You would think, intuitively, that energy efficiency is good — it saves us money and is good for the environment. Some have tried to argue that isn't actually true, that increased efficiency results in greater energy demand and usage. They seem to have confused themselves, though, because that just isn't true.

Energy Efficiency

The Rebound Effect/Jevons Paradox: Not as Strong as Pseudo-Environmentalists Claim

You would think, intuitively, that energy efficiency is good — it saves us money and is good for the environment. Some have tried to argue that isn’t actually true, that increased efficiency results in greater energy demand and usage. They seem to have confused themselves, though, because that just isn’t true.

Zachary Shahan

Published

March 15, 2011

You would think, intuitively, that energy efficiency is good — it saves us money and is good for the environment. But sometimes things are not as you would intuitively think they are, right? Some have claimed that energy efficiency is one such thing, that energy savings created from greater energy efficiency are offset by resulting increases in demand that cause more energy to be used in the end….

While people may increase usage some after switching to a more energy-efficient technology, research has shown that they don’t do so nearly enough to considerably offset the energy savings. Thus, these people do end up decreasing energy usage, not increasing it.

In other words: energy efficiency is good.

More: Is Energy Efficiency Really Good? (A Look at the “Rebound Effect”)

Photo via jeancliclac

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In this article:Energy, energy savings, energy usage, energy use, energy-efficient technology, green lighting, jevons paradox, rebound effect

Written By Zachary Shahan

Zach is tryin' to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director, chief editor, and CEO. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao. Zach has long-term investments in Tesla [TSLA], NIO [NIO], Xpeng [XPEV], Ford [F], Amazon [AMZN], Piedmont Lithium [PLL], Lithium Americas [LAC], and Starbucks [SBUX]. But he does not offer (explicitly or implicitly) investment advice of any sort.