Tools and Policies to enforce energy efficiency

Although the importance of energy efficiency is recognized widely, much effort is required in order to actually widespread energy efficient solutions. Mechanisms, policies and directives have been introduced or issued in order to reinforce energy efficiency. Some of the most important are the following:

Energy Labels

Up to few years ago most buyers didn’t get the chance to know how much energy is consumed by an  appliance they intended to buy. In an effort to influence their choice, an energy labelling scheme has been adopted by the European Commission on a product by product basis1. They display ranking of products according to their energy efficiency consumption on an A (most energy efficient) to G scale. Recently, new classes were added (A+/A++/A+++) on top of class A to reflect advances in efficient products. All appliances in the EU market should posses an appropriate energy label, which in addition should be clearly displayed on them at the point of sale.

Building Energy Efficiency

We cannot improve significantly energy efficiency if we don’t target buildings. In fact, buildings are responsible for almost 40% of the energy use and for 36% of the CO2 emissions in the EU 27. This fact led to the adoption of an energy classification of buildings, just like appliances! This works the same way with energy labels for appliances and is called Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The EPC is mandatory for all buildings being rented, sold or advertised, while new buildings (or old ones undergoing major renovations) should comply with minimum energy performance requirements. Furthermore, from 2020 all new buildings in the EU should be “nearly zero-energy buildings”!

Ecolabels

Apart from being energy efficient, a product or service cannot be considered environment-friendly without looking throughout all its life-cycle. The EU has invented the Ecolabel scheme in order to help consumers identify such products or services. The Ecolabel is a voluntary scheme, identified by the flower logo, which may be displayed on products and promotional material if they respond to a list of predefined criteria. These criteria guarantee that the product/service is among the most environmentally friendly in his sector.

Ecodesign
Another tool towards improved energy efficiency is the Ecodesign requirements. A relative directive made it mandatory for every product circulated in the EU market to meet minimum requirements in terms of their environmental impact. These requirements assess the impact of an energy-related product on the environment throughout its life-cycle (from the design stage, production, distribution and disposal).

Transport Energy Efficiency
Transport has been identified as one of the areas in which significant energy savings can be achieved. Almost 20% of the energy consumed in the EU is due to transport, out of which 98% originates from fossil fuels. On this track, the EU requires that energy and environmental impacts (i.e. energy consumption, CO2 emissions etc) linked to the operation of vehicles over their whole lifetime should be taken into consideration in purchase decisions. Over the years, it has been identified as a major EU target to reach an average CO2 emission of 120 g/km for all new passenger cars. However, this is to be achieved through voluntary agreements with manufacturers so far. For the moment, it is compulsory that a label showing fuel economy and CO2 emissions is attached to all new cars or displayed nearby at the point of sale.

Why do we need Energy Efficiency?

By increasing energy efficiency we help in using less energy and therefore reducing greenhouse gas emissions and thus protecting the environment. In addition, the security of energy supply is increased. Don’t forget, also, that by adopting energy efficient solutions we spend less money for energy!

Current Situation: the 20-20-20 Strategy

Energy is responsible for almost 80% of the greenhouse gas emissions. As was identified a decade ago, the potential for energy efficient improvement in the E.U. is very high and relatively untapped. The cost of not using energy efficiently was estimated around 150 billion € per year! This led to the adoption of the 20-20-20 strategy, namely to achieve by 2020 a reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, the increase in the share of renewables to 20% and the reduction of energy consumption by another 20%.

What is Energy Efficiency?

You have probably heard this term a lot lately. It generally refers to using less energy in order to provide the same level of energy services as before. In our everyday activities we need lots of energy, either to heat or cool the buildings we stay in, or to use electrical appliances and services. Energy labeling is a measure of how “energy efficient” an appliance, device or a building is.

Take for instance the lights in your home. Up to a few years ago, incandescent lamps were used almost exclusively. However, with the use of recent lamp technologies, such as the fluorescent or LED lamps, we are able to provide the same level of luminance, but at the same time with considerably less energy consumption! The E.U. has even gone one step beyond and banned old-style incandescent bulbs (>100W)!

Another example is the electrical appliances we all use everyday. By choosing a more energy efficient appliance we can improve our energy efficiency, help the environment and save money!

Energy Saving Advice

Everyone can help in reducing energy consumption in many ways. Apart from improving energy efficiency (with which we deal in a companion paper), significant energy saving opportunities exist in our homes and everyday life. Some of the most common tips for energy saving are:

• Install air temperature regulators (thermostats) in rooms that don’t have one.
• Set the thermostat at a lower temperature for heating and at a higher temperature for cooling. This can save almost 6% of the energy needed for heating or cooling per degree Celsius. For example, 21°C in the living room and 18°C in the bedroom is more than enough for heating!
• Try to minimize idle electrical loads, which are no so ‘obvious’. Don’t just switch off electrical appliances but unplug them when possible or use power plugs with a power switch.
• Switch off lights when you don’t really need them.
• Operate the washing machine and dishwasher only at full loads and at the lowest possible temperature.
• Turn off computers or screen when you are not using them, use power management capabilities to reduce energy consumption.
• Avoid using your car whenever you can. Use the public transport as often as possible and get a bike for short travels. When you cannot avoid using a car, try carpooling!

Energy Consumption and Saving

Worldwide energy use almost doubled over the last 30 years, before showing a slight decrease due to the financial crisis in 2009. The following two graphs show the world total final energy consumption by fuel or type and by region from 1971 to 2009.

Since energy transformations and especially electric power generation are identified as main causes for global warming and climate change, action is needed. This may be either in the form of increasing use of energy from renewable energy sources, or simply by consuming less energy! In order to consume less energy we could choose to use more energy efficient appliances or increase the efficiency of our buildings, or reduce energy used for transport, without any further change in our energy related behavior. The overall result in terms of fighting climate change and global warming though, may be a lot better if we focus on a behavioral change on how we consume energy. By improving the way we use energy in our everyday activities we can actually reduce energy consumption without changes in our standards of living.