Energy consumption in the U.S.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, electricity consumption will increase by 51 percent from 2002 to 2025.
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Energy Facts
Energy facts and facts about energy, including the fuel and current a house burns through.
32 facts on this shelf
Projected increase in natural gas consumption
Natural gas use has increased by 35 percent over the past ten years, and is projected to grow 45 percent by 2015.
The energy consumption needs of technology
As late as 1993, high-tech paraphernalia like computers, printers and video games had a negligible effect on power usage. Today, it's estimated to account for more than 13 percent of a typical household energy budget. By 2020, it could be as much as 25 percent
What is the amount of electricity generated from various sources?
In 2002, the following amount of electricity, in gigawatt-hours, was generated from the following sources of fuel:
Coal: 1,925,792 GWh
Nuclear: 779,461 GWh
Gas: 695,226 GWh
Hydro: 255,077 GWh
Fuel oil: 91,629 GWh
Biomass: 71,534 GWh
Other (geothermal, non-wood waste, wind and solar): 22,737 GWh
First central power plant
The first central power plant Pearl Street Station in lower Manhattan, built by Thomas Edison began generating electricity on September 4, 1882. Pearl Street had one generator and it produced power for 800 electric light bulbs. Within 14 months, Pearl Street Station had 508 subscribers and 12,732 bulbs.
Main source for natural gas in the United States
Ninety-nine percent of the natural gas used in the United States comes from North America.
Natural gas usage in the U.S.
Natural gas provides 24 percent of all the energy used in the United States
Natural gas usage in the U.S.
About 55 percent of American homes use natural gas for heating.
First use of gas energy
The first use of gas energy in the United States occurred in 1816, when gaslights illuminated the streets of Baltimore, Maryland.
Most consumed energy resource in the U.S
Currently, OIL provides the largest share of U.S. energy consumption -- about 41 percent of the entire market. Natural gas provides about 24 percent, coal 23 percent, hydropower 4 percent and nuclear power 8 percent.
In the United States, natural gas is used for:
Industrial processes = 46%
Residential use = 22%
Generating electricity = 15%
Commercial buildings = 15%
Random fact about renewable resources
In 1998, only 7.5 percent of our nation's energy came from renewable resources, even though the amount of renewable energy available was more than 250 times U.S. energy consumption.
Random fact about renewable energy
If your family could use only renewable energy for all your energy needs, you could help reduce the amount of emissions in the air each year by 20,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, 70 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 50 pounds of nitrogen oxide.
Renewable energy fact about water
Water is currently the most commonly used renewable energy resource, providing enough power to meet the needs of 28.3 million consumers.
Biomass usage in the u.s.
Biomass currently supplies about four percent of the energy produced in the U.S., and could potentially provide almost 20 percent.
Potential renewable energy resources
Energy crops, like switchgrass or fast-growing trees, could provide more than 5,000 megawatts of electricity annually by the year 2010, supporting more than 170,000 jobs and diversifying local farming operations.
Projected U.S. wind energy usage
The U.S. Department of Energy expects wind power to supply at least five percent of the nation's electricity by 2020.
Wind power costs drop
Technological innovations have brought the cost of wind power down from more than 30 cents per kilowatt-hour during the 1980s to less than six cents per kilowatt-hour today.
Solar homes in the u.s.
More than 10,000 homes and counting in the United States are powered entirely by solar energy.
How much energy can the sun provide?
According to the American Solar Energy Society, enough sunlight falls on the earth's surface each minute to meet world energy demand for an entire year.
Tip for saving energy in the home
Replacing an electric water heater with a solar model can reduce water heat costs by 50 to 80 percent every year - and over the 20-year life of the equipment, more than 50 tons of carbon dioxide emissions will be displaced.
Geothermal energy in the u.s.
Geothermal energy currently provides more than 2,700 megawatts of electricity nationwide - the equivalent of three nuclear power plants, or enough to power more than 3.5 million homes.
A geothermal power plant emits no nitrogen oxides, very few sulfur dioxides and 1,000 to 2,000 times less carbon dioxide than a fossil fuel plant.
Why laughing gas isn't funny any more
It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anaesthetic and analgesic effects, where it is commonly known as laughing gas due to the euphoric effects of inhaling it. It is also used as a means to enable short periods of extreme high performance in automobile internal combustion engines by introducing extra oxygen into the intake charge which in turn allows a greater amount of fuel to be added and converted into energy and thereby greatly increasing the power produced by the engine. Nitrous oxide is present in the atmosphere where it acts as a powerful greenhouse gas.
Energy released by a hurricane vs. a nuclear weapon
In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all the world's nuclear weapons combined.
Why can a flea can jump so far?
The jumping power of a flea comes from a pad located above the hind leg that contains stored energy generated by the protein, Resilin. When the pad is pressed upon the energy is released, launching the flea vertically or horizontally up to 13 inches.
What is up with the sun?
The sun is 93,000,000 miles from earth. It takes the suns rays 8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach the earth, traveling at a rate of 186,282 miles per second.
What are the most abundant chemicals in the universe and earth?
Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical in the universe and oxygen is the most abundant chemical element in the earths crust, water and atmosphere.
What does horsepower mean?
The term "horsepower", is the unit of energy needed to lift 550lbs 1ft. in the air for 1 second by an average strength horse.
The efficiency of converting sunlight to electricity in pv cells
The company SunPower in 2008 announced 22% efficiency converting light to electricity. Current high-performance panels, on average, convert about 20 percent of the light that strikes it into electricity. Conventional silicon solar panels convert about 14 to 17 percent of light.
The theoretical maximum is around 26 to 27 percent, although some have said it could go slightly higher.
What is absolute zero?
0 Kelvin, or −273.15 C. It's the temperature at which particles have the minimum possible energy. You can approach it but never actually reach it.
What is absolute zero?
0 Kelvin, or −273.15 C. It's the temperature at which particles have the minimum possible energy. You can approach it but never actually reach it.
How much of the body's energy does the brain use?
About 20%, even though it's only about 2% of body weight. Thinking is expensive.
What is the "10% rule" in ecology?
Only about 10% of the energy at one level of a food chain passes to the next. That's why food chains rarely go beyond four or five levels.