But wouldn’t it be more appropriate if instead we all had a clear image of energy efficiency? The simplest efficiency improvements, in general, do not require as much investment as wind mills and a much faster result is realized on the economic and CO2 emission bottom lines, thereby giving room for long-term investments in cleaner energy sources.
But, what does energy efficiency actually look like? Maybe you get images of the moralizing information campaigns of the 1980s? Or perhaps the only thing you see before you is a question mark? However, if you take a look at a bank note, you’ll see what energy efficiency really looks like!
Efficiency is not only about our personal moral conduct – remembering to turn off lights and boiling potatoes until done, using the after-heat. No, saving energy is very much a matter for society, where the current focus on the climate has a bearing on the economy – and ultimately – our welfare. And if we immediately begin to apply the most efficient technology, the efficiency potential within key areas such as the building, industrial and retail sectors is huge.
Energy efficiency comes first
Well-proven efficiency solutions are already at hand. At Danfoss, we have produced efficient solutions over the past 75 years. We have continuously developed new ones and scrapped the old. But, our starting point has always been to obtain a high technical performance using as few resources as possible. One example is the radiator thermostat: the installation of a thermostatic control on a single radiator results in average annual savings of energy equivalent to 80 litres of oil and yet, there are still hundreds of millions of radiators all over the world without thermostats – in the EU alone, there are more than 500 million.
Why not take advantage of these simple technology efficiency improvements in society and industries, before investing in long-term new development projects? This is how we balance things at Danfoss.
It’s good to have ideals, and wind mills and other sustainable energy sources are necessary and relevant both now and in the future. However, the road to the ideal goal must go hand in hand with common sense and that means the realistic administration of funds and resources. This is when energy efficiency comes first.