Energy - Patterns of Consumption

EVPP 111 Lecture

Dr. Kim Largen

History of Energy Consumption

• Energy is essential to maintain life
• every form of life and every society
• requires a constant input of energy

• Very early in human history
• humans began to exploit additional energy sources to make life more comfortable
• domesticating plants and animals
• as sources of
• food
• as well as energy for transportation, farming, other tasks

• Increased use of wood
• early civilization such as Aztecs, Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, Chinese
• were culturally advanced
• relied on sources of energy such as
• human muscle, animals muscle
• (with exception of some wind and water powered devices such as ships and canoes)
• early civilization’s first use of energy in a form other than food was
• controlled use of fire through burning of wood
• provided a source of fuel for
• heating and cooking
• eventually, this "biomass" energy was used in simple technologies
• such as shaping tools and extracting metals
• when dense, rapidly growing human settlements
• quickly outstripped wood production,
• wood had to be imported, or
• alternative fuel sources had to be sought
• some areas of world experienced wood shortage hundreds of years before Europe and North America did
• due to longer history of higher population densities
• animal dung replaced wood as fuel source in some of these areas
• Europe’s forests supplied adequate wood fuel until about 13th century
• North America’s forests supplied adequate wood fuel until late 19th century
• when local supplies of wood declined in Europe and North America
• coal was available as alternative energy source
• by 1880, coal had replaced wood as primary energy source

• During Carboniferous period, (275-350 MYA)
• conditions were right for build-up of large deposits fossil fuels
• remains of plants, animals, and microorganisms that lived millions of years ago
• first fossil fuel to be used extensively was coal
• at beginning of industrial revolution

• Industrial Revolution
• began in early 18th century in England
• then spread to Europe and North America
• major cultural change that involved invention of
• machines that replaced human & animal labor in manufacturing & transporting goods
• central to this transformation was steam engine
• capable of converting heat energy into forward motion
• fuel for these machines was first wood,
• which was quickly replaced by coal.
• countries or regions without large coal deposits were consequently left behind in Industrial Revolution.
• because expanding factories needed larger labor pools
• people began congregating around factories and cities
• widespread use of coal in cites led to increased levels of air pollution
• energy consumption increased, economies grew, people prospered
• within a span of 200 years,
• daily per capita energy consumption of industrialized nations increased eight fold.

• Industrial societies need to ensure a continuous supply of affordable energy
• the higher the price of energy
• the more expensive goods and services become
• To keep energy prices down, many countries subsidize their energy industries
• thus maintaining energy prices artificially low
• low priced fuels encourage rates of consumption
• Economic growth and energy consumption
• direct link between economic growth and availability of inexpensive energy
• economic growth of US was boosted after WW II (which helped end economic depression of the 1930’s)
• via high employment, rapidly expanding population, good supply of inexpensive energy
• resulted in an ever-increasing amount and array of consumer goods
• including automobile
• automobiles created a vicious cycle
• cars altered people’s lifestyles
• increased travel / tourism
• requiring more gasoline
• increased distance from work
• requiring more gasoline
• bringing about need for/use of more home labor-saving (energy consuming) devices
• 11% electrical energy in US is used to run home appliances
• country with high gross domestic product (GDP) uses large amount of energy
• as countries industrialize, their energy consumption increases

• Amount of energy used by countries of world varies widely
• highly industrialized countries use most of world’s energy
• less developed countries use less
• Countries also use energy in different ways
• industrialized nations use energy about equally for:
• residential / commercial uses
• industrial uses
• transportation
• less developed countries use energy
• mostly for residential purposes
• relatively little for industrial purposes
• industrialized nations
• make up less than 1/5 of world’s population but
• consume more than 2/3 of the commercial energy supply
• US and Canada
• make up 5% of world’s population
• consume about 25% of available energy
• How much energy do you use in a year?
• In US and Canada
• each person uses on average about 300 GJ (equivalent to ~60 barrels of oil) per year
• in poorest countries of world, such as Ethiopia, Kampuchea, Nepal, Bhutan
• each person uses on average about 1 GJ (~2/10 of a barrel) per year
• one person in US consumes, on average, per day almost as much energy as a person in one of poorer countries uses per year

Figure 10.1: Annual per capita commercial energy consumption, Raven & Berg

• In US
• energy use
• ~42% for industry
• ~33% for residential and commercial buildings
• ~25% for transportation

Figure 10.2: Energy consumption in the U.S., Raven & Berg

• Industrial uses
• non-industrial countries
• use little energy for industry
• industrialized countries
• use large portion of their energy for industry
• amount of energy required depends on
• types of industrial processes used
• efficiency of processes
• Transportation uses
• less-developed countries
• use little energy for transportation
• highly developed countries
• have highest per capita use of energy for transportation
• transportation "mix" in a country affects its energy use for transportation
• automobiles require about 4 times more energy per passenger kilometer than bus or rail transportation
• private automobiles in North America consume over 15% of world’s oil production
• all other automobiles in world consume 7 %
• mass transit systems
• most efficient in countries with dense population
• most of these countries heavily tax fuel, increasing appeal of mass transit
• U.S. policy has kept energy costs low,
• thus supporting automobile industry
• Residential and commercial uses
• developed nations
• use smaller percentage of energy
• less developed nations
• use higher percentage of energy
• example
• ~30% of energy in North America
• ~75% of that for air conditioning, refrigeration, water heating, space heating
• ~13% of available electrical power in US currently consumed by computers, Internet
• up from ~1% in ~1996
• ~90% of energy in India
• ~100% of that is used for cooking
• current use patterns determine which conservation methods would be effective
• Canada
• cold climate
• ~40% of energy is used for heating
• proper conservation could reduce use by ~50%
• Africa
• ~50% of energy is used for cooking
• fuel-efficient stoves instead of open fires could reduce these requirements by ~50%

Figure 10.2: Energy consumption in the U.S., Raven & Berg

• Electrical energy
• accounts for large proportion of energy consumed in most countries
• electricity
• a way energy is consumed
• a way energy is supplied
• most is produced by burning fossil fuels
• major world energy source because
• its easily transported
• its uses are so varied
• consumption varies throughout world
• all less-developed nations of world combined
• have ~80% of world’s population
• consume less electricity than US alone
• average per capita use of electricity in North America is
• 25 times greater than average per capita use in less developed countries
• 270 times greater than average per capita use in Nepal
• where annual per capita use of electricity is ~23 KWH (enough to light a 100-watt bulb for 1 week

• World energy consumption
• between 1985 and 2001
• increased 19% to total of ~26 million metric tons of oil equivalent per day
• conventional fossil fuels accounted ~90% of that total
• >50% of world energy consumption
• results from 25 member countries of Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. (OECD)
• US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Mexico, countries of Europe
• World’s major sources of energy
• Oil ~40%
• Coal ~24%
• Natural Gas ~27%
• Alternative ~ 9%

Figure 10.9: World commercial energy sources, 1997, Raven & Berg

• Worldwide consumption trends between 1973 and 2000
• natural gas: 100% increase
• coal: 40% increase
• oil: 30% increase

• Primary factors determining energy use:
• Political stability
• Price of oil
• During 1980’s
• energy costs in N. America and Europe declined
• thus people became less concerned about energy consumption.
• 1979 - oil = $40 / barrel
• 1998 - oil < $15 / barrel

• A direct correlation exists between amount of energy used and complexity of civilizations.
• Wood furnished most early energy.
• Due to wood shortages, fossil fuels became primary source of energy.
• Fossil fuel consumption and labor-saving machines, resulted in the Industrial Revolution
• Because of financial, political, other factors, nations vary in amount of energy they use as well as how they use it..