Q: Why is energy efficiency considered the first fuel in energy management?
A: Energy efficiency can be considered an energy resource, just like hydro, solar, biomass…etc. Considering its importance in energy conservation, it is called the “first fuel” in the largest economies. At world level, the World Energy Council indicators database shows that the share of energy efficiency in the total primary energy consumption in 2014 was 38%, which is substantial. This has been depicted as avoided energy consumption.
Q: Solar, wind, hydro and biomass are abundant in Sri Lanka. Despite their abundance, why aren’t they developed to power the entire country?
A:
Q: What is the load profile?
A: The Load Profile is a chart in which the electricity demand is plotted against 24 hours of a day, as shown below.
As depicted in the graph, there are certain hours of the day where we use a lot of electricity and certain hours where we use very little or no electricity at all. This pattern is typical for all days. You may note, the highest usage in electricity is during 1830 – 2130 hrs, and this is called the evening peak. We should take measures to limit the usage of electricity during this peak period, if not the utility will have to operate expensive oil power plants to supply power during this period. For example, refrain from ironing, operating washing machines... etc. during this period. Also, switch off unwanted lights and other electrical equipment.
The lowest demand, that is generally from 0200 – 0400 hrs is the lowest. This is called the base load.
