Affect Energy Use Research Articles

Energetic Cost of Locomotion as a Function of Ambient Temperature and During Growth in the Marsupial Potorous Tridactylus

In the marsupial, the potoroo, multiple regression analysis shows that ambient temperature makes a minor (2%) contribution towards variation in oxygen consumption with speed. This suggests that the heat generated during running is substituted for heat which would otherwise have to be generated for temperature regulation. Maximum levels of oxygen consumption are also temperature-independent over the range 5-25 degrees C, but plasma lactate concentrations at the conclusion of exercise significantly increase with ambient temperature. Adult potoroos show a linear increase in oxygen consumption with speed, and multiple regression indicates that the most significant factor affecting energy use during running is stride length. Juvenile potoroos have an incremental cost of locomotion about 40% lower than that predicted on the basis of body mass. The smaller animals meet the demands of increasing speed by increasing stride length rather than stride frequency, as would be expected in a smaller species. Our results show that juvenile potoroos diverge significantly from models based only on adult animals in incremental changes in stride frequency, length and the cost of transport, suggesting that they are not simply scaled-down adults.

Social and engineering determinants and their equity implications in residential electricity use

Energy conservation may occur because of either economic constraints or voluntary changes in values and lifestyle, with quite different social welfare implications. We examine the determinants of summer electricity use in single-family dwellings. Income and household size strongly affect energy use, while factors related to values and lifestyle are less important. A causal model approach is used to show how the social variables are related to energy use through intervening engineering/hardware variables.

The analysis of the factors affecting energy use in the commercial buildings of the Wellington CBD

This paper describes the methods used and the results obtained during a study of energy consumption in the commercial buildings of the Central Business District of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Data was collected on the energy consumption, floor area and occupancy of 1,107 buildings, together with their design and operational characteristics. Analysis of the data demonstrated that both floor area and number of occupants provide useful bases for comparison of the intensity of energy use in buildings. Categorising premises within buildings into activity groups produced significantly different mean energy intensities for each activity. The factor most often associated with energy use for all activity groups, and apparently, therefore, the major determinant of energy use in these buildings, was the complexity and degree of centralisation of the HVAC services. The information derived from this data constitutes the most comprehensive picture yet produced for a major collection of New Zealand's commercial buildings. It provides a basis for comparisons with other centre's data and for the eventual production of a national data base.

Energy conservation: The need for a sharper institutional focus

Improved efficiency of energy usage has a new role to play in economic growth in both developed and developing countries. Economic pricing of energy is central to effective energy conservation policies. But even when such policies are pursued, there are a number of barriers which inhibit the effective working of the market — in particular, the fragmentation of responsibility for decisions affecting energy use (both within individual governmetal systems and amongst the myriad of individual consumers involved), and lack of appreciation of the scope for increased efficiency and of what can be achieved technically. Governmental intervention is necessary to overcome market imperfections. The form will vary according to political philosophy and social and institutional patterns. Experience in the industrialized countries, with a varied institutional response, can provide valuable guidelines for developing countries, whose importance in commercial energy markets is increasing sharply and could prove a crucial factor in times of market disruption.

Conservation Characteristics among Determinants of Residential Property Value

Two hedonic regression models were used to decompose housing prices into the implicit prices of the components of housing, including features affecting energy use and actual energy use. Analysis showed that insulation and wood window frames were capitalized into sale price, but the value of storm windows was not. Results indicated substantial payback to energy-conserving investments.

Reducing Energy Consumption in Housing: An Assessment of Alternatives

Physical characteristics of housing far outweigh the importance of household behavior as determinants of energy use. Analysis of residential energy consumption in two metropolitan areas in the north central United States suggests that household behavior affects energy use only within relatively narrow limits determined by the design, construction, and condition of the dwelling. The greatest reduction in per-unit energy consumption can result from changing the design of newly constructed housing. Savings of 20 to 50 percent appear to be readily attainable. Alterations of existing housing would have a more modest effect, from 5 to 10 percent, whereas feasible changes in occupant behavior would reduce energy use only 2 to 5 percent.