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major appliances and other uses in the residential and
commercial segments of the buildings sector.
In the residential and commercial building sectors, electricity
efficiency technologies include such measures as
• more efficient fluorescent lamps, high-frequency
ballasts, reflectors, and occupancy and daylight sensors that,
together, can save up to 84 percent of lighting energy in
commercial buildings while maintaining the same level of useful
light (Lovins, 1986);
• superefficient appliances that, through a variety of
complementary technologies, achieve the same level of performance
while consuming far less energy; and
• building shell measures such as insulation, trees that
shade windows, white roof and pavement surfaces that reflect
sunlight, and heat-reflective windows that retain heat in winter
and deflect it in summer.
White Surfaces and Vegetation
Planting vegetation and painting roof and road surfaces white
can save approximately 50 BkWh/hr of the total U.S. air
conditioning use of 200 BkWh/yr. Of the 50 BkWh/yr, about 25
BkWh/yr are direct savings from decreased air conditioning needs in
buildings that have light-colored roofs and are shaded by properly
placed deciduous trees. Indirect savings of another 25 BkWh/yr are
realized once vegetation, light-colored roofs, and light-colored
roadways are in place, cooling "urban heat islands" in the summer.
"Urban heat islands" is the term used by meteorologists to describe
the fact that in summer most cities are 2° to 5°C hotter
than their surroundings. The cause is solar heat absorbed by dark
surfaces, and the removal of trees that would have cooled the air
by evapotranspiration. The total savings including indirect savings
from the cooler cities could equal 50 BkWh/yr (Akbari et al.,
1990).5
Electrical Appliances
Residential and Commercial
Lighting
Lighting is the largest end use in the commercial sector (257.4
BkWh/yr in 1986) (U.S. Department of Energy, 1989a) and about 11
percent of all residential electricity (90.4 BkWh/yr in 1986) (U.S.
Department of Energy, 1989a). The efficiency of existing lighting
can be improved through the use of compact fluorescent lamps
(CFLs). Today's efficient CFLs have long life, good color, and
reduced maintenance cost. Two types of CFLs are available: one with
separate ballast and the other with "integrated" built-in ballast.
Each can fit into a standard light socket (Lawrence Berkeley
Laboratory, 1990).
Because CFLs are 4 times as efficient as incandescent bulb and
last a