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Page added on March 24, 2014
Efficiency, Not Just the Recession, Drove US Energy Savings Since 2007
The growth of electricity use has been falling for decades, but it will likely flatten out in coming years to an annual growth rate of less than 2 percent.
The decline is due to many factors, from changing weather and economic recessions to the wider adoption of energy efficiency measures. But it is the latter that might explain the trend in recent years, according to a new study from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
ACEEE had already published data that suggested that energy efficiency was responsible for meeting 75 percent of the demand for energy services since 1970, and this most recent paper builds on that work.
Retail electricity sales were nearly 2 percent lower in 2012 than they were in 2007, which was the peak year in the past decade. ACEEE found that the recession does not explain the bulk of the energy savings. It also found that recent energy-efficiency programs and policies are important contributing factors.
ACEEE identified five key variables for residential and commercial sectors: non-manufacturing gross domestic product; average electricity price; savings from utility sector energy-efficiency programs and equipment standards; cooling degree days; and heating degree days.
Even as the number of heating and cooling days varied widely in the 2007-2012 period that was studied, savings from energy efficiency standards and utility efficiency programs grew every year. Data from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab shows that standards saved more than utility programs, 0.61 percent compared to 0.42 percent per year, respectively, from 2007 to 2012. Building codes offered about another 0.2 percent in savings.
The results of the white paper suggest that energy efficiency can continue to drive energy savings in coming years, especially if more stringent standards are enacted on the federal level. Last year, the U.S. Department of Energy pledged to clear the backlog of proposed energy efficiency standards, a move that could save customers nearly $4 billion annually. Spending on utility energy efficiency programs is also expected to double by 2025.
9 Comments on "Efficiency, Not Just the Recession, Drove US Energy Savings Since 2007"
GregT on Mon, 24th Mar 2014 5:48 pm
“The growth of electricity use has been falling for decades, but it will likely flatten out in coming years to an annual growth rate of less than 2 percent.”
If growth does ‘flatten out’ to around 2% per annum, electricity use will double by around 2050. As usual, human beings are incapable of understanding the exponential function.
DC on Mon, 24th Mar 2014 6:51 pm
Efficiency, Not Just the Recession, Drove US Energy Savings Since 2007
ROFL!
Boat on Mon, 24th Mar 2014 8:22 pm
Demand Growth is not the same as growth.
http://www.energyliteracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/electricityproductionhistorical.png
Fluffy on Mon, 24th Mar 2014 11:26 pm
DC:
Look at the graph in Fig. 1.
1) The smoothed, dark blue trend line flattens to ~1%, not 2%.
2) The historic curve (through 2012) actually flattens well below 1%, possibly at 0; it is their projected continuing growth that elevates the entire smoothed curve into positive territory.
3) Give me something better than a faith-based rationale for why this curve can’t go slightly negative in the next few years.
bobinget on Mon, 24th Mar 2014 11:39 pm
I’m not sure if PV ‘grid tie’ systems are factored into
this mix. While my utility, ‘Pacific Power’ does show the total amount of (KWH) kilowatt hours used for a one month billing period, say 480 kWh Total from 2/18 to 3/18,then, my statement deducts ONLY excess of
-590 kWh leaving me with a bankable balance of -110
(credit). My point, only 480 kwh was metered in but I used far more (for electric heating) during sunlight hours that went directly into home use but was never actually accounted for. Now, unless I meter my total usage, which I do not, my utility reports a total consumption of 480 kwh. Far below what I actually consumed.
Now I admit 97 percent of homes in my neighborhood
do not generate any point-of-use power..but perhaps
three percent do. This could be enough to change that calculation of lower demand growth spread across the nation.
One more thing. Indoor ‘plant’ growers use PV’s to avoid suddenly ultra high utility bill that red flag their operations. These PV’s are usually off grid entirely.
Finally, even the best of us grid-tie people waste
power because of the use-it-or-lose-it contracts set up by power companies. Once a year, in Spring, utilities often clean out a person’s bank-account April first, beginning a ‘New’ billing year. I hate that.
Off grid installations, wind, PV and small hydro are also growing with no accounting required.
Makati1 on Tue, 25th Mar 2014 2:35 am
When there is 20+% unemployment, shrinking incomes and rising food and medical costs, why would consumer demand NOT be the cause of the drop? Maybe people are learning to unplug those ‘instant-on’,’stand-by’, appliances that suck electric 24/7/365 and add at least 10% to their bill? Or lower the stat on their hot water heater? Or just turn off lights when not needed? Or use LED bulbs? Or lower the stat on their electric heat? Or watch less TV, etc? Many ways to cut back and maintain the same lifestyle.
george on Tue, 25th Mar 2014 1:58 pm
Makati you beat me to it.
Kenz300 on Tue, 25th Mar 2014 2:33 pm
If you save energy you will save money.
An LED light bulb uses uses a small fraction of the energy of an incandescent light bulb.
LED’s are dropping in price and becoming more common.
Insulating your home not only saves money buy it also makes it more comfortable.
Seal up those air leaks. The energy savings will pay for the improvements.
rollin on Wed, 26th Mar 2014 1:20 am
In the meantime China electricity consumption rose by 5 times since 2000 and is now larger than US consumption. So one neighborhood decreases use slightly and another lights up like Las Vegas.
World electricity generation has more than tripled since 1973. The trend is obvious and one country does not show the real trend in the world.