Archive:000/Energy demand

This page is an attempt to estimate how much energy it takes to sustain a reasonable quality of life in a developed country.

Tables

Energy units: W (watts per capita, averaged over time. This is not the same as peak watts). (example)Suppose an electric car charger operates at 4800 watts, but the car is only charging for 2 hours per day on average. So the wattage averaged over time is 400 watts. Also note: If a family of 2 people owns 1 of these cars, then that's 200 watts per capita.

• Non-electric energy usage (fuel) is still measured in watts, this same way, for the sake of comparison.

	Status quoibased on OECD countries, most of which are developed	Status quo, electrifiediall vehicles electric instead of fossil fuels ~ Estimated based on the energy footprint of lithium-ion batteries.	Minimal consumptioniInvolves major personal & social changes: ~ Public transit and walkability ~ Frugalism ~ Abolishing planned obsolescence and code bloat
Residential - heating ivaries with the weather and local climate
Residential - hot water
Residential - cooling ivaries with the weather and local climate
Residential - other iElectricity that isn't used for heating, hot water or cooling. A lot of websites that teach you how to "save energy" are centered on this. But as you can see, it's actually quite a small part of energy demand!
Commercial iThis is not split into heating/cooling/misc (unlike for residential) due to lack of more detailed data.
Industrial iAlmost all of this is manufacturing. Other industrial processes include agriculture & mining (surprisingly minor in terms of energy use).
Transportation iIncludes passenger vehicles, freight trucks, and to a lesser extent: trains, planes and ships

Note on reducing environmental impacts

• When it comes to climate change: Energy usage is the main culprit.
  • Home electricity is just a small part of this. The best thing people can do is drive less and buy less.
    • Note: This is targeted at the average person who lives in a developed country. If you are poor, you probably don't need to consume less. 
• When it comes to habitat loss: Land usage is the main culprit.
  • The best thing people can do is eat more plant-based and waste less food.

See also

• Energy demand scenarios (an older analysis)