t the same thing, but they have a similar goal: to reduce energy use. In fact, energy efficiency has done more to meet America’s energy needs than oil, gas, and nuclear power over the past four decades. energy use is about the same now as it was in 2000, despite economic growth of about 30 percent. But energy efficiency is indeed an important-yet often underappreciated-tool to reduce pollution and waste. ![]() Is contributing to the fight against climate change actually as easy as changing a light bulb? Granted, stemming the tide of global warming and rising sea levels is obviously more complicated than swapping in energy-saving LED bulbs.
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