Efficient use of electricity: Possibilities and limits

The possibilities for improving energy efficiency, especially electricity, are outlined. The potential for energy conservation is analysed, both from the technical and the economic point of view. Details are given of the experience gained in analysing the potential for conservation in Finland. Energy use is fairly efficient but more efficient use is possible in most major energy sectors. The greatest potential is in those sectors in which the know how is limited and where energy costs play a minor role, e.g. in households, the commercial sector and small and medium sized industries. There is less potential for energy conservation in the process industry, but even here it is likely that more efficient technologies will be available in the future. It may be possible to freeze the growth in total energy consumption, but this will be very difficult to achieve over the next 10-20 years if the national economy continues to grow as forecast. A reduction in the end use consumption of fuels is also feasible. Freezing of electricity consumption does not appear to be possible over the same period, even if all the energy conservation potential is taken into account. A reduction in CO2 emissions by improving end use and generation technologies appears to be almost impossible if the new generation capacity is based on fossil fuels. The technical potential for conservation in the end use is similar for electricity and fuels; however, conservation of electricity appears to be more economical. For the consumer, conservation is not always tempting; in practice, it slows down the conservation rate. Efficient use of energy is closely related to the resources (manpower and finances) that are available; the cost of conservation increases quite rapidly if the targets are high. It is also known that various measures do not always progress as planned, which means that public conservation will have to be increased considerably. (author). 5 refs, 13 figs, 10 tabs