Small steps at home giant leap for energy saving

30/09/2014

All the extra money that you spent on installing CFL lights in your homes, in buying new LED television sets, and on five-star rated air-conditioners and refrigerators instead of three-star ones, have proved to be worthwhile, having resulted in huge energy savings for India in the last decade. Between 2000 and 2011, a total of 791 million tonnes of oil equivalent energy was saved, thanks to measures like these, some of which were thrust by the government, and others a result of individual initiatives.

Because of these savings, about 10,836 MW of electricity generation was avoided, according to the initial findings of the first of its kind study being carried out by ICF International, a consultancy firm.

In terms of electricity, 95.3 billion units were saved. India’s annual consumption of electricity is about 700 billion units. If this entire saved electricity had to be produced from coal-based thermal power plants, India would have burnt another 98 million tonnes of coal. A bulk of these savings have come after 2006, once the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), that was created in 2002, started pushing various energy efficiency schemes.

“Our annual energy consumption has been growing at about 5 per cent per year, while we are now saving at about 1 per cent a year. What it means, therefore, is that in the absence of these savings, our consumption would have been growing at 6 per cent a year, putting further strain on our resources. Saving energy is the only way to grow faster,” said Ajay Mathur, BEE director general.

Energy efficiency measures — CFL bulbs, LED screens and lights, five-star rated ACs and refrigerators — accounted for nearly 60 per cent of the energy savings. The rest was attributable to “structural shifts” like the transition from kerosene or wood to LPG as cooking fuel, or increased production of energy by renewable sources, and the use of technologically advanced household and industrial equipments, according to the ICF study.

The results of the study have important implications for India’s strategy on climate change as well.

Indianexpress.com

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