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Energy efficiency means using less energy to provide the same service. For example,
a compact fluorescent bulb is more efficient than a traditional incandescent bulb as it
uses much less electrical energy to produce the same amount of light
Street lighting[edit]
Cities around the globe light up millions of streets with 300 million lights.[53] Some cities are seeking
to reduce street light power consumption by dimming lights during off-peak hours or switching to
LED lamps.[54] It is not clear whether the high luminous efficiency of LEDs will lead to real reductions
in energy, as cities may end up installing extra lamps or lighting areas more brightly than in the past.
Energy consumption[edit]
Globally 70% of all electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels, a source of air pollution and
greenhouse gases, and also globally there are approximately 300 million street lights using that
electricity.[46] Cities are exploring more efficient energy use, reducing street light power consumption
by dimming lights during off-peak hours and switching to high-efficiency LED lamps.[47] A British
county council has turned off 5% of its street lights on a trial basis.[48] Typical collector road lighting
in New York State costs $6400/mile/year for high pressure sodium at 8.5 kW/mile or $4000 for light-
emitting diode luminaires at 5.4 kW/mile.[49]
Sign in Leeds, UK (to save energy and reduce light pollution)
Accessories[edit]
Some intelligent street light controllers also come with Global System for Mobile
Communications (GSM), Radio frequency (RF) or General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)
communication, user adjusted according to latitude and longitude(low cost type), for better street
light management and maintenance. Many street light controllers also come with traffic sensors to
manage the lux level of the lamp according to the traffic and to save energy by decreasing lux when
there is no traffic. America, Canada, India and many other countries have started introducing street
light controllers to their road lighting for energy conservation, street light management and
maintenance purpose.
Economics[edit]
Street light controllers can be expensive in comparison with normal timers, and can cost between
$100 and $2500, but most of them return the investment between 6 months and 2 years. As the
equipment's lifetime is 7 to 10 years it saves energy and cost for some years.
Energy is the ability to do work
Energy comes in different forms:
Heat (thermal)
Light (radiant)
Motion (kinetic)
Electrical
Chemical
Nuclear energy
Gravitational
People use energy for everything from making a jump shot to sending astronauts into space.
For example, the food a person eats contains chemical energy, and a person's body stores this energy
until he or she uses it as kinetic energy during work or play.
Renewable and nonrenewable energy sources can be used as primary energy sources to produce useful
energy such as heat or used to produce secondary energy sources such as electricity.
When people use electricity in their homes, the electrical power was probably generated from burning
coal or natural gas, a nuclear reaction, or a hydroelectric plant on a river, to name a few possible energy
sources. The gasoline people use to fuel their cars is made from crude oil (nonrenewable energy) and
may contain a biofuel (renewable energy) like ethanol, which is made from processed corn.
The chart below shows the energy sources used in the United States. Nonrenewable energy sources
accounted for about 90% of all energy used. Biomass, which includes wood, biofuels, and biomass
waste, is the largest renewable energy source, and it accounted for about half of all renewable energy
and about 5% of total U.S. energy consumption.
Renewable energy
There are five main renewable energy sources:
Nonrenewable energy
Most of the energy consumed in the United States is from nonrenewable energy sources:
Petroleum products
Hydrocarbon gas liquids
Natural gas
Coal
Nuclear energy
Crude oil, natural gas, and coal are called fossil fuels because they were formed over millions of years by
the action of heat from the earth's core and pressure from rock and soil on the remains (or fossils) of dead
plants and creatures like microscopic diatoms. Most of the petroleum products consumed in the United
States are made from crude oil, but petroleum liquids can also be made from natural gas and coal.
Nuclear energy is produced from uranium, a nonrenewable energy source whose atoms are split (through
a process called nuclear fission) to create heat and, eventually, electricity.