Energy Efficiencies

US Energy Efficiencies

The American Council on an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) claims that:

"Energy efficiency can slash US energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by about 50% by 2050, getting us halfway to our national climate goals. We can achieve almost all these savings, worth more than $700 billion in 2050, by dramatically scaling up government policies and programs."

A radiative cooling film developed by UCLA scientists is a promising candidate for increasing energy efficiency: it works to cool objects it covers by more than 10 degrees by absorbing little radiation and sending heat into space. While radiative cooling is not new, it had not been seriously considered as a climate change solution given that existing methods worked only at night. The innovation of these SkyCool panels is that they are reflective enough to work during the day. Possible applications include pipes and panels to boost refrigeration systems and to greatly reduce the need for air conditioning:

Bringing the chill of the cosmos to a warming planet, Washington Post

Opportunity Areas

Buildings & Cities

• Appliances
• Zero net energy new buildings and homes
• Smart buildings and homes
• Retrofit buildings and homes
• Electrification of space and water heating

Industry

• High efficiency transmission lines
• Kiln and furnace electrification
• Fleet conversions to EV

Transportation

• Light and heavy duty vehicle fuel economy
• Ride sharing
• Car sharing
• Public transit
• Freight transportation optimization
• Aviation fuel economy/biofuels
• Shipping fuel economy/biofuels