Reflection on Data Analysis and Resource Conservation
Utilizing data from various scales, we will analyze our resource consumption, and learn about the necessity of efficiency management.
In order to more thoroughly understand the types and magnitude of resource consumption, I used related data on three different scales - personal, local, and city-wise, targeting mainly energy and water expenditure. We will look into each level in more detail.
Energy & Water Audit in my Home
To understand the importance of the daily resources we rely upon and have taken for granted, the first step is to understand how and how much do we need them. For two weeks, I collected data on the amount of electricity and water I consume everyday, using a combination of calculations and estimations. Before the experiment, I made predictions as to how much I would use over the two weeks.
Turns out, I used less electricity than I thought, and I used a lot more water than I believed. Even though 150kWh for two weeks may not seem to be a lot, it's merely the amount used by a teenager who mainly stays home. According to U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2022, the average annual amount of electricity sold to (purchased by) a U.S. residential electric-utility customer was 10,791 kilowatt hours (kWh), an average of about 899 kWh per month. The number would be quite overwhelming if we account for all of the households in the U.S. along with the non-residential electricity consumptions.
The amount of water I used over the 2 weeks surprised me. However, after some research, this amount actually is actually below average. According to EPA, each American uses an average of 82 gallons of water a day at home (from data in 2015), which is 1,148 gallons per fortnight.
Seeing these numbers didn't help me understand how exactly did I manage to use these resources. Therefore, I created more detailed charts that showed me the main areas of my consumption.
My refrigerator and computer took up most of my electricity consumption. The other minor fields of usage, such as microwaving and air conditioning, are equally crucial to our domestic well-being. Electricity is an irreplaceable element of our lives, which could be shown by the fact that "It is worrisome if my fridge stopped working" is unquestionably an understatement.
In total of two weeks, I used about 800 gallons of water. To give you a more concrete idea as to how much water that is, it's about one-third of a Concrete Mixer Truck (which is ~2900 gallons). This is a lot of water used in such a short period of time, and the majority of it was used for shower, toilets, and laundries.
Conclusion
Collecting and understanding these data helped me to see more clearly not only the necessity of these resources to us, but also the need to use them with minimal waste and through a sustainable manner, in order to ensure our long term well-being. Before we talk about the conservation methods, however, it's important for us to also visualize data on larger scales.
District-Wise Comparative Energy Analysis
Other than the domestic usage of energies, commercial consumption cannot be overlooked. In fact, commercial buildings consume 13.6 quads of electricity (35 percent of electricity consumed in the U.S), and generate 826 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions (16 percent of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions), according to Energy.gov. One type of commercial building that is present in almost every single district is schools. Needing to provide a comfortable space for the students and the staff members, energy usage in schools are often generous or even wasteful (such as when they leave the doors open with the air conditioners on full blast). Therefore, it is crucial for us to understand how schools use their resources, thereby improving upon them.
Using the Powerville Unified School District (USD) model, I did a side-by-side analysis of the energy consumption of the district with one of its schools, Powerville High School. We will focus on three of the CEA (Comparative Energy Analysis) sectors: District buildings, outdoor lighting, and pumping.
Electricity Consumption
The graphs 1a) below present the annual electricity consumption in the Powerville USD and the Powerville HS. One similarity that stands out between them is their peaks in March, July, and December. This may be due to the increase in demand for air conditioning and heating during summer and winter months, when the weather is more extreme. It is beneficial for schools to implement demand response, and use stored energy instead of taking from the grid during these peak periods, which is what we will be discussing later.
Another noticeable point is the disparaging proportions of electricity usage among the CEA sectors. For both the district and the school, the "Buildings" sector take up the majority of the electricity consumption. Thus, we can conclude that we need to focus on reducing the electricity consumption in buildings in particular more than the other sectors.
1a)
Gas Consumption
Out of the three sectors, only buildings require natural gas usage. This makes sense, because the electric power sector uses natural gas to generate electricity and produce useful thermal output, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). If we compare the graphs 1b) (see below) with 1a), we can see that schools' natural gas consumption is very little compared with the electricity consumption. Upon further research, this trend in Powerville USD fits with the data from EIA, which states that "Education buildings used 854 trillion British thermal units (TBtu) of energy in 2018, which was 13% of total energy consumption in commercial buildings. Electricity was the most-used fuel (437 TBtu), followed by natural gas (328 TBtu)."
However, since natural gas isn't a renewable energy source, this need of using gas to generate electricity and heat buildings may not be a sustainable long term solution if used in a large scale. Therefore, we also need to look into not only increasing our energy efficiency, but also alternative renewable energy sources that ensures the long term reliability of our energy supply in the future.
1b)
MMBtu Consumption
MMBtu is one Million British Thermal Units, which is used to measure heating content and the value of a fuel. This unit is distinct from pure volumetric units in that they assume a certain energy content of the gas, according to Natural Gas Intelligence.
MMBtu = Electricity Consumed (kWh) * 0.003412 + Gas Consumed (Therms) * 0.1
As shown by the formula, MMBtu is more dominated by the gas content (as it has higher energy content than electricity) than the electricity amount. From graphs 1b), we know that only the buildings sector contain gas consumption, it is no surprise that Buildings also have the greatest MMBtu usage.
We can see that there are clear fluctuations of MMBtu consumption amount in buildings sector throughout the year. The distinct peaks in July, March, and December may be caused by the need of heating during the winter months and of generating electricity for air conditioning during summer months. EIA states that "residential and commercial natural gas use peaks during the winter, as these consumers use natural gas primarily for space heating". This brings about the quest to figure out how to use renewable heating source as replacement for natural gas.
1c)
Energy Cost
Saving energy not only helps our environment, but also decreases unnecessary spending. Annually, Powerville USD spends more than $40,000 on electricity and gas (see 1d). And according to CoolCalifornia.org, schools can reduce annual energy expenses by about 20 percent through implementing energy efficiency plans that we will talk about later.
1d)
As shown in 1e) below, we can see that energy cost has similar spikes as those shown in 1c) in graphs that represent MMBtu consumption. This similarity highlights to us the positive correlation between energy consumption and cost. Thus, it further proves the point that energy efficiency is also important financially.
1e)
Conclusion
After analyzing the data regarding Powerville Unified School District and one of its high schools, there are a few issues that we should highlight:
- There are distinct peaks in energy usage throughout the year in March, July, and December. This trend leads to uneven distribution of energy costs, with greater costs in these months of high demand.
- The district rely on natural gas for electricity generation and heating of the buildings. This isn't a sustainable long term solution, due to the non-renewable nature of natural gas. Thus, we need to find an renewable alternative that serves the role of natural gas in the district.
- Since school buildings use the overwhelming majority of energy resources within the district, it would be the most beneficial for the system to implement energy efficiency plans within the buildings to minimize wasting of resources.
My City's Resource Consumption
After learning about my own consumptions and analyzing a School District's energy usage, I did further research on a larger scale - the city I live in, Modesto. I mainly focused on two areas: Irrigation and Transportation.
Irrigation
The high school I go to is surrounded by almond orchards, and it is always a pleasant sight to watch the almond blossoms in spring, where the delicate white pedals make the branches look as if they are covered by the snow.
Modesto Irrigation District provides irrigation water to approximately 2,300 agricultural customers who irrigate close to 60,000 acres of permanent and annual crops, as stated on its website. EPA states that "nationwide, landscape irrigation is estimated to account for nearly one-third of all residential water use, totaling nearly 9 billion gallons per day". Seeing the scale of water usage needed, it is critical to practice efficient irrigation methods to reduce wasting of water.
Problem with Spray irrigation
I have seen that some orchards use traditional sprinkler or spray irrigation method. Compared to other irrigation methods, it uses a larger amount of water at once, and covers more area per sprinkler. The issue with this type of irrigation is its lack of flexibility and efficiency. Since the entire area under the trees are being watered, water cannot be saved based on tree size. Furthermore, spray irrigation has a high evaporation rate, especially in windy or hot weathers.
Solutions
It would be advisable to switch to different types of irrigation methods. Drip irrigation, for example, would be a sufficient alternative. Instead of watering the plants in a large amount at once and do so periodically, drip irrigation "provide just what the tree needs every day", and "it only wets a small area so that weed growth is limited and the system is easily adapted to many landscape situations" (EPA). Since water is applied at a smaller amount each time and much closer to the ground than spray irrigation, it is less malleable to water loss due to weather patterns.
Another irrigation method could be micro-sprinklers. According to homeorchard.ucanr.edu, these mini-sprinklers are small sprinklers with the water delivered through drip irrigation tubing. They can irrigate a larger area of soil than drip, and they can be more localized than regular spray irrigation, thus reducing the amount of water wasted.
However, as the graph 2a) shows, the majority of water used for irrigation is used in not-the-most-efficient methods. Therefore, we need to educate those in the field about these various irrigation systems and their pros and cons, while making micro-irrigation more easily available.
Additional resources:
Here is a page that talks more in detail about types of irrigation methods for orchards:
Transportation
Transportation is an important aspect of our daily lives. Like WorldBank.org states, "transport is fundamental to supporting economic growth, creating jobs and connecting people to essential services such as healthcare or education". Especially in a more rural area like Modesto, where public transits isn't as easily accessible or convenient as those in metropolitan areas, private vehicles seem to be more popular.
As we can see on the graph 2b) that almost every household owns at least one vehicle, and in some cases, a person has more than one. Gallop news states that only about 4% of Americans own electric cars. Therefore, we can be fairly certain that the vast majority of the vehicles counted in the graph run on gas.
This isn't exactly good news, because when gasoline and diesel fuels are combusted, toxic air pollutants are released. According to California Air Resources Board, transportation is responsible for approximately 50% of greenhouse gas emissions (when accounting for fuel production emissions) and 80% of air pollutants in California. Lets take a closer look at more data.
Petroleum Refineries and NEI for Point Sources across the US
The map above shows the petroleum refineries along with NEI sources across the U.S.. According to EIA, "petroleum refineries convert (refine) crude oil into petroleum products for use as fuels for transportation, heating, paving roads, and generating electricity and as feedstocks for making chemicals". Even though it is one of the driving forces of our economy, it leads to grave environmental concerns. EPA states that refineries are a major source of air pollutants, such as particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and sulfur dioxide (SO2), which lead to smog, ground level zone, and eventually climate change.
National Emissions Inventory, or NEI, is a comprehensive and detailed estimate of air emissions of criteria pollutants, criteria precursors, and hazardous air pollutants from air emissions sources, according to EPA. From the map above, we can see that the eastern half of the US has a larger amount of major emission sources, thus leading to more significant air pollution. However, we can see that the U.S. is covered by these emission sources. Therefore, this map further highlights to us the importance of switching from using fossil fuel to electricity as our means of transportation.
Overall Takeaways and Plans for Action
Throughout my journey of analysis and research on resource consumption patterns from different scales and fields, I spotted certain issues as I mentioned above. I would like to address each of these problems that we could improve upon, and offer my suggestions for some possible solutions.
Electricity & Water Conservation
While collecting data on my own electricity and water usage for two weeks, I was more conscious than usual regarding the amount of these resources I was using and possibly wasting. Therefore, after some research, here are some conservation tips that you can implement personally at home (sources to these ideas are included in the credits section at the bottom of the page):
Electricity:
- Replace your light bulbs with LED lights. LEDs emit light in a specific direction, reducing the need for reflectors and diffusers that can trap light. This feature makes LEDs more efficient for many uses such as recessed downlights and task lighting. Energy Star-certified LED light bulbs use up to 90 percent less energy than an incandescent light bulb while providing the same amount of light.
Photo: " lased LED light towers " by jared
- Use energy-efficient appliances. They usually save money on your monthly utility bill, despite their higher upfront cost. When purchasing an energy-efficient appliance, look for the Energy Star label. Energy Star is a federal guarantee that the appliance will consume less energy than standard models.
Photo: Image by Susanne Stöckli from Pixabay
- Better insulate your home. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), heat gain and loss through windows account for 25 to 30 percent of most homes' heating and cooling energy. You can replace single-pane windows with double-pane products to prevent heat loss through your windows. Weatherizing, or sealing air leaks around your home, is another way to reduce your heating and cooling expenses. Preventing these leaks can greatly reduce your energy consumption and cost.
Photo: Image by Kerstin Wießer-Buchholz from Pixabay
Water:
- Use a leak-free, high efficiency toilet. As you can see from my home water consumption data, about 20% of water was used to flush the toilet. Therefore, it's important that we minimize waste in water there.
Photo: Image by rony michaud from Pixabay
- Take more shower instead of baths; Wash full loads of laundry and use appropriate water levels
Photo: Image by Babil Kulesi from Pixabay
Systematic Conservation Plans
It takes more than individual actions to reduce resource waste on a large scale. It's necessary for corporations to implement systematic plans to maximize energy efficiency. Energy efficiency is the ratio of usable energy coming out of a process to the total energy input into a process. There are several resources that can establish plans and actions to maximize commercial and residential energy efficiency.
Energy Audit
Energy.gov states that a energy audit, or energy assessment, can help you determine how much energy you use, where your use is inefficient, and which problem areas and fixes you should prioritize to save energy and improve the comfort of the place. What you pay for a professional energy audit are usually worth it when you save on your electricity bills down the line. By making energy efficiency upgrades in your home, you can save between 5 and 30 percent on your energy bills, according to the DOE.
Operations and Maintenance (O&M)
O&M manages and maintains large facilities, and aims to ensure that your physical assets are operating efficiently, continuously, and safely. It assesses your current operation and maintenance practices, and gives you recommendations on practices that you can improve upon. After the improvements are selected and set in motion, it's important to document and maintain such energy-efficient operations while tracking the savings from the improvements.
Demand Charge
As we saw in our analysis of the Powerville Unified School District electricity and gas consumptions, there are often periods of high and low energy demand. Many utilities are introducing programs that encourage their customers to use electricity during off-peak hours. Demand charges is calculated based on the highest avg. electricity usage within a period. The higher the demand, usually the greater the costs. Therefore, implementing a battery energy storage system can significantly reduce your demand charges by allowing you to use electricity off-grid during these periods of high demand by using the electricity stored in the battery that was being charged during off-peak times instead. It basically smoothes off these peak demand times, and decreasing the overall energy cost. Therefore, energy storage would be an alternative to decrease the cost during seasons of greater energy consumption.
Renewable Energy
After analyzing the transportation data of my city and the related petroleum refineries pattern across the U.S., I had noted the heavy reliance upon fossil fuels we have. Since it's not renewable and is highly toxic to the environment, it is necessary for us to find an alternative to fossil fuels. Renewable energies include wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, etc. They are sustainable and only emits a tiny amount of greenhouse gases, if any, compared to the combustion of fossil fuel.
Here's the link if you would like to learn more about renewable energies:
Electric power generation facilities
The good news is that renewable energies are spreading across the globe, and our reliance upon fossil fuels is gradually decreasing. The electric power generation facilities in the U.S. are shown above, and we can see that they implemented renewable energies to generate electricity.
Geothermal Energy
I would like to talk specifically about Geothermal energy. When analyzing the gas consumption of Powerville USD, we saw that it is used in the buildings mainly for heating purposes. Furthermore, even though natural gas is cleaner than most of other fossil fuels, it still produces methane, a strong greenhouse gas. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that "in 2022, U.S. CO 2 emissions from burning natural gas for energy accounted for about 35% of total U.S. energy-related CO 2 emissions".
Photo: " Geothermal Energy " by janie.hernandez55
However, we can use geothermal energy as a replacement source for natural gas. As energy.org states, district heating systems and geothermal heat pumps can usually be integrated easily into communities, with almost no visual impact. This solution emphasizes to us the hope and possibility we have in the future to substitute fossil fuel with clean and renewable energies entirely, as long as we increase the public awareness and work systematically toward this goal.
Photo: by WikiImages from Pixabay
As no one else says it better:
Where there is a will, there is a way.