Energy conservation
Energy conservation is the practice of de-
creasing the quantity of energy used. It may
be achieved through efficient energy use, in
which case energy use is decreased while
achieving a similar outcome, or by reduced
consumption of energy services. Energy con-
servation may result in increase of financial
capital, environmental value, national secur-
ity, personal security, and human comfort. In-
dividuals and organizations that are direct
consumers of energy may want to conserve
energy in order to reduce energy costs and
promote economic security. Industrial and
commercial users may want to increase effi-
ciency and thus maximize profit.
Introduction
Electrical energy conservation is an import-
ant element of energy policy. Energy conser-
vation reduces the energy consumption and
energy demand per capita and thus offsets
some of the growth in energy supply needed
to keep up with population growth. This re-
duces the rise in energy costs, and can re-
duce the need for new power plants, and en-
ergy imports. The reduced energy demand
can provide more flexibility in choosing the
most
preferred
methods
of
energy
production.
By reducing emissions, energy conserva-
tion is an important part of lessening climate
change. Energy conservation facilitates the
replacement of non-renewable resources with
renewable energy. Energy conservation is of-
ten the most economical solution to energy
shortages, and is a more environmentally be-
nign
alternative
to
increased
energy
production.
By country
United States
The United States is currently the largest
single consumer of energy. The U.S. Depart-
ment of Energy categorizes national energy
use in four broad sectors: transportation, res-
idential, commercial, and industrial.[1]
U.S. Energy Flow Trends - 2002. Note that
the breakdown of useful and waste energy in
each sector (yellow vs. grey) is estimated ar-
bitrarily and is not based on data.
Energy usage in transportation and residen-
tial sectors (about half of U.S. energy con-
sumption) is largely controlle