Radiant heat for energy conservation

It is proposed that human comfort could be provided in otherwise chilly surroundings by filling the occupied space with electromagnetic energy of centimeter wavelength. Very considerable reductions in the consumption of energy required for the heating of buildings should result from the lowering of interior temperatures thereby permitted.     

Steel recycling and energy conservation

The potential for energy conservation through increased use of steel scrap by the U.S. steel industry is examined. It is concluded that increased use of scrap would reduce energy use, but it is not economical, due mainly to volatile scrap prices. Other energy-saving technologies exist, but it is likely that energy will be conserved through reduced use of steel as rising energy costs are passed through to consumers.     

Toward cost-effective solar energy use

At present, solar energy conversion technologies face cost and scalability hurdles in the technologies required for a complete energy system. To provide a truly widespread primary energy source, solar energy must be captured, converted, and stored in a cost-effective fashion. New developments in nanotechnology, biotechnology, and the materials and physical sciences may enable step-change approaches to cost-effective, globally scalable systems for solar energy use.     

Effects of federal residential energy conservation programs

We used a detailed engineering-economic simulation model of residential energy use to evaluate the effects of nine different residential energy-use "futures." These "futures" are described in terms of annual and cumulative energy use from 1977 through 2000 by fuel, end use, and in aggregate. Outputs from the model also include economic information on the costs to households of fuels, equipment, and thermal improvements to new and existing structures. The major outputs from these nine cases are shown in Tables 1 and 2 and Figs. 6 and 7.     

The energy impacts of solar heating

The energy required to build and install solar space- and water-heating equipment is compared to the energy it saves under two solar growth paths corresponding to high and low rates of implementation projected by the Domestic Policy Review of Solar Energy. For the rapid growth case, the cumulative energy invested to the year 2000 is calculated to be (1/2) to 1(1/2) times the amount saved. An impact of rapid solar heating implementation is to shift energy demand from premium heating fuels (natural gas and oil) to coal and nuclear power use in the industries that provide materials for solar equipment.