Energy efficiency is the ability to reduce energy consumption to the minimum levels needed for a certain purpose.
In recent years, an important social change has taken place. As we have become more aware of the limited material and energy resources we have, the need to avoid using them unnecessarily (in other words, the need to save energy) has increased. We can save energy by putting various measures into practice both at home and at the workplace or school. These measures particularly affect industrial production and transportation.
Individually, people must:
• Understand the importance of energy saving measures as a global benefit.
• Change their habits by reducing their consumption of electricity, hot water and heating.
• Gradually substitute less efficient domestic appliances and incandescent light bulbs for more energy-efficient ones.
In the transportation industry:
• Increase the efficiency of engines.
• Substitute the use of fossil fuels for renewable sources.
• Modify the design of vehicles so that they reduce their energy consumption and if possible, recover kinetic and thermal energy in order to reuse it.
Finally, there is one more area that must not be forgotten: the buildings in which we live and work. Huge amounts of energy are consumed for lighting and air conditioning.
The architecture sector must:
• Take into account climatic conditions that are predominant in the building location.
• Improve insulation to prevent energy loss.
• Implement the use of renewable energies in the building, especially solar and wind energy.
In order to inform consumers of the energy consumption of various products, from household appliances to homes, the European Union designed a label that includes seven classes of efficiency, each identified by a colour code and a letter. The most efficient products are identified in green and by the letter A, while the less efficient products are red and marked with the letter G.
