AP®︎ Environmental Science: Topic 6.13 Flashcards

Reducing human energy demand through changes in behavior, technology, design, or transportation rather than merely changing energy sources

Providing the same service with less energy input; efficiency = useful energy output ÷ total energy input × 100

Setting temperatures lower in winter, higher in summer, or closer to outdoor temperatures when a building is unoccupied to reduce HVAC energy use

Reducing water use to save the energy required to withdraw, pump, treat, distribute, heat, collect, and treat water and wastewater

A certification identifying products that meet specified energy-efficiency criteria, though actual energy use still depends on size and operation

Lighting that produces the same visible light with much less electricity and waste heat than incandescent lighting

Electricity consumed by a device while it is turned off or operating in standby mode

Selecting and placing vegetation and landscape materials to reduce building heating, cooling, and irrigation demand

Landscaping with drought-tolerant or adapted plants, limited turf, mulch, and efficient irrigation to reduce water and associated energy use

Distance traveled per unit of fuel, commonly miles per gallon; fuel consumed = distance traveled ÷ fuel economy

A vehicle propelled by an electric motor using battery-stored electricity; it has no tailpipe emissions, but generation and manufacturing still cause impacts

A vehicle combining an internal-combustion engine with an electric motor and battery to use less fuel than a comparable conventional vehicle

Shared transportation that can reduce energy use and emissions per passenger-mile when enough riders share the vehicle’s energy consumption

Designing and operating buildings to reduce energy and resource demand through orientation, insulation, sealing, shading, efficient systems, controls, and water-saving features

Using building form, orientation, materials, thermal mass, shading, and natural airflow to manage heat and light with little or no mechanical energy

E = P × t; multiply power by operating time, converting watts to kilowatts when the answer is needed in kilowatt-hours

Power, measured in watts or kilowatts, is the rate of energy use; energy, measured in watt-hours or kilowatt-hours, is the amount used over time

Percentage reduction = (original use − new use) ÷ original use × 100

The time required for savings to equal an initial cost; simple payback = initial cost ÷ annual monetary savings

The amount of a pollutant emitted per unit of energy produced or consumed for a particular energy system

The period of highest electricity use, which determines how much generating and transmission capacity an electric system must provide

The partial loss of expected efficiency savings when lower operating costs encourage greater use of the efficient product or service