Efficient use of energy

AUG 01, 1975

At present our energy resources are being consumed with an appallingly low efficiency; examples drawn from automobile design, housing and industrial processing show where improvements could be effected.

DOI: 10.1063/1.3069109

Physics Today

Energy, it is becoming increasingly clear, is a precious commodity. Efforts are underway worldwide to seek new energy sources, to extend and conserve existing sources, and to educate consumers toward more intelligent use of the sources we have. We of this APS Study Group have been looking into the special contributions physics can make in the particular area of conservation by improved efficiency of energy‐consuming devices. Here we present a brief summary of our report (see box on page 24). We have limited ourselves almost entirely to an analysis of the technical components of energy use,¹ rather than the regulatory, economic and persuasive tools that may be brought to bear on energy conservation²; our intention is to point out areas where scientists and engineers may contribute to the invention or improvement of the technical structure of the energy economy so as to provide new options, new opportunities and a more flexible basis for choice. (A listing of selected research opportunities appears on pages 32–33.)

References

1. For an earlier study, see Technology of Efficient Energy Utilization (E. G. Kovach, ed.), report of a NATO Science Committee Conference held at Les Arcs, France, 8–12 Oct. 1973.
(Available from Pergamon Press, New York, 1975.)
2. Energy Policy Project of the Ford Foundation: A Time to Choose, and The Energy Conservation Papers (R. Williams, ed.) both published by Ballinger, Cambridge, Mass (1975).
3. C. A. Berg, “A Technical Basis for Energy Conservation” in Technology Review, Feb. 1974, page 14;
and J. H. Keenan, E. P. Gyftopoulos, G. H. Hatsopoulos, in Proceedings of the MIT Energy Conference (M. S. Mackrakis, ed.) MIT Press (1973).
4. J. H. Keenan, Thermodynamics, Wiley, New York (1948).
5. Patterns of Energy Consumption in the United States (prepared by Stanford Research Institute), US Office of Science and Technology (1972).
6. For additional discussion see R. Schoen, A. S. Hirshberg, J. M. Weingart, New Energy Technologies for Buildings, Ballinger, Cambridge, Mass. (1975).
7. Research and Development Opportunities for Improved Transportation Energy Usage, summary report of the Transportation Energy Panel, report no. DOT‐TSC‐OST‐73‐14, US Dept. of Transportation (1972).
8. J. T. Kummer, Technology Review, February 1975, page 26.
9. An Evaluation of Alternative Power Sources for Low‐Emission Automobiles, Nat. Acad. Scis., Washington D.C. (1973);
Automotive Research and Development and Fuel Economy, Hearings before the US Senate Committee on Commerce serial no. 93‐41, US Govt. Ptg. Office (1973), and ref. 7.
10. See also J. R. Pierce, Scientific American, January 1975, page 34.
11. See also E. P. Gyftopoulos, L. J. Lazaridis, T. Widmer, Potential Fuel Effectiveness in Industry, Ballinger, Cambridge, Mass. (1975).
12. A. L. Hammond, Science 184, 1359 (1974).https://doi.org/SCIEAS
13. L. J. Heidt, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts and Scis. 79, 228 (1951).https://doi.org/PAAAAV
14. A. Fujishima, K. Honda, Nature 238, 38 (1973).https://doi.org/NATUAS
15. J. Harte, R. Socolow, Patient Earth, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York (1971); pages 273–5.
16. L. F. Reichle, “Evaluation of All Potential Sources of Energy for Desalting,” in Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Water Desalination, US Dept. of the Interior (1965); page 605.
17. R. H. Sabersky, Int. J. Heat Transfer 14, 1927 (1971).