NBSIR 73-202

Conservation Via Effective Use of

Energy at tlie Point of Consumption

Institute for Applied Technology

National Bureau of Standards

Washington, D. C. 20234

April 1973

Final Report

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

NBSIR 73-202

CONSERVATION VIA EFFECTIVE USE OF

ENERGY AT THE POINT OF CONSUMPTION

Charles A. Berg

Institute for Applied Technology

National Bureau of Standards

Washington, D. C. 20234

April 1973

Final Report

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Frederick B. Dent, Secretary

IMATIOIMAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Richard W. Roberts. Director
CO:inERVATJO!I VIA WTEC'VIVE USE OF FriKRCY

AT Tii}^ POINT 0? corJSu;-'.r'7'ioiJ

Abstract

The practices and equipment employed at the point of energy

consumption in l:)ui], dings and in industrial processes pc.Tiit excessive

consanption of energy. It is estimated that if full application of

the economically justifiable technical improvements presently available vere made to equipment and practices in buildings and industry,

as much 25 percent of the total primary fuel consumption in the U.S.A.

could be conserved. The reasons vhy economically justifiable application

of effective technology at the point of energy consumption has not

been videly adopted in the past are considered. The needs to facilitate

adoption of effective equipm.ent and practices in the future are discussed.
With shortages of fuel and, electrical jjover -noM occurring in various

parts of the United States, there no longer remains serious douot that

the U.S.A. faces difficult problems in obtaining the energy needed to

sustain everyday life and industry.

The "basic energy problem of the U.S.A. is that consumption of high

(juality nonpolluting fuels is straining the national capacity to provide

these fuels. It is clear that new primary sources of energy vill

be required to meet future needs of the U.S.A. A number of new

energy sources are available. These include some which require substantial technological development, such as the breeder reactor and gasified

coal.. In addition, if adequate pollution control can be developed, the

vast s\ilphur containing anthracite reserves of the U.S.A. can be utilized;

these are estimated to be sufficient to sustain the U.S.A. for 500 years

or more. Also, oil and liquified natural gas can be imported. The options

available for developing new primary sources of energy are indeed numerous

and varied. However, they share a common aspect; each is costly. One

example of the costliness of new sources of energy is the estimate that

by I9S5 U.S. imports of petroleum will represent an annual trade deficit

of approximately 20 billion dollars (l).

With the passing of the era of abundant inexpensive clean forms

of primary energy, rising costs of energy alone, will compel everyone

to examine the effectiveness with which energy is used. The conservation of primary sources of energy may be essential to assuring

the quality of life, the economic well-being and even the national security

of the U.S.A.
2

The Ir^cviZ of Conv.r^vv 'itio-a and Effec t.ive lJ1:l li/,at:i on

There are tvo "basic vavs to conserve ener/jy. One is straightforvard

curtai2jDent of f^:els and electrical power.* The other is improvarient

of the efficiency at the point of consumption. Until recently it has

not "been widely recognized that improvement in the efficiency of energy

utilization at the point of consumijtion could yield significant reductions

in the national requirements for high quality fuels, without requiring

sacrifices in the comfort, safety or health of "building occupa.nts or in

the producitivity of industrial processes. Ultimately, effective measures

for conservation will prohahly require both curtai]jnent and improvement of efficiency of energy consumption. But if the potential

for energy conservation through efficient utilization at the point of

consumption is recognized and developed, prograiiis of conservation can

"be instituted with far less stringent effect on industry and society than

if conservation were to "be attempted through curtailment alone.

"^ Any approach toward economic optimization of the national energy

system will require careful examination of the effectiveness with which

energy is used at the point of consumption; it does not make good sense,

neither in economic term.s nor in any other, to continue excess consumption of significant quantities of a vital and increasingly costly

natural resource, through ineffective practices.

*At the moment, several regions in the U.S.A. are living under a fuel

rationing sys-cem. , administered by the fuels industry which presently

finds itself unable to r.eet the full demand of regional markets. The

mechanism of conservation through curtailment is already being put to

use
Areag of Excess Eu ei-gy CoiiGimption : _ A_ "Fr rirri '5 vor1: fo r 1") i s c u s s

on

To identify areas in vhich significant energy'" savings are possible

one must know hov r.uch energy is consiamed in various practices and hov

effectively the energy is consurrxed. The second question, with what

effectiveness is energy consuned, involves technical issues to be discusse

later. But, the basic data required to answer the first question has

been compiled by Stanford Research Institute in their report to the Office

of Science and Technology, entitled Patterns of Energy Consumption in

the U.S. (2). The suiimary data of the report, which are given in Table I,

provide an itemized breakdown of the amount of energy consumed in various

practices throughout the U.S.A. (2). These data represent the most

recent and one of the more reliable attempts to account for the use

of energy at the point of c onsumption .

The data of Table I reveal several significant aspects of energy

consumption. First, there are thiree main areas of energy consumption

building services, industrial processes, and transportation. Of these,

transportation has been the subject of public scrutiny by government

agencies, public interest groups, industry and academic institutions.

Energy use of transportation is being investigated at many levels and

will not be further treated here.
Ko"wever J the potential for conservatiorj thi-oi:gh iraproved practices

of energy consu-r.ption in "buildings and in industrial processes has

recej'ved s^nall notice unti.l recejitly.- Actually , both building services

and industrial procesrsos consume vast quantities of energy, and in both

areas ineffective practices allow large quantities of energy to escape

utilization .

'

, ' :

Table I also reveals significant comparisons between areas of

energy consumption. For example, industrial electrolytic processing,

which includes aluminian refining, consumes approximately 1 percent of

the primary fuels used in the U.S.A.** It is widely known that aluminui-a

refining and other industrial electrolytic processes require large amount

of energy. Kcvever Table I reveals that hot water heating in residences

and commercial buildings accounts for approximately h percent of the

consumption of prir.ary fuels in the U.S.A. It would appear that efforts

to conserve primary fuels might be as fruitfully applied to hot water

heating as to electrolj'-tic processing, even through much greater public

attention has been focused on the latter. This observation really

illustrates a basic point which is reflected niumerous times by the data

of Table I. Many of the seemingly mundane practices of everyday life,

such as hot water heating, space heating, and cooking consume vast

*In fact, in many quarters it has been assumed that significant improvements of practices in these fields were either technologically infeasible

or economically unjustifiable. Neither of these assumptions is warranted

**The data of Table I indicate the fuel required to provide electrical

energy.
5

quantities of energy. The effectiveness of practices in these seemingly

mundane areas is, as a rule, rather low and also rather easily correctable.

Improvements in these practices offer immense opportunities for conservation of primary fuels

To broach the question of effectiveness of energy consumption, one

must define both "consum.ption" and "effectiveness." In this paper,

consumption of energy means the ultimate use of energy to operate a

process or to provide a service. Specifically, consumption of energy

does not mean the conversion of energy from one form to anotTier, as in

electric power generation; the energy content of the fuel required to

generate electric power is viewed as being consumed' at the point where

electric power is ultimately put to use.

To assign an effectiveness to an energy consuming process requires

some measure of the minimum energy required to operate the process . In

some instances, it is possible to determine a physically irreducible

minimum energy requirement for a process, ag. in. the case of drying fabrics,

thermal conversion of limestone to portland cement, or refrigeration

of given items of food. In other instances, it is not clear whether

physically irreducible minimum energy requirements can be identified.*

But in any event, while it is useful to know the physically irreducible

minimum energy requirements for energy consuming processes in buildings

and industry, it is often more useful to know the amount of energy which

*For example, in space heating, heat is required to replace losses, but

if perfect insulation and sealing were available, no losses would occur

and no heat would be required. However, perfect insulation and draft

sealing are not available, and even if they were they >:vould be neither

economically justifiable nor desirable. Perfectly sealed buildings would

be unlivable.
inigh-l: -be reouired to operate a prcccsy il full application of available

technoloi^^y vere rp.alo, up to an economically Justifiable limit. It

is this iUTioant of energy vlrich vill be used here to establish a measure

of the effectiveness of a thermal process. The criterion for economic

justification proposed here is minijnuin combined initial cost and operating

cost of equipTiCnt, including, in particular ^ fuel cost.*

*The tern life cyc~le costing is often used to describe this combination,

and vill be er.-olcyed here. Appropriate discounting is, of course, to

be applied in calculations of operating costs.
7

The Tec })nol or i c Pot o; .t in.l :i'o r iJlTJX'ovra ErK. rf^;'^ 1J t,- .i.li::ati or; at the Po int

of ConriUmpti or;

A few of the ontctandinrj examples of opportunities for improving

effectiveness of energj* cons'LL-nption in buildinf/^s and industrial processes

are offered liere to support the plausibility of estimates of the total

reduction of nati onal requirements for high quality fuels.^ vhich might

"be achieved if full economically justifiahle application of available

technology vere made to improve energy consiamption practices.^

(a) Ener ,^.;- y Use in Buildings

The effectiveness of energy use in buildings is determined by

three item.s

:

^ Dg^^S^^ (including insulation, fenestration, selection of heating

and ventilating equipment, etc.)

° Coni^_"t';'"'^ cti^'_i^ .P^^:^ctices in Implem-enting Design.

^ Occupant Practi ces in Using I^il dings

Moyers (6) has studied tlie economic aspects of insulation and fenestration

of residences. He determined the savings of hea.t transmission directly

through the walls of a building, and calculated the life cycle costs

of insulation and storm windows by combining initial costs (with suitable

^Detailed studies of the potential for improved energy use in buildings

have been made by a nior.ber of investigators (e.g., (3, 5, 6, 7));

in a few instances, specific possibilities for obtaining more effective

cons^umption of energy in industrial processes have been studied in

detail (e.g., (8, 9, 10, ll)). For further data and information of

greater detail, the reader is referred to these reports.
interest and taxe^ applied) v.-itli fuel, costs typical of the tiir'.e at -ijhich

the calculation was corried out (l9T0). Figure 1 shows some of Moyers

data, which indicate that hy using 3 1/2 inches of wo.ll insulation.,

6 inches of ceiling insulation and applying storn windows one can cut

the heat losses through the walls of a typical residence in New York

or Minneapolis hy somewhat more than hO percent, as compared with the

heat losses which -vrould ottain with 1 T/8 inch ceiling insixLation, and

no wall insulation or storm windows (points A on the figure).

The residences built prior to 1970 were designed for a level of thermal

perfor-mance typical of the point A. With the issuance of the 1971 T'HA

Minimum Property Standards the insulation levels of residences affected

"by these standards was substantially improved;- but these standards do

not require stor-m windows. Thus, for the most of the extant residences

in the colder climates of the U.S.A. and for a great number of those

yet to be built, application of storm windows and Insulation could reduce

direct heat loss through walls by approximately hO percent.

Figure 2 shows Moyers calculation of net savings to the consiuner,

realizable through insulation and storm windows. There are several

observations on these data which bear mention. First, not only is

it economically attractive to install insulation and storm windows,

but the economically optim.al level of insulation for residences in

cold clim.ates is found to be the extreme of the range of insulation

which Moyers considered (3 1/2 inches of wall insulation, 6 inches of

^Federal standards have a direct effect on approxir.at.ely 35 percent

of new construction; the indirect effect of Federal standards on residential

construction is m.uch larger than 35 percent.
ceiling insulation plus storm vindovs ) . Second, the data shov that

not only the net savings at the economic optimal condition but the

cliaracter of the optiina]. T)oint is extromel.y sensitive to the price

of energy j in Figure 2 the only difference between gas and electric •.

heat is price. As the price of energy goes up, small departures from

the optimal condition, as represented in Figure 2, can cause large

decreases in net annual savings. In fact, the tinae economic optimal design

for either electric l:eating or heatj.ng with higher priced gas, may actually

be found at some greater levels of insulation and control of fenestration

than the extreme of the range shoTO in the figure. Of coiirse, to install

more than 3 1/2 inches of vail insulation vould require either modifying

the vail cavity or devising some insulation system, vhich could be mounted

on the vail rather than in it. Either of these steps might be costly;

but, vith rising energy prices being a certainty in the future, the

character the data in Figure 2 suggests that it might not be too soon

to start considering these steps.

During the past fev decades energy prices have increased at a

slover rate than prices of construction and other prices; relative

to other items energy has been an increasingly good bargain. Thus,

if it is nov economiically justifiable to install insulation and storm

vindovs , it vas even more easily justified in the past. The fact that

insulation vas not videly used in the past illustrates that the rational

economic criteria of life cycle cost have not, as a rule, been effectively

applied in housing purchases. We vill return to this point later.
10

The selection of building equip.ncint i.s another ii"!ij:)ortant aspect

of thermal design of Duil.dings^ "^""igisre 3 fi:lvos porformrince data for

air conditioners of various raxed capacity and price (5). The -pover

ccnsimption rate is the revtio of coolirij-;^ delivered, to electrical

energy consumed by the device. Air conditioners of ^iQOO BTU/hn.-

capacity have electrical energy requirements which decrease by

approximately a factor of two as the price increases by 35 percent.

On a life cycle cost basis, the least expensive unit to own is the

one with the greatest initial price. The same general pattern, vith

only minor exceptions, can be found in the units of higher rated capacity

These data prompt several observations. First, as with insulated housing

the units with the lower initial price tend to sell very well even

though they may be, in the long run, more expensive to own; rational

economic criteria are not commonly applied to building equijjment.

Second, since the mai'ket is and has been m.uch more sensitive to

initial price than to life cycle costs, the equipment manufacturer

is prone to design in high consumption in order to reduce initial

price. One interpretation of Figure 3 is that by approximately

doubling the energy consumption of a ifOOO BTU/hr. air conditioner

one can reduce its price by approximately 35 percent. Thus, a

great deal of the building equipment in service today, which

was bought because of low initial price, makes rather ineffective

use of energy.

Construction practices in implementing design have a very important

effect on energy use in buildings. Figure h shovs t^Jo scanning thermographs of insulated wall test panels subjected to 0°F on one side and

70°F on the other. A differential pressure of 3 1/2 inches of water
11

\s nuintainoci across the panels to 8j;n"alate effects of draft infiltrcition

.

In the theririographs the li '^ht areas are vara 'and the dark areas cold;

the darlf ver bical -hars a])pear vhere the thciTno/rraphy resolves the

studs in the ^^all= The test vail in Fip,ure H"b vas made vith a deliherate

construction I'lav consisting of displacenient of the edge of each

stud 1/8 inch outjoard of the plate. The cold wall area represented

"by the dark frin^ie in the figure is caused "by infiltration through

this flav. The net effect is sufficient to reduce the effective insulation

of the vail significantly belov its design level. As energy heconies more

costly it vlll prohahly Decome vorthwhile to make the extra inves-bnent

required to attain more careful practices in construction, or to find

designs for vail insulation etc., vhich are not so sensitive to minor

construction flavs

.

Occupant practices in "buildingG are very important in attaining

effectiA'e use of energy. P'or exajnple , in a recent puhlic discussion

it vas noted that in government office "buildings of essentially the

sanie design and construction, situated in similar climates and used

for similar purposes, energy consumption can vary "by as much as hO

percent Cl2). Also, careful management of large refrigeration plants

has "been shovn to conserve as much as 12 percent of the electrical energy

required by the plant, vithout sacrifice of plant performance (33).

The maintenance of home heating equipment is also an item

of great importance. The small scale combustion equipment used

for hone fiarnaces and hot vater heaters is designed so that

approximately TO to 75 percent of the heat of combustion vill be

transferred to the hot vater or air stream (as the case may be)
; / 12

when the equipinent is clean, in proper adjustriient and operated in steady

state. Hovever , transient operation can produce soot formation which

can greatly red\ice the ef fecti veness of this equipment. Saiiiple field

ohserx'ations and theoretical estimates of the effects of rainor unattended

items of maintenance indicate that the actual effectiveness of these

small combustion units in field service may he in the range from 50

to 35 percent (lU). -

If all that could he economically justified in ins\i].ation and

fenestration of existing structures and nev construction vere actually

to he done 5 if all that could he done to operate huildingc effectively

vere actually to he done, if economically justifiable application of

available technology to heat recovery in ventilation systems vere actually

3aade 5 if careful use of ventilation and illumination vere made, then

it vou].d not be unreasonable to expect that as much as hO percent of the

primary fuels nov used to support building requirements could be conserved.

Moreover 5 these fuel savings vould not require sacrifice in the quality

of the building environment, nor vould they require unjustified costs.

On the contrary, the measures spoken of here could, if adopted, reduce

net life time operating costs of buildings,

(b) Energy Use in Industry

The use of energy at points of consumption in industry has been

much less veil studied than energy use in buildings.'^ Until quite

recently it has been assumed that industry must make the most effective

*It is reemphasized that ve are concerned here vith operations vhich

consume energy rather than energy conversion operations such as electric

pover generation.
13,

possitle use of energy, "because to do othervir-e would not "be profitable.

This assijinption has now heen reexajnined, and found to he inaccurate

"by industry itself. For example, nerely by plugging leaks in air and

steam lines, by providing steam at the pressures and temperatures

required, and by instituting other straightforward energy management

practices, consultants have been able to reduce the fuel requirements

of large industrial plants by 7 to 15 percent (8). Present efforts

for enei-gy conservation through application of vaste heat managem.ent have hardly scratched the surface of this field. In addition,

redesign of process equipment offers a great potential for energy

savings. Experts in metal processing have estimated that if

full application of presently known economically justifiable technology

were to be made in furnace design, heat soaking jjit design and thermal

management of processes, the overall fuel requirements of steel making

could be reduced as much as 20 percent (ll). Recent redesign of vacuum

furnaces, entailing improved vacuum insulation and the use of direct com

bustion with a heat pipe to provide heat, in place of electrical heating

has reduced the fuel requirem.ents of vacuum furnace operations by 75

percent (9).

Newly emerging developments in thermal process design are also note

worthy. For example, paper making accounts for approximately 2 percent

the total primary fuel consumption in the U.S.A. (2). The largest part
of thi::; enerfty :i c ccr^r.-unTjcl m the pc'^.por fo:-i:i.,, iif, r;-oo'vr-,s '..'hicl'i i :.• e.~ser;'.ir;.J .ly

a drying opcraLion. Iridustria.liGts In E'laropc , (I'j ) and in the U.S.A. (l6)

are developing techniques for "high consiGtency" po.per forming. Using

these techniques, one begins the paper naking process vith a thicker

slurry, there is less water to dry out of the paper and thus less energy

is required. For example,, for certain types of paper it is possible to chang

from a slurry having 1/2 percent solids at the outset to one having 3 percent

thus only 1/6 as much water need "be removed from a given unit of paper..

Engineers who have studied these processes have estimated that as much

as 55 percent of the energy requirements of paper forming could be conserved

through im.plementation of high consistency foimiing technology.

Cement production also accounts for approximately 2 percent of

the primary fuel consumption in the U.S.A. The largest part of this

energy is used as direct heat in the cement kiln. Modern cement kilns

now being introduced on the Western EvLropean market are capable of cutting

the fuel requirem.ents of kiln operations by approximately 30 percent.

More advanced prototype kilns are under development in the U.S.A. These

kilns employ fluidized bed technology to achieve rapid heat transfer

and intimate mixing. They have the capability of yielding even greater

reductions in fuel requirements for kiln operations (iT).

The data cited above support the belief that the practices and

equipment used at the points of energy consumption in industry can be

substantially improved, and that in many cases the improvements can

be economically justified. In the case of industry, economic
Jur.lJ fi cation of ir.provcmcnto may be even c ;i':: i .-;r io :-±'0v than fo'!.- 'bv.i;[din,3S

because reduced fuel ccjUGiunption often cjut:! f-T. -v/itli it reduct-'d co;.rLr.

of pollution centre],. In addition, in nany instances redesi(!;n of tliermial

process equipment and institution of more careful energy management procedures often enhances productivlt;/ as well.

Given the instances cited above, and the instances given in the

current literature (8, 9, 10, 11 ) it vould not seem urjreasonahle to

assume that if full economically justifiable application of known energy

management techniques vere to be made, and if full econom.ically justifiable

adoption of the improved equipment which now exists in proven form were

to be carried tlirough, the primary fuel requirements of energy consuming .

processes in industry i.-^lght be reduced by as m.uch as 30 percent. It is

acknowledged that this estimate cannot be defended by statistical methodolog-y

as can an estimate for the potential of energy conservation in buildings.

While data are too sparse to support statistical estimates of potentia.1

energy savings in industry at high confidence levels, an econoinically

justifiable 30 percent reduction in primary fuel requirements for energy

consuming processes of industry would seem to be a realistic goal to

set for application of effective technology to these processes.
16

ProTjlfir.r, io I)-.- '

•: -.yor •i •i_vvy3 : ?:or-"!s to : Met

It has been yrr;uc-d i:hat jnore effective use of energy at the point of

conGUT.'iVition in botli tc'clini ctilly feasib.le and econt;rnically .justifiable.

If this ic true-, and if it has been true for sometime, vhy has not adoption

of more effective equipneut, practices, building insulation, etc., been

vlderjpread . ^ This is a complicated question to which there is no single

siiaple answer. Nevertheless, two combined forces can be seen to have

had widespread effect. First, the deliberate efforts in the past to

provide high-quality energy in abundance and at minimal price appear

to have encouraged excess consumption. Second, in the economic criteria

for justification of acquisition of buildings, heating equipment, industrial

plant equipment, and other apparatus used at the point of energy consumption,

a much higher priority has usually been assigned to initial cost than to

life tenn operating costs; in particular, energy costs for life term

operation have often been neglected.* Thus, in order to satisfy the

criteria of the marketplace, builders and equipment manufacturers have

"been prone to design high energy consumption into their products in

order to reduce first costs. '^'^ *

A major reason why first costs are a powerful influence in the

building market is that most commercial and residential construction starts

are speculative. Often the original builder does not know who the first •

owner of the building will be. In this situation, the builder who

*It is important to recognize that we are speaking of items of equipm.ent

at the point of energy consumption, not of equipment for energy conversion

such as is power generation.

**Recall Figure 3 and earlier remarks pertaining to it.
IT

build;; for effective vtce of energy, buL at hip;lier cor/t , can run very cericus

riclTu. In commercial Luildir.f^s, the 1:ju:i:''der and firr/b purchaser may be

acquainted, Ivit lii'e tfr::; conts are not a doihinant con.sidoration . Often

the goal of the first purchaser is Epeculative. The potential gain in value

of the dcA'-eloped real estate may be a much more important aspect of the

speculation than the energy costs of operating the building. In addition,

even for those cases in which the first purchaser of a building may be

aware of the potential long-term gains relizable through somewhat greater

initial investment for better thermal performance, the financial institution

upon which the construction market depends are not presently prepared

to deal with financing buildings in such a way as to recognize the

trade-offs between greater initial investment and sa.virigs in operating

costs.

Industrial plant equipment used at the point of energy consu:mption

is subject to similar criteria as buildings. The manager of an operating

unit of industry is coirimonly responsible for his unit's capital budget

and maintenance costs, and above all, he is responsible for his units

production. However, the costs of fuel or power are not often high

priority responsibilities. In fact, in many industrial accounting

systems, energy costs are carried as overhead. Thus, even when an

industrial unit manager recognizes that adoption of more effective

equipment in his unit can yield economic benefits for his firm, the

criteria required to justify the equipment may no' be available to

him; the justification may require modifications at several levels

of management above his unit. This does not necessarily pose an

absolute barrier to introduction of more effective eauiprrent , but it
certainly can act to rot;jrci that p-'occsr;. To vr/odiiy economic criteria

to admit more effective energy consuiainj;: ecjuip;nont requires, at the

very inini/nuin, recof^nition on the jDart of Jiighcr rnanar^eir.ent that more

effective use of energy is an import«.nt objective. In the recent past,

energy prices rose less than other prices and energy progressively

became a "better and "better "bargain. It is not surprising that industrial

imnagement has not alvays seized upon the technical opportunities to

improve the effectiveness of industrial energy consuming processes.

But the era of inexpensive energy has past , and management attitudes

tovard effective use of energy may change significantly in the near fi.iture.

In addition, it should be recognized that industrial management

is always presented vith a variety of problems and opportunities.

"Management maast decide how best to employ the resouj-ces at its, disposal

to meet these. In the view of industrial management the potential

for increasing profitability through investing in more effective equip-

-ment and practices for energy consuming operations, m.ay not have appeared

as attractive an opportunity for utilizing the funds and talent

available as, say, modifying certain of the corporations own management

procedures. Indeed, the householder and the consumer undoubtedly make

very similar judgments when it comes to investing in additional quality

of construction or appliances in order to attain savings in life term,

costs through effective use of energy. To the private citizen, the attraction

of retaining liquidity rather than investing in higher quality buildings

may be quite powerful. In any event, the point to "be recognized here
19

is that adoption of effective energy consiiTriing equiprent often recpaires

increased initial investment, and this investment must "be showi not only

to pay, "but also to compare favorably with other available ojitions for

investment.

It may "be that industrial managers and consumers have recognized

the technical potential for effective use of energy and have properly

evaluated the associated investment opportunity. Somehov one doubts

this; the present evidence of successful and profitable applications

of effective practices such as vaste heat management indicate otherwise.

Rather, one suspects that the technical and economic implications of

effective equipment and practices at the point of energy consumption^

have not been fully recognized in the past. One also suspects that

this lack of recognition has constituted a flaw in the mechanisms

of the marketplace. One of the principal needs of conservation efforts

for the future is the institution of an effective market-mechanism

to facilitate the adoption of efficient equipment and practices at

the point of energy consumption. The requirements for instituting

such a market-mechanism are numerous. They may include regulatory

measures, vhich are often discussed in the press, but vhich are beyond

the scope of the present vriting. In addition to these are the folloving

specific needs

.

Information

All who take part in the marketing of energy and in consuming

energy need to be apprised of the technical options for more effective

use of energy and the economic implications thereof. Marketplace-mechanisms

do not work effectively unless the participants in the market are informed.
20

In particular, there is need for data on incremental cost benefit

ratios of various options for improved effectiveness in utilization

of energy; the relative merits of insulation as opposed to control

of infiltration in buildings need to be determined. Also, realistic

formulae by which trade-offs between initial investment and operating

costs might be included in criteria for financing construction or new

industrial plant equipment are required; these should take into account

estimates of energy price increases.. Other items of information obviously

« suggest themselves to those who consider this issue.

Effective Technology

At the base of all efforts to improve use of energy at the

point of consumption is application of effective technology. Some

of the examples cited above have shown that technology can be devised

for more effective use of energy. In addition, in those instances

where life term costs of energy utilization at the point of consumption have been determined, the minimum 'life term cost has been

found to be attainable by investing initially in equipment which is at

or very near the top of the price-and quality-range available on today's

market. This suggests that the technical potential for designing effective

performance into the equipment used at the point of energy consumption has

not been fully exploited. Had it been fully exploited, there should be

some very high performance equipment on the market which would be suitable

for very long-life operations (say forty years) but which would be

economically unattractive for shorter life applications (say ten years).

But this does not appear to be the case. As a specific example, one

may consider electrically driven heat pum.ps. Comparing the m.easured
21

i/Orfo^^inancc of hcut piunps wit.h the Ifmi.itinr C-\ruot ici c-nc.y of t?io

devicjc, one; fir)di; that existing heat -puTnp;! , oj) era tin,!; under iniD.d climatic

conditions vherc they are most effective, attain only approximately

5 percent of their limiting efficiency. Under more severe climatic

conditions, in vhich their actual measured performance is rather poor,

existing heat pumps attain approximately 20 percent of tlieir limiting

efficiency. Pover generation devices, on the other hand, attain 70 percent

and more of their limiting efficiency. The "basic technology used to

approach the limiting efficiency in a power generation device is not

at all unsimilar to that required for design of a heat pump, and hy

appropriate design, one could produce a more effective heat pump. Of

course, until the value of such an improvement is appropriately recognized

in the marketplace there will 'be little incentive to do so.

Tvo major causes of ineffective operr.tion of devices and processes at the point of energy consumption are faulty heat transfer

and mixing. Many special techniques exist to overcome these problems,

but up until now they have not found many applications outside of energy

conversion operations. Among these techniques are fluidized "beds, heat

pipes, induced vorticity for improving mixing processes or combustion,

jet impingement, and heat recovery apparatus. These techniques can

be most useful in improving effectiveness of energy consmption.

The application of these techniques in an economically justifiable

way should be encouraged.
Another technic:o.l no.w oft.en fotLnd at tho poiint ol' cjiaTi-.y crmijii/imbio.;!

is deterioration of equipm.ent through lox maintenance, Tiiis prohleii

coiild "be attacked in at least two ways . The hoi-iseholder should

be apprised of the fuel costs he will ultimatelT,' pay if he permits

deterioration of the heat transfer surfaces of his furnace or hot

water heater; he should he informed as to when and how to apply

mintenance procedures. In addition designers of equipment should

devote some serious efforts to design for xaaintainahility . The general

principles of informing the user^ and designing for maintairiahility

ohviously also apply to most other items used at the point of energy

consumption.

Measurement Capability

As sound technology is necessary to improve effectiveness -of energy

consumption, sound m.easuTement capability is required to support the

technology. The capability to measxare the themal performance of building

j.n the field and to -determine that the potential of the thermal design has

actually been realized is a basic requirement for the support of any

market system to facilitate investment in effective thermal performance

of buildings. Also, the capability to measiare the pei'formance of building

equipment, major appliances, and items of industrial equipment, in

such a way as to reflect actual conditions of field service, is needed

to provide those who wish to invest in higher quality perform.ance with

the information required to make rational decision-, . The present standard

test methods which are applied to most major appliances and items of

building and industrial equipment are not constructed so as to reflect the
23

actual duty cycle to vhich an appliance is subject in the fiela. The

maintenatility of these items is, usually, not covered by standards,

and the suficeptibility of equipment to unattended Maintenance is not

usually determined.. In fact, the efficiency of equipment is seldom

measured in a standard test method. Reliable and realistic information

pertaining to equipm.ent perform.ance is a basic requirement of those vho

must decide vhich equipment to purchase. Our present capabilities to

provide this infomiation require substantial improvement to support

effective efforts for conservation.

Prac tices of Assessment and Predictive Modeling

Although a great deal of vork has begun to assess energy use and to

construct predictive energy flow models, much of this vork relies upon

trend extrapolation, a technique which is based upon the assumption that

the future m.ust resemble the past. In particular., the majority of energy

assessment studies and predictive modeling efforts initiated to da,te have

contained the assumption that the technical potential for improvement in

practices 'at the point of energy consumption have been exhausted. As has beer,

shown, this is not the case. Moreover, in a very significant respect

the future will not resemble the past; priinary energy sources will no

longer be abundant and inexpensive. VJith conservation now emerging as

an inevitable issue for the future, almost all predictive models are

used to study options for conservation. But, a predictive model based

upon the assumption of "frozen" technology at the point of energy consumption can yield but one conclusion on conservation, which is that
2U

coriGervp.tion c-m aclrieved. only tlirough cur.to,:;.lnent . This is simply

not tnae. The nodeO.s have an inaccuj'ate coijolu:;ion Lccii/use

t.hey did not addrej.s the complete set of questions.

It vould "be very useful to have predictive models vhich admit

technological flexibility at the point of energy consumption. Such

m.odels vould he especially helpful in evaluating the bala^ice of investment

in development of nev energy sources, effective teclinology at the point

of energy consumption, and systems of energy curtailraent . Such a capa.bili

for evaluation is required if anything approaching optimal utilization

of those resources ^/hich can he brought to hear on energy problems is

to be achieved.

Regarding predictive models, the imijortance of analysis of direct

consumption of energy—-as opposed to flow of energy through the economy

may have been underestiiaated . It is at the voint of energy consumption

that one can apply technical improvements , and studies of energy flov

tend to burden one sector of the economy, vith the ineffective practices

of another. Studies of energy consumption need to be carried out so as

to reflect the quality as veil as the quantity of energy consumed, and

to compare these vith the quality and quantity of energy actually

required at the point of consumption. Since high (thermodynamic) quality

fuels are at the center of energy problems, the measurement of quality

is an extremely important, but largely underestimated aspect of assessing

energy consuming practices. An important illustration of this point

is the heat pipe vacuum furnace described earlier. This furnace is

more effective in its use of energy because it vastes less of the

thermod^/namic availabi].ity of the energy source than did its "credecessor
25

CoMclu :r.i on

The tech;'ilco.l ond. ocouoniiG o]:portani Lie;; for energy conservation

through inproA'ed effectiveness of use of enorGy at the point of

consumption are only now beginning to he recognized. If appropriate

steps are ta,ken now to apply technology effectively to energy consuming

processes and to institute appropriate market mechanisms to further

these applications, measures for energy conservation, vhich appear to

he eventually necessary, can he comprised of an appropriate halance

hetveen more effective use of energy and curtailment. The ultimate

consequences of energy consei-vation need not he so dire as might ohtsin

under conservation measijres vhich depend entirely upon curtailment.

Moreover, since other nations of the vorld vill certainly face energy

problems quite similar to those facing the U.S.A., the technology vhich

ve institute for effective utilization of energy at the point of consumption in the U.S.A. —especially for thermal processes of industry

and for biiilding equipment—may very veil be attractive and m^arketable

in international trade.
Figure 1: Mover's calculation of tlie eii-£co of insulation and stor:n

windovs on heat loss frcn typical residences.

(j/;/n.miAJ) 5S01 1V3H nvriMNV

AIR CONDH lONHR PERFOR/\AANCE VARIATIONS

RATED POWER

COOLING

CAPAOTY

RATED

CURRENT

RETAIL

VALUE

CO In SUMPTION

RATE

10 YEAR TOTAL ^ COST

BTU S AMPS $ 8YLV\VATT $/lOOO GTU

4000 8,8 100 3.96 84

7.5 110 4o65 77.70

125 81.45

6.0 135 6.96 67.25

5000 120 4.58 74.90

7.5 140 68.20

• 7.5 150 5.80 70,20

5.0 165 8o/0 59.80

6000 9.160 6.34 67. 30

9.1 170 5.24 68,90

. 7.5 170 6.96 61.80

7.5 180 6.96 63.50

8000 U 200 5.80 67.30

12 220 5.80 67.80 ...

24,000 13.1 8.25

(CENTHAL)

15.4

17. 0

7.10

5.85

* BASED ON 88G OPERATING HOURS PER YEAR

Figure 3: Performance i'atd for Air Conditioning Units
Figure 4(a)

O 5^

CP • O CO

•H OJ C -P

(C rH U nH

^ 0)

•H C

•H (U Em iH

•- +J

to u

OJU -P 2 ^

-p

CO iH C rH O rO U IS

I

0) w

tn o O

Cfi ^ tO

Figure 4 (b)
Tabic 1

KNEriGY CONSUMPTION IN THE UNITED STATKS BV END USE

19G0~19GS

(Trillions of Btu and i^crconl, per Yoai")

Con.sunpt ion

Percent of

Annual Rate National Total

Sector and End Use Ivhb ol urowth 1 or; n J. V b U

^ o ^ o

1 yoo

Kesic'cMt j.al

Space iioatinfj 4,848 G,675 4.1 To 11.3% 11.0%

V/atcr heating 1,159 1 , 736 5.2 2.7 2.9

Cooking 556 637 1.7 1.3 1.1

Clothes drying 93 208 10.6 0.2 0.3

Ref rigorat ion 369 692 8.2 0.9 1.1

Air conditioning 134 427 15.6 0. 3 0.7

Other 809 1 ,241 5.5 1.9 2.1

iotai 1 J. , ox D AH Q. O Xo • b

Commercial

Space heating 3,111 4,182 3.8 7.2 6.9

V/ater heating 544 653 2.3 1.3 l.i

Cooking . : 98 139 4.5 0.2 0.2

Refrigeration 534 670 2.9 1.2 1.1

Air conditioning 576 1,113 8.6 1.3 1.8

Feedstock 734 984 3.7 1.7 1.6

Other 145 1,025 28.0 0.3 1.7

Tota;i 5,742 8, 7GG 5,4 13.2 14.4

Ind ustrial

Process steam 7,646 10,132 3.6 17.8 16.7

r. Xk!^ I- X x^^ UjXVt; O o / • V. Electrolytic procespes 486 705 4.8 1.1 1.2

Direct heat 5,550 6,929 2.8 12.9 11.5

Feed stock 1,370 2,202 6.1 3.2 3.6

Other 118 198 6.7 0.3 0.3

Total 18,340 24,960 3.9 42,7 41.2

Transportation

Fuel 10,873 15,038 4.1 25.2 24.9

Raw materials 141 14G 0.4 0.3 0.3

Total 11,014 15,184 4.1 25.5 25,2

National total 43,064 60,526 4.3 100.0% 100.0%

Koto: Electric utility consumption has been allocated to each end use, Source: - Stanford Hoscar-ch I nst itiito , tiding ol MihL'.s and otlier sources
(:i ) Ad (ire no by Ihc Honorable Peter G . P(rl.(.T:;o)i , U.n. !:!r-cr«^:tary of Coimnerco

liofore tlic Environmental Infonnation Syjnpos.hun of the L'nvironmeirtal

Protection Agency, Cincinnati Convention Center, Cincinnati, Ohio,

Sept. 27, 1972.

(2) "Patterns of Energy Consumption in the United States" (Stanford

Research Institute, January 1972).

(3) "Energy Conservation Through Effective Utilization," National

Eoreau of Standards Peport V,o . NBSIP 73-102, February 1973-

(h) Dubin, F.S.: "A Wiser Use of Electricity and Energy Conservation

T}irough Building Design," Building Systems Design, January 1973,

pp. 8-II+.

C5) "Subpanel Reports on Total Energy Systems, Urban Energy Systems,

Residential Energy Consumption", submitted by the Department of

Housing and Urban Developm.ent to the Committee on Energy Research

and Development Goals, Federal Council on Science and Technology, . Ju].y 1972.

(6) Moyers, John C: "The Value of Thermal Insulation in Residential

Construction: Economics and the CoJiseT'vation of Energy" (Oak Ridge

National Laboratory, December 1971, p. 28).

C7) "Impact of Improved Ther:iial Perform.ance in Conserving Energy"

(National Mineral World Insulation Assoc., Inc., April 1972, p. 35).

(8) "Saving Energy By Cutting Needless Loss," Piusiness Week, Nov. I8 , 1972,

p. 30J.

(9) Shefsiek, Paul K. and Lazaridis, Lazaros J.: "Developm.ent of a Natural Gas Fired Keat Pipe Vacuum Furnace" to appear in Natural

Gas Research and Technology, 1972.

ClO) Rosenberg, R. B.: "The Future of Industrial Sales" (institute of

Gas Technology Publication, May 1972).

Cll) Nesbitt, J. D.: "Improving the Utilization of Natural Gas in Major

Steel Mill Applications (institute of Gas Technology Publication,

April 1972).

C12) Grot, R.A. and Socolov, R.H. : "Energy Utilization in a Residential

Community," Princeton University.
(13 ) F(n tnLnrie , DeForcnt Z . : "R^^'luc 5 r:,;-; Erjc-rf,;;/ C'on:-i)rpj-.;.i c:: K efr icerat1. on

Proflijctioij" to apTj';.'a- Building C/olern? Dccif^n, 19/?'.

(1)4 ) liotto:L, H. C. and lioward , T. B. : Nevr ne.v;v ':\:chrol^': -y - fone Facts

ar,d A:;:x;:,;r:-vnt:: (Th- MIT Press, 1971).

(l|?) Walhrcn, 1^ ; I!r..'7r)an , Ji. ; GundLrbciin , K. : (.'(.•i):^.!;:; i.ency Paper

ForTn 'i.ng , " Pa p or I'r n.o o • '^o ar nal

(16) Private Communication, Dr. 0. J. Kalriias, Lynn, Magr>

(it) Private Coinmunication , Dr. L. Lazaridls, Walthar^i , Mass.
Iform KBS-ri4A <i.7i) r U.S. DEPT. OF COMM. 1 3. PUBLICATION" OR RF.PORT NO.

8IBU0GRAPH1C DATA j j^gsiR 73-202

2. Gov't .Acc<>ssion 3, Recipient's Accession No. j

i

j 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

CONSIIH^^TION VTA EFFECTTVE USE CS' ENERGY AT THE POINT

OF CONSUMPTION

5. Publication Date

1 April 11, 1973

'

6, Per form in;.'. OrjiuiiiZiicion Code

_—_ 1 7. AUTHORI.S)

Charles A. Berg

8. l'rrforinin>; Or^v'" '•'••> ti'-" NBSIR 73-202

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STA.N'DARDS

DEPARTNIENT OF COM.MERCE

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20234

10. l-'ro|oct/'l\isk, '«ork Unit Ni». 4000910

n. Contract/Grant No.

12. Sponsoring Organization Name and Address

Same

13. Type of Report 2i Period i Covered

j Final 1 14. Sponsoring Agency Code j

15. SUPPLE.MENTARY NOTES

j

!

: 1

bibliography or literature survey, mention it hsre.)

The practices and eqiiipnent employed at the point of energy consumption in buildings

and in industrial processes permit e:ccessive consumption of energy. It is estimated

that if full application of the economically justifiable technical improvements presently available were made to equipment and practices in buildings and industry,

as much 25 percent of the total primary fuel consiamption in the U.S.A. could be

conserved. The reasons why economically justifiable application of effective technology

at the point of energy consumption has not been widely adopted in the past are considered. The needs to facilitate adoption of effective equipment and practices in

the future are discussed.

17. KEY UORDS (.Alphabeticai order, separa"ec i.y semicolons)

buildings; energy conservation; industrial equipment

18, AV.^lLABiLITY STATEMENT

Hxl UNLMTED.

jfOR OFFia.AL DISTRIBUTION. DO NOT RELEASE

TO NTIS.

19, SECURITY CLASS

(THIS REPORT)

UNCL ASSIFIED

21. NO. OF PA'JHS

I

i 37 !

20. Si-CURITY CLASS

(THIS PACK)

UNCLASSI (•TED

22. Price


pi