The development of technologies designed to increase energy efficiency

Häfele, W., Khan, A. M., & Hölzl, M. (1980). The development of technologies designed to increase energy efficiency. In: East and West in the Energy Squeeze. Eds. Saunders, C. T., pp. 217-256 UK: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-349-05758-0 10.1007/978-1-349-05758-0_12.

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Abstract

In recent years there has been a growing concern for more efficient use of energy in view of its increasing world consumption and the realization that fossil fuel resources, particularly the premium fuels — oil and gas — are being depleted rapidly. This concern appears quite justified if one looks at the growth of world consumption of energy over the last one hundred years (Figure 1). With the exception of some crisis periods, the consumption of primary energy in the world has been increasing exponentially at an average growth rate of about 5 % per year. Most of the growth so far may be attributed to the increasing energy demand by the present developed regions in the process of their industrialization and relatively fast economic growth. In 1975 world consumption of primary energy was about 8 Tirawatts (TW or 1012 Watts) of which the share of the developing regions (comprising about 70 % of the world population) was only about 16 %. Now as the developing regions undergo a process of industrialization they too will require a rapid increase in their energy consumption, much faster than the rate of their population growth, while the industrialized regions will also need more energy just to sustain their economic growth or even to avoid stagnation and depression. Will such a growth continue in the foreseeable future or can it be arrested through techno­logical developments and conservation measures at a level not much higher than the current level without serious repercussions on economic development and human welfare? To answer these questions one needs to understand the nature of energy demand, the potential of technological developments for improving the efficiency of energy use and the possible impact of conservation measures in different regions of the world.

Item Type:	Book Section
Research Programs:	Energy Program (ENP)
Depositing User:	Romeo Molina
Date Deposited:	05 Apr 2016 07:59
Last Modified:	27 Aug 2021 17:40
URI:	https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/12343

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