Conservation Immediate actions which help reduce our use of fossil fuels, help the environment and save money Win-win situation for everyone Can be difficult, require us to change our habits Starts at home Conservation ≠ being uncomfortable Conservation ≠ being inconvenienced What have you done today?

Conservation steps Heating and cooling – Degree Days A measure of the amount of heat lost in a season The number of degree days associated with anyone day is calculated by taking the difference between the average daily outside temperature and an average inside temperature (taken to be 65 degrees) So for example, if the average outside temperature on a given day is 45 degrees, the the number of degree days for that date is = 20 degree days. – Insulation R value, describes the thermal resistance of a material Function of the thickness and its thermal conductivity R = l/k A higher R value means more thermal resistance and better insulating capability

Conservation – Air-tightness Buildings leak air Not a bad thing, you need some air flow in and out of a building to remove unhealthy gasses in the air Too much reduces the energy efficiency of a building – Doors Air leaks from the around the door as well as through the door. – Replace old doors with more energy efficient doors – Seal around doorframe – Seal bottom of the door » (most common place for leakage) » If you can see daylight coming under the bottom of the door, it needs a better seal.

Conservation Windows – Double pane windows loose ½ the heat as single pane windows. – Windows with an air gap between the panes are even more energy efficient. – Storm windows also help – Window coverings (shades, curtains etc) also help keep heat in as they cover the windows when there is no sunlight.

Conservation – Efficient heating and cooling units Newer units have a much higher energy efficiency rating than units that are more than 10 years old. Oil and gas units are now designed to reduce the amount of heat lost up the chimney in combustion. Dampers in chimneys reduce heat lost when system Is not running Insulation-in systems that use hot water run through pipes in the house, insulate the lines that are exposed to rooms with no heat (basements etc) Proper maintenance keeps the system running at maximum efficiency

Thermostat Turn down the thermostat – Provides the biggest impact – for every degree the thermostat is dialed down, you can save 1-3 percent on your heating or cooling utility bill – Pre was the normal setting for the average household thermostat – Now is the range they are generally set at – Must be sure to maintain a reasonable level of comfort – Setting it lower when heating is not needed (middle of the night, when the house is not in use etc.) can produce additional savings. It is a myth that the saving are negated by the energy needed to bring the house back up to an acceptable temperature (no thermodynamic basis for this myth). Programmable thermostats make this a very easy thing to do Same idea applies in the summer, turn the thermostat up. Close off rooms that are on outside walls that are not in regular use. Close off vents in unused rooms or in rooms where thermodynamics tells you heat will flow to/from.

Fireplaces and Wood stoves Actually, only good for limited spaces, as they draw air from within the house out, so they remove warm air from the house. Fireplaces can be designed to minimize this effect Close the flue (when appropriate), glass doors on the front of a fireplace help reduce air lost up the chimney and improve heating effect

Appliances Water heaters – Every 10 degrees you dial down the thermostat can knock 3 to 5 percent off your water-heating bill. – lower water temp to 120 – Use less hot water – Insulate tank and pipes in unheated rooms Other appliances – Use them less/turn them off when not in the room » Like your mother always said, turn off the TV when you leave the room! – Hang your clothes out to dry instead of putting them in the dryer – Buy newer, more energy efficient models – Turn off items that draw power even when they are off

Lighting Turn light off when not in the room Use more efficient light bulbs (halogen, compact fluorescent, LED) Do not over-light a room Pay attention to natural lighting Excessive exterior lighting is considered a form of pollution and is wasteful – Light that does not illuminate the ground is wasteful If it impinges upon someone’s property (shining in a window), it is called light trespass If it shines up, it illuminates the night sky-called light pollution restricts your ability to see the stars – Lights that have overlapping light cones are dangerous, they produce sharp shadows unsavory characters can hide in

Bad vs good lighting

Another example

Large organizations They can invoke many of the same techniques that homeowners should – Insulation-identify and fix places of excessive heat loss – Make sure lights are turned off when rooms are not in use Can use sensors for places like bathrooms and other rooms that are not continuously occupied during business hours Motion sensors in classrooms have limitations – More independent lighting – illuminate only areas in use, especially off hours – More efficient lighting – Better heating/cooling control in office spaces Need employee buy-in. It doesn’t do any good to turn the heat down if everyone comes in with their own space heater. – Employee awareness-shutting down computers, etc completely at the end of the day. Many modern electronic devices continue to draw electricity even when they are off. Need to unplug them or turn them off at the power strip. – More significant measures during periods of prolonged shut down WKU’s Conservation vacation during winter break Modified hours during the summer – Use their own power plants (green) and/or use cogeneration techniques

Leed Certifiation LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system. – Third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO 2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

Take the bus! Driving – Find alternate means of transportation (mass transit, bicycles, walking) – Purchase a fuel efficient vehicle – Drive at constant, slower speeds – Combine trips – It’s a mode of transportation not a status symbol - get over it

Where does US oil come from

Where does US natural gas come from?(2010)

Energy independence What does it mean? – Generally this means that the US does not depend upon foreign sources of fuel to produce energy Unless the US totally isolates its economy, it will never be energy independent But energy security is attainable – This is where no outside entity can adversely effect our ability to produce energy at a stable supply and cost – Implies the US should meet all of its own energy needs from US sources

How close are we? In 2005, 60% of the oil consumed in the US was from imported oil, in 2012, 42% of the oil consumed in the US was from imports. Overall US oil production has increased by 25% since 2008 International Energy Agency predicts: – US oil production exceeds Saudi Arabia by 2020 – US is energy independent by 2035 – US becomes a major exporter of natural gas in the next few years

Where did it come from Shale oil and natural gas deposits – Discussed earlier in the semester – Resources that are not reached via conventional methods but via the fracking process – Controversy exists over the safety of the fracking process

What does (and doesn’t) it mean Increased jobs Stronger economy Energy will not get cheaper! – The costs of extracting shale oil and gas are much higher than via conventional methods – In fact for this to work, the price of an imported barrel of oil needs to stay high and get even higher, probably to 125$/barrel(currently it is $91) – Whole notion could be short circuited by a sudden significant drop in import prices for crude oil(average costs incurred to produce a barrel of oil is is for foreign countries. US Shale oil is about $60-$75 per barrel))

Interesting questions to consider What does it mean politically(on a global scale) for the US to be a major energy exporter as opposed to importer? What does this mean for efforts at moving to clean energy sources? What does this mean for climate change? What happens if the IEA report is wrong? – Viability of the shale sources over the long term is not well understood