USING ELECTRICITY

OBJECTIVES

• Sustainable use of electrical energy begins with

understanding how its use it measured.
• Renewable energy sources provide sustainable options for
generating electrical energy.
MEASURING ELECTRICAL ENERGY

• Electrical energy is measured in two main ways:

• Watts & kilowatts
• Electrical power: the rate at which electrical energy is used by a load.
• Measured in watts (W) or kilowatts (kW). 1 kW = 1000 W.

• Kilowatt-hours
• Electrical energy used by an appliance over time is measured in kilowatt-hours
(kWh).
• Ex) 1 kWh = 1000 W for one hour = 1 kW for one hour
MEASURING USE IN
HOMES & BUSINESSES
• Most homes and businesses in BC
have smart meters that measure
electrical energy.
• Smart meters: an electrical energy meter
that measures how energy use changes
in a building over time over the course of
the day.
• The meters send that data to the utility
company by wireless signals.
USING ENERGY SUSTAINABLY
• EnerGuide label: a label that gives details about the
amount of energy that an appliance uses in one year of
normal use.
• Companies are required by the Government of Canada to label
new electrical appliances to show how much energy they use in
a typical year.
• The more energy-efficient the appliance, the more sustainable it
is.
• ENERGY STARⓇ label: identifies a product as meeting or
exceeding certain standards for energy efficiency.
• Appliances and equipment with this label have met the
minimum efficiency standards set by the Canadian government.
PHANTOM LOADS

• Phantom load: electrical energy a device uses when it is turned

off.
• Remote controlled devices, computers, washing machines, and
microwaves all have phantom loads.
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

• Renewable energy source: an energy source that is available on a

continuous basis.
• Sunlight, wine, river flow, tides & waves, geothermal sources, and
biomass.
• Nonrenewable energy source: an energy source that is non-
replaceable in a human lifetime.
• Fossil fuels, coal, natural gas, and nuclear.
SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

• Why are people pushing to build a more sustainable system?

• Concern about the environment is the drive!
• Realizing nonrenewable resources will one day run out!
• Sustainable energy system: a sustainable way of perceiving, producing, and
using energy.
• The extraction, production, and use of energy have limited impact on environmental and
human health
• There is less reliance on decreasing nonrenewable sources
• It ensures the availability of renewable and reliable energy sources for current and future
generations
• It provides access to affordable energy for Earth’s entire population
FIRST PEOPLES ECOSYSTEM BASED MANAGEMENT

• Many of the characteristics from the sustainable energy system are

in line with First Peoples Ecosystem Based Management (EBM)
• Respect & responsibility
• Intergenerational knowledge
• Balance & interconnectedness
• Giving & receiving