Energy Use (energy + use)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Energy Use in Dairy Processing

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DAIRY TECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2007
M Walton
No abstract is available for this article. [source]


Mass invariance of population nitrogen flux by terrestrial mammalian herbivores: an extension of the energetic equivalence rule

ECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 9 2008
Christopher W. Habeck
Abstract According to the energetic equivalence rule, energy use by a population is independent of average adult body mass. Energy use can be equated with carbon flux, and it has been suggested that population fluxes of other materials, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, might also be independent of body mass. We compiled data on individual nitrogen deposition rates (via faeces and urine) and average population densities of 26 species of mammalian herbivores to test the hypothesis of elemental equivalence for nitrogen. We found that the mass scaling of individual nitrogen flux was opposite to that of population density for the species in our dataset. By computing the product of individual nitrogen flux and average population density for each species in our dataset, we found that population-level nitrogen flux was independent of species mass, averaging c. 3.22 g N ha,1 day,1. Results from this analysis can be used to understand the influence of mammalian herbivore communities on nitrogen cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. [source]


Energy use and GDP growth, 1950,97

OPEC ENERGY REVIEW, Issue 3 2002
Rögnvaldur Hannesson
This paper investigates the relationship between economic growth and growth in energy use in the latter part of the 20th century. The period is divided into five sub,periods, covering the low oil price era before the first energy crisis, the high oil price era, 1974,86, and a ten,year period after the drop in oil prices in 1986. It is found that the relationship between growth in energy use and gross domestic product (GDP) growth became weaker after the first energy crisis, but, after 1986, it seems to have become stronger again in rich countries. Energy use tends to grow more slowly than GDP in rich countries, while the opposite is true for poor countries, reflecting the fact that the energy intensity of GDP falls after countries have reached a certain level of affluence. One intriguing exception to this is China. [source]


Local authorities, climate change and small and medium enterprises: identifying effective policy instruments to reduce energy use and carbon emissions

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2008
Jaryn Bradford
Abstract This paper discusses potential policy options available to local and municipal authorities, to achieve reductions in energy usage and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Researchers conducted surveys with 112 SMEs, and the results have been used to disaggregate the category of ,SME' into sub-sectors based on industrial sector, two measurements of employee size and annual turnover. A statistical analysis identifies key characteristics and behaviours of the sub-sectors of firms and discusses the type of policy measure these groups of SMEs would probably respond to. The key results of the research indicate that categories of firms differ in terms of energy use behaviours, internal constraints and attitudes toward possible policy options. The paper presents a ,policy matrix' to represent the most and least likely policy options to achieve energy savings from different categories of SMEs. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source]


Situations of opportunity , Hammarby Sjöstad and Stockholm City's process of environmental management

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2008
Örjan Svane
Abstract Hammarby Sjöstad is a large brownfield development in Stockholm guided by extensive environmental objectives. This case study focuses on the environmental management of the city's project team. A main aim was methodology development related to the concept of situations of opportunity , how to study those periods when the team had great influence over the process. Goal conflicts on for example energy use and the lake view were identified. The team used policy instruments such as development contracts and design competitions. Some of the situations identified contributed little to the environmental management, for example the detailed planning. Others were more successful, for example the integration of infrastructural systems. Success situations were unique or created by the team, and had less formal power. Other situations had more power, but were burdened with a prehistory of routines and agreements. The methodology should also be applicable to other processes of environmental management. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source]


Climate-Change Mitigation Revisited: Low-Carbon Energy Transitions for China and India

DEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 6 2009
Frauke Urban
China and India are heavily dependent on high-carbon fossil fuels. This article elaborates the implications of low-carbon energy transitions in the two countries, which can mitigate their serious contribution to climate change while allowing economic growth. Three modelling case studies are presented: for the Chinese power sector, the economy of Beijing and rural Indian households without access to electricity. They demonstrate a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and energy use, while costs are likely to increase. Financial assistance and technology transfer will be needed to support their efforts towards a climate-friendly low-carbon economy. [source]


Mass invariance of population nitrogen flux by terrestrial mammalian herbivores: an extension of the energetic equivalence rule

ECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 9 2008
Christopher W. Habeck
Abstract According to the energetic equivalence rule, energy use by a population is independent of average adult body mass. Energy use can be equated with carbon flux, and it has been suggested that population fluxes of other materials, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, might also be independent of body mass. We compiled data on individual nitrogen deposition rates (via faeces and urine) and average population densities of 26 species of mammalian herbivores to test the hypothesis of elemental equivalence for nitrogen. We found that the mass scaling of individual nitrogen flux was opposite to that of population density for the species in our dataset. By computing the product of individual nitrogen flux and average population density for each species in our dataset, we found that population-level nitrogen flux was independent of species mass, averaging c. 3.22 g N ha,1 day,1. Results from this analysis can be used to understand the influence of mammalian herbivore communities on nitrogen cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. [source]


The evolution of Chinese policies and governance structures on environment, energy and climate

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 3 2010
Stephen Tsang
Abstract Although a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol has not yet materialized, the 2009 Copenhagen meeting underlined the importance of China in international debates on climate and energy. This is based not only on China's current climate emissions, but also on its expected energy use and economic growth. Within China, climate issues have, like environmental pollution more generally, received increasing government and societal attention, but so has energy , topics that relate to one other but also have different priorities and actor interests behind them. However, while climate change has become more prominent, as shown in the targets included in the current five-year plan, its institutional embeddedness in relation to particularly energy issues has received limited attention. This paper aims to help shed some light on how Chinese policies and governance structures on energy, climate and environment have evolved, particularly considering the roles of national and provincial authorities. Administrative structures and policy-making processes turn out to be very complex, with a range of units and bodies at different levels with distinct responsibilities as well as inter-linkages. Moreover, tensions and conflicts can be found regarding climate change and environmental policies on the one hand, and prevailing objectives to further economic development on the other. Energy policies serve the same economic goals, with climate change being most often operationalized in terms of energy conservation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source]


Indoor air temperatures and energy use: A comparative field study of vernacular, conventional, and alternative-technology construction in India

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2010
Lekha S. Hegde
First page of article [source]


Size-Dependent Mating Success at Various Nutritional States in the Yellow Dung Fly

ETHOLOGY, Issue 8 2008
Wolf U. Blanckenhorn
Mating success not only depends on genetic quality, but also equally on environmental factors, most prominently food availability. We investigated the interactive effects of nutritional state and body size on mating success and copula duration in yellow dung fly males (Scathophaga stercoraria; Diptera: Scathophagidae) of three body size selection lines in the laboratory in both non-competitive (single) and competitive (group) situations. Adults require protein and lipids from prey to reproduce, as well as sugars as an energy source for reproductive activity. We expected mating success to decrease with time because of sperm depletion (sugar treatment) and/or energy shortage (water treatment) relative to the control, prey plus sugar treatment. Based on physiological scaling, we also expected large-line males to become depleted either sooner because of their higher energy and sperm demands, or later because of their more efficient energy use. Average mating success indeed declined over a period of 5,7 d (or 5,15 potential copulations per male), but equally for all food treatments and body size classes. Surprisingly, water-fed and small-line males had the highest mating probability in the non-competitive setting, while in the competitive setting large-line males had the highest success. Energy-depleted males showed apparent terminal investment. Small males acquired females more readily but eventually lost them to larger males in the competitive situation. As shown before, copula duration was inversely related to body size and increased with copulation number, independent of food treatment. We conclude that sugar or prey shortage has little effect on mating success in the short term, and does not differentially affect males of different sizes. [source]


Assessment of Fuel-Cell-Based Passenger Cars

FUEL CELLS, Issue 3 2004
T. Grube
Abstract Highly efficient energy conversion systems with fuel cells for vehicles, as well as for stationary and portable applications, are currently being discussed all over the world. Fuel cell technology is expected to help reduce primary energy demand and emissions of limited and climate-relevant pollutants. The high flexibility of fuel cell systems with respect to energy carriers opens up possibilities of modifying the energy sector in the long term. Introducing new fuels based on low-carbon, or in the long term carbon-free, energy carriers can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well as locally and regionally active atmospheric pollutants. The use of hydrogen as feed gas for fuel cells on the basis of it being a non-fossil, renewable energy, leads to special benefits with respect to conserving resources and climate protection, but at present still represents a medium- to long-term prospect. A major milestone on the road to market success for all energy conversion systems with fuel cells is the reduction of costs. The definition of the ,appropriate" fuel represents a serious obstacle to the market introduction of fuel-cell-powered vehicles. Presenting data from a well-to-wheel analysis of various vehicle fuel systems at FZJ this article aims to discuss the potential benefits of future vehicle concepts with fuel cells in terms of primary energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Results from a comparison of international studies on this subject will be used to identify relevant assumptions that lead to different answers in the evaluation process. [source]


Differences between young adults and elderly in thermal comfort, productivity, and thermal physiology in response to a moderate temperature drift and a steady-state condition

INDOOR AIR, Issue 4 2010
L. Schellen
Abstract, Results from naturally ventilated buildings show that allowing the indoor temperature to drift does not necessarily result in thermal discomfort and may allow for a reduction in energy use. However, for stationary conditions, several studies indicate that the thermal neutral temperature and optimum thermal condition differ between young adults and elderly. There is a lack of studies that describe the effect of aging on thermal comfort and productivity during a moderate temperature drift. In this study, the effect of a moderate temperature drift on physiological responses, thermal comfort, and productivity of eight young adults (age 22,25 year) and eight older subjects (age 67,73 year) was investigated. They were exposed to two different conditions: S1-a control condition; constant temperature of 21.5°C; duration: 8 h; and S2-a transient condition; temperature range: 17,25°C, duration: 8 h, temperature drift: first 4 h: +2 K/h, last 4 h: ,2 K/h. The results indicate that thermal sensation of the elderly was, in general, 0.5 scale units lower in comparison with their younger counterparts. Furthermore, the elderly showed more distal vasoconstriction during both conditions. Nevertheless, TS of the elderly was related to air temperature only, while TS of the younger adults also was related to skin temperature. During the constant temperature session, the elderly preferred a higher temperature in comparison with the young adults. Practical Implications ,Because the stock of fossil fuels is limited, energy savings play an important role. Thermal comfort is one of the most important performance indicators to successfully apply measures to reduce the energy need in buildings. Allowing drifts in indoor temperature is one of the options to reduce the energy demand. This study contributes to the knowledge concerning the effects of a moderate temperature drift and the age of the inhabitants on their thermal comfort. [source]


Climate change levy and its application within the dairy industry

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DAIRY TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2003
George S Plemper
The government's climate change levy on energy use in the nondomestic sector was announced in the March 1999 Budget and came into effect on 1 April 2001. During 1990 it is estimated that 603 million tonnes of carbon dioxide contributed to 79% of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions. Nationally, energy consumption within the dairy industry contributes to only 0.2% of the UK's annual emissions of carbon dioxide and climate change levy agreements throughout the industry are unlikely to have a major impact on the government's Climate Change Programme. Paradoxically, the arrangements that dairies are required to put into place as part of their Climate Change Agreements are of paramount importance for the achievement of operational and process efficiency within the dairy sector. [source]


Modeling an industrial energy system: Perspectives on regional heat cooperation

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 9 2008
S. Klugman
Abstract Through energy efficiency measures, it is possible to reduce heat surplus in the pulp and paper industry. Yet pulp and paper mills situated in countries with a heat demand for residential and commercial buildings for the major part of the year are potential heat suppliers. However, striving to utilize the heat within the mills for efficient energy use could conflict with the delivery of excess heat to a district heating system. As part of a project to optimize a regional energy system, a sulfate pulp mill situated in central Sweden is analyzed, focusing on providing heat and electricity to the mill and its surrounding energy systems. An energy system optimization method based on mixed integer linear programming is used for studying energy system measures on an aggregated level. An extended system, where the mill is integrated in a regional heat market (HM), is evaluated in parallel with the present system. The use of either hot sewage or a heat pump for heat deliveries is analyzed along with process integration measures. The benefits of adding a condensing unit to the back-pressure steam turbine are also investigated. The results show that the use of hot sewage or a heat pump for heat deliveries is beneficial only in combination with extended heat deliveries to an HM. Process integration measures are beneficial and even increase the benefit of selling more heat for district heating. Adding a condensing turbine unit is most beneficial in combination with extended heat deliveries and process integration. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


A cost-effective operating strategy to reduce energy consumption in a HVAC system

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 6 2008
Nabil Nassif
Abstract The operation of the building heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is a critical activity in terms of optimizing the building's energy consumption, ensuring the occupants' comfort, and preserving air quality. The performance of HVAC systems can be improved through optimized supervisory control strategies. Set points can be adjusted by the optimized supervisor to improve the operating efficiency. This paper presents a cost-effective building operating strategy to reduce energy costs associated with the operation of the HVAC system. The strategy determines the set points of local-loop controllers used in a multi-zone HVAC system. The controller set points include the supply air temperature, the supply duct static pressure, and the chilled water supply temperature. The variation of zone air temperatures around the set point is also considered. The strategy provides proper set points to controllers for minimum energy use while maintaining the required thermal comfort. The proposed technology is computationally simple and suitable for online implementation; it requires access to some data that are already measured and therefore available in most existing building energy management and control systems. The strategy is evaluated for a case study in an existing variable air volume system. The results show that the proposed strategy may be an excellent means of reducing utility costs associated with maintaining or improving indoor environmental conditions. It may reduce energy consumption by about 11% when compared with the actual strategy applied on the investigated existing system. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Missing data estimation for 1,6,h gaps in energy use and weather data using different statistical methods

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 13 2006
David E. Claridge
Abstract Analysing hourly energy use to determine retrofit savings or diagnose system problems frequently requires rehabilitation of short periods of missing data. This paper evaluates four methods for rehabilitating short periods of missing data. Single variable regression, polynomial models, Lagrange interpolation, and linear interpolation models are developed, demonstrated, and used to fill 1,6,h gaps in weather data, heating data and cooling data for commercial buildings. The methodology for comparing the performance of the four different methods for filling data gaps uses 11 1-year data sets to develop different models and fill over 500 000 ,pseudo-gaps' 1,6,h in length for each model. These pseudo-gaps are created within each data set by assuming data is missing, then these gaps are filled and the ,filled' values compared with the measured values. Comparisons are made using four statistical parameters: mean bias error (MBE), root mean square error, sum of the absolute errors, and coefficient of variation of the sum of the absolute errors. Comparison based on frequency within specified error limits is also used. A linear interpolation model or a polynomial model with hour-of-day as the independent variable both fill 1,6 missing hours of cooling data, heating data or weather data, with accuracy clearly superior to the single variable linear regression model and to the Lagrange model. The linear interpolation model is the simplest and most convenient method, and generally showed superior performance to the polynomial model when evaluated using root mean square error, sum of the absolute errors, or frequency of filling within set error limits as criteria. The eighth-order polynomial model using time as the independent variable is a relatively simple, yet powerful approach that provided somewhat superior performance for filling heating data and cooling data if MBE is the criterion as is often the case when evaluating retrofit savings. Likewise, a tenth-order polynomial model provided the best performance when filling dew-point temperature data when MBE is the criterion. It is possible that the results would differ somewhat for other data sets, but the strength of the linear and polynomial models relative to the other models evaluated seems quite robust. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Artificial neural networks applications in building energy predictions and a case study for tropical climates

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 10 2005
Melek Yalcintas
Abstract This study presents artificial neural network (ANN) methods in building energy use predictions. Applications of the ANN methods in energy audits and energy savings predictions due to building retrofits are emphasized. A generalized ANN model that can be applied to any building type with minor modifications would be a very useful tool for building engineers. ANN methods offer faster learning time, simplicity in analysis and adaptability to seasonal climate variations and changes in the building's energy use when compared to other statistical and simulation models. The model herein is presented for predicting chiller plant energy use in tropical climates with small seasonal and daily variations. It was successfully created based on both climatic and chiller data. The average absolute training error for the model was 9.7% while the testing error was 10.0%. This indicates that the model can successfully predict the particular chiller energy consumption in a tropical climate. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Are mice calorically restricted in nature?

AGING CELL, Issue 4 2003
Steven N. Austad
Summary An important question about traditional caloric restriction (CR) experiments on laboratory mice is how food intake in the laboratory compares with that of wild mice in nature. Such knowledge would allow us to distinguish between two opposing views of the anti-aging effect of CR , whether CR represents, in laboratory animals, a return to a more normal level of food intake, compared with excess food consumption typical of laboratory conditions or whether CR represents restriction below that of animals living in nature, i.e. the conditions under which house mice evolved. To address this issue, we compared energy use of three mouse genotypes: (1) laboratory-selected mouse strains (= laboratory mice), (2) house mice that were four generations or fewer removed from the wild (= wild-derived mice) and (3) mice living in nature (= wild mice). We found, after correcting for body mass, that ad libitum fed laboratory mice eat no more than wild mice. In fact, under demanding natural conditions, wild mice eat even more than ad libitum fed laboratory mice. Laboratory mice do, however, eat more than wild-derived mice housed in similar captive conditions. Therefore, laboratory mice have been selected during the course of domestication for increased food intake compared with captive wild mice, but they are not particularly gluttonous compared with wild mice in nature. We conclude that CR experiments do in fact restrict energy consumption beyond that typically experienced by mice in nature. Therefore, the retarded aging observed with CR is not due to eliminating the detrimental effects of overeating. [source]


Life Cycle Cost Disclosure, Consumer Behavior, and Business Implications

JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
Evidence From an Online Field Experiment
Summary Comprehensive assessments of final consumption have identified "housing" as a major contributor to total environmental impacts. Within this category, electrical-energy-using products are important. Do consumers opt for more energy-efficient household appliances if they are provided with life cycle cost (LCC),that is, the sum of purchase price and operating cost estimated over the life span of the appliance? And what consequences does LCC disclosure have for business? Physical energy figures shown on appliance labels may be cognitively demanding for consumers, whereas monetary information promises to simplify the decision problem. Despite the rising interest in monetary cost disclosure, its effectiveness relative to physical cost disclosure has not been rigorously evaluated. This research approached the question of effectiveness with an online field experiment for washing machines. Customers of a commercially operating online shop were randomly assigned to two groups. The control group was provided with regular product price information; the treatment group received additional LCC information. A total of 2,065 clicks were recorded and analyzed with multiple regression that controlled for several product characteristics. The evidence suggests that LCC disclosure decreases the mean specific energy use of chosen washing machines by 0.8% (p < 0.01) and their mean specific water use by 0.7% (p < 0.05). As to business implications, LCC disclosure had no effect on the indicator of retail volume, which makes it unattractive for retailers to provide LCC on their own initiative. [source]


Environmental Impacts of Products: A Detailed Review of Studies

JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2006
Arnold Tukker
Summary Environmental effects of economic activities are ultimately driven by consumption, via impacts of the production, use, and waste management phases of products and services ultimately consumed. Integrated product policy (IPP) addressing the life-cycle impacts of products forms an innovative new generation of environmental policy. Yet this policy requires insight into the final consumption expenditures and related products that have the greatest life-cycle environmental impacts. This review article brings together the conclusions of 11 studies that analyze the life-cycle impacts of total societal consumption and the relative importance of different final consumption categories. This review addresses in general studies that were included in the project Environmental Impacts of Products (EIPRO) of the European Union (EU), which form the basis of this special issue. Unlike most studies done in the past 25 years on similar topics, the studies reviewed here covered a broad set of environmental impacts beyond just energy use or carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The studies differed greatly in basic approach (extrapolating LCA data to impacts of consumption categories versus approaches based on environmentally extended input-output (EEIO) tables), geographical region, disaggregation of final demand, data inventory used, and method of impact assessment. Nevertheless, across all studies a limited number of priorities emerged. The three main priorities, housing, transport, and food, are responsible for 70% of the environmental impacts in most categories, although covering only 55% of the final expenditure in the 25 countries that currently make up the EU. At a more detailed level, priorities are car and most probably air travel within transport, meat and dairy within food, and building structures, heating, and (electrical) energy-using products within housing. Expenditures on clothing, communication, health care, and education are considerably less important. Given the very different approaches followed in each of the sources reviewed, this result hence must be regarded as extremely robust. Recommendations are given to harmonize and improve the methodological approaches of such analyses, for instance, with regard to modeling of imports, inclusion of capital goods, and making an explicit distinction between household and government expenditure. [source]


Assessment of the Automobile Assembly Paint Process for Energy, Environmental, and Economic Improvement

JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY, Issue 1-2 2004
Geoffrey J. Roelant
A coat of paint adds considerable value to an automobile. In addition to consuming up to 60% of the energy needed by automobile assembly plants, however, the painting process also creates both economic and environmental impacts. This study investigated the degree of cost and environmental impact improvement that can be expected when modifications are considered for existing paint processes through heat integration. In order to accomplish this goal, a mathematical model was created to describe the energy use, costs, and environmental impacts from energy consumption in an automobile assembly painting facility. The model agrees with measured energy consumption data for process heating and electricity demand to within about 15% for one Michigan truck facility from which model input parameters were obtained. Thermal pinch analysis determined an energy conservation target of 58% of paint process energy demand. A heat exchanger network optimization study was conducted in order to determine how closely the network design could achieve this target. The resulting heat exchanger network design was profitable based on a discounted cash flow analysis and may achieve reductions in total corporate energy consumption of up to 16% if implemented corporatewide at a major automobile manufacturer. [source]


Energy Price Shocks and the Macroeconomy: The Role of Consumer Durables

JOURNAL OF MONEY, CREDIT AND BANKING, Issue 7 2008
RAJEEV DHAWAN
energy prices; business cycles; durable goods We create a model with a distinction between investment in consumer durables and capital goods, as well as energy use by households and firms, to evaluate the importance of energy price shocks for output fluctuations. Simulation results indicate that this economy has a smaller proportion of output fluctuations attributable to energy price shocks than one without durable goods and household energy use. We show that an energy price hike is absorbed by reducing investment in durables more than in fixed capital. This rebalancing effect cushions the hit to future production. Thus, productivity shocks remain the prime driver for output fluctuations. [source]


Social features of energy production and use in Brazil: Goals for a sustainable energy future

NATURAL RESOURCES FORUM, Issue 1 2007
Márcio Macedo Da Costa
Abstract This paper focuses on the social features of ene rgy production and use in Brazil and discusses the role of the energy policy goals of accessibility, affordability and acceptability in defining a sustainable energy future for the country. The major findings are that social inequalities in Brazil regarding energy use continue to be substantial and important. This can be explained by the fact that, although recent decades have seen significant improvements in energy accessibility all over the country, much more needs to be done to provide affordable, and socially acceptable modern energy carriers to all socio-economic groups in all regions. [source]


Underlying consumer preferences and their contribution to energy demand

OPEC ENERGY REVIEW, Issue 3-4 2009
Olutomi I. Adeyemi
The demand for energy is not simply a function of price and income, but can be shown to also be a function of the underlying energy demand trend (UEDT). The UEDT not only captures behavioural responses to non-fiscal instruments, including technological change, but also encapsulates attitudinal responses/changes in demand that might result, for instance, from increased public awareness of how environmentally damaging energy use can be; hence, reflecting underlying consumer preferences. This study estimates a longitudinal econometric model for the aggregate demand functions of a sample of 17 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries for the period 1960,2005. This approach to modelling will enable UEDTs to be observed for each of the countries, as well as normal price and income elasticities. The model results will provide an indication of the extent to which price/income-based instruments can be used to reduce the demand for energy, as well as indicating the extent to which consumers have responded to non-price/income instruments. [source]


Energy use and GDP growth, 1950,97

OPEC ENERGY REVIEW, Issue 3 2002
Rögnvaldur Hannesson
This paper investigates the relationship between economic growth and growth in energy use in the latter part of the 20th century. The period is divided into five sub,periods, covering the low oil price era before the first energy crisis, the high oil price era, 1974,86, and a ten,year period after the drop in oil prices in 1986. It is found that the relationship between growth in energy use and gross domestic product (GDP) growth became weaker after the first energy crisis, but, after 1986, it seems to have become stronger again in rich countries. Energy use tends to grow more slowly than GDP in rich countries, while the opposite is true for poor countries, reflecting the fact that the energy intensity of GDP falls after countries have reached a certain level of affluence. One intriguing exception to this is China. [source]


North Korean Energy Problems and Solutions: A Russian Perspective1

PACIFIC FOCUS, Issue 1 2008
Georgy Toloraya
The energy situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) remains very difficult and could prevent the economic progress of the country even if large foreign assistance and investment were at hand. Analysis of the country's energy supply and demand patterns shows that the outdated energy-hungry industries and the wasteful use of energy due to a lack of incentives lead to a much higher energy use per unit of gross domestic profit (GDP) than in comparable economies. On the other hand the domestic supply is limited, while the lack of financing sources limits the external supply. The DPRK cannot attain energy security on its own: this is the priority task for international assistance, especially in the context of the Six-Party peace process. Suggested measures include modernization of energy sector management, an internationally-funded system of training of personnel, the modernization of energy sector facilities, the construction of new facilities and innovation. The South Korean role is very important and its assistance should be coordinated with broader international aid in the framework of the Six-Party talks. Multilateral energy assistance arrangements, including a possible consortium should be considered. Such a body could draw a comprehensive plan of the DPRK's energy production and consumption patterns and the needed investment correlated with the overall prognosis of the DPRK's economic development. [source]


What changes energy consumption?

THE RAND JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2008
Prices, public pressures
Policymakers often seek to limit energy prices following market shocks, and instead issue public appeals to reduce demand. This article presents new evidence on how price changes and conservation appeals affect energy consumption, using household-level data from California's energy crisis during 2000 and 2001. The evidence indicates that when policymakers cap energy prices following market shocks, they preclude substantial,and quite rapid,reductions in energy use. The data also reveal that conservation appeals and informational programs can produce sustained reductions in energy demand. [source]


Biodiversity conservation in Mediterranean and Black Sea lagoons: a trait-oriented approach to benthic invertebrate guilds

AQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue S1 2008
A. Basset
Abstract 1. The extent to which conservation of biodiversity enforces the protection of ecosystem functioning, goods and services is a key issue in conservation ecology. 2. In order to address this conservation issue, this work focused on community organization, linking community structure, as described both in taxonomic and functional terms, to community functioning and ecosystem processes. 3. Body size is an individual functional trait that is deterministically related to components of ecosystem functioning such as population dynamics and energy flow, and which determines components of community structure. Since body size is an individual trait that reflects numerous factors, it is also exposed to trait selection and the niche filtering underlying the community. 4. An analysis of the relevance of body size to community organization in transitional water ecosystems in the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea regions is presented, based on field research conducted on a sample of 15 transitional water ecosystems. 5. 250 taxa were identified, clumped in five orders of magnitude of body size. All body size patterns showed triangular distributions with an optimal size range of 0.13 mg to 1.0 mg individual body mass. 6. Deterministic components of size structure were emphasized and a hierarchical organization with dominance of large sizes was demonstrated by the slopes of the body size-abundance distributions, consistently larger than the EER threshold (b=,0.75), and by the direct relationship of energy use to body size for most of the body size range. 7. Consistent variations of body size-related descriptors were observed on three main gradients of environmental stress: eutrophication, confinement and metal pollution. 8. The results support the relevance of constraints imposed by individual body size on community organization in transitional water ecosystems and the adequacy of size patterns as an indicator for ecological conservation of these fragile ecosystems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


China's Energy in Transition: Regional and Global Implications

ASIAN ECONOMIC POLICY REVIEW, Issue 1 2006
Tianshu CHU
China is the largest energy user in Asia and the second largest in the world after the US. This paper documents substantial changes of the structure of China's energy use over the past decades. It explores the puzzling phenomena of China's low gross domestic product elasticity of energy consumption. Econometric analysis applying the AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average model finds that factors such as institutional reforms and structural change can account for a substantial fraction of the downward impacts on the elasticity level. The paper also studies the future energy growth and energy security issues in China, and examines the regional and global impacts of China's rapidly growing energy consumption. [source]


An exergy calculator tool for process simulation

ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 5 2007
Juan M. Montelongo-Luna
Abstract The constant tightening of environmental regulations and the ongoing need to reduce operating costs have posed a challenge for the design of any chemical process. Process engineers use process simulators to help them perform calculations that will, ultimately, result in design parameters or operating conditions for a plant or process. Exergy is a potential indicator that can aid in the design of energy efficient chemical processes and plants. The exergy concept has been increasingly used as a tool to locate the critical energy use in many industrial processes, both chemical and non-chemical. However, currently most process simulators in the market do not offer the capability of calculating the exergy of a process. An open-source exergy calculator has been created by embedding the calculation procedure in an open-source chemical process simulator. This improves process simulation by including a potential tool for design teams to quickly evaluate several process options in detail in order to understand their energy utilisation. A simple exergy analysis for a gas processing facility is used to demonstrate the capabilities of the tool. The analysis shows where the largest quantities of exergy are being consumed within the plant, thus pointing to areas where improvement in energy usage can be made. The use of exergy as a potential design and retrofit tool is also discussed. Copyright © 2007 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]