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Environmental Benefits of Renewable Energy

Energy Facts

If you live in a typical U.S. home, your appliances and home electronics are responsible for about 20% of your energy bills.

Reference: US Department of Energy

Heating and cooling account for about 56% of the energy use in a typical U.S. home, making it the largest energy expense for most homes.

Reference: US Department of Energy

Water heating can account for 14%-25% of the energy consumed in your home.

Reference: US Department of Energy

You can reduce your home's heating and cooling costs by as much as 30 percent through proper insulation and air sealing techniques.

Reference: US Department of Energy

Amount of money that would be saved if the energy efficiency of commercial and industrial buildings improved by 10 percent: $20 billion.

Reference: Energy Star

Amount of greenhouse gas emissions that would be reduced if the energy efficiency of commercial and industrial buildings improved by 10 percent: equal to about 30 million vehicles.

Reference: Energy Star

Amount of global carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere in 2005: 6,000 million metric tons.

  • U.S. contribution of global greenhouse gas emissions: about 20 percent.
  • U.S. population relative to the world: 5 percent.

Reference: Energy Star

  • Air emissions associated with generating electricity from solar, geothermal, and wind technologies are negligible because no fuels are combusted in these processes. The average air emissions rates in the United States from non-hydro renewable energy generation are 1.22lbs/MWh of sulfur dioxide and 0.06 lbs/MWh of nitrogen oxides.
  • Photovoltaic systems do not require the use of any water to create electricity. Solar-thermal technologies may tap local water resources if the liquid that is being heated to create steam is water. In this case, the water can be re-used after it has been condensed from steam back into water.
  • Solar-thermal technologies do not produce any substantial amount of solid waste while creating electricity.

References

  • US Environmental Protection Agency
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