1. Light Bulb or Heat Bulb?

2. Home Energy Use
This represents the average home in the U.S. How is Colorado different? Generally more energy used for heating, less on cooling. Electronics continue to grow. “Other” includes “phantom loads” – electricity used by appliances and electronics even after they’re turned off.

3. School Electricity Use
Lighting in schools can be the primary use of electricity. Money spent on energy costs for schools is more than the money spent on textbooks and computers combined.

4. Energy Efficiency
Actions to reduce energy use should be taken from the bottom up: energy conservation measures cost nothing but can save; energy efficiency measures may require some financial investment but tend to have good payback periods; renewable energy tends to cost the most and has the longest payback. Energy efficiency measures like sealing air leaks can make homes more comfortable and reduce the cost of renewable energy systems.

5. Use energy efficiently
Whole House Approach
Reduce energy demand
Behavior changes
Air sealing
Insulation
Landscaping and windows
Use energy efficiently
Heating and cooling equipment
Transport
Lighting and appliances
Use clean sources
Solar
Geothermal
Wind
Another way of thinking about the Smart Energy Living Pyramid is the concept of the whole house or whole building approach to energy efficiency. In this model, one should reduce energy demand – the need to use energy – in the first place. Then, when one does need to use energy it’s important to do so efficiently. Finally that energy should come from clean sources. The emphasis on this approach is to create a well-sealed and very well insulated building shell or envelope in order to reduce heating and cooling needs.

6. Passive solar buildings will be well sealed and insulated and will also be oriented to the south with an appropriate overhang in order to reduce heating and cooling needs and take advantage of natural daylight. “Demand” for artificial light will naturally be reduced, and when light is needed using efficient fluorescent or LED technology is recommended.

7. Lighting Technologies
Incandescent lighting is the oldest lighting technology shown here and works by running electricity through a wire filament until it glows. Most of the energy used to light an incandescent is lost as heat.
CFL’ work by running electricity through a tube filled with gas and coated with phosphor. The phosphor becomes “excited” in this process and emits visible light. CFLs are 75% more efficient than incandescents.
LEDs work by running electricity through a semiconductor, or diode. When the negatively charged (N) side of the diode is connected to the negative charge of a circuit, electrons are repelled and move across to the positive end of the diode (and vice versa for the P side with the positive charge of a circuit). Light is released as electrons drop into the holes left by the P side of the diode.