Energy Intensity

a) Explain the indicators energy intensity and energy efficiency. Explain why they are important?

Energy Intensity is measured by the quantity of energy per unit output or activity, so that using less energy to produce a product reduces the intensity. For example, the energy intensity is the number of megawatt hours used to melt one ton of steel. US Department of Energy

Energy Efficiency improves when a given level of service is provided with reduced amounts of energy inputs or services are enhanced for a given amount of energy input. For example, the number of tons of steel that can be melted with a megawatt hour of electricity, US Department of Energy

The energy intensity indicators can aim to show us the trends in energy consumption and use. It looks at the changes in the energy intensity over the years, which helps to convey public awareness. This indicator can be of added value to policies and programs analyses ad greater understanding of the impacts policy implementation choices on energy intensities. The energy intensity indicator can improve the role of efficiency and its improvements in the changing energy markets. One way of calculating the intensity measure is Energy/GDP, however this number has little information without the sector details example, manufacturing.

The difference between energy intensity and energy efficiency is important when several systems or several products cause what is being matched. It may not be practical to compare the energy efficiency of steel production with the energy efficiency of urea production; it is possible to examine the energy intensity of all manufacturing.

These indicators are key to many governments as a tool to improve their energy efficiency on a national economic level in managing and curbing the growth in the energy consumption patterns.

Energy efficiency indicators can be used for various purposes:

(1) Historical trend analysis;

(2) Benchmarking (i.e. cross-country comparisons or comparison with best...