Energy Efficiency and Electrification – A Simple Guide

One of the best ways to fight climate change is to electrify almost everything and to do it as fast as we can. A report this year by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change finds we need to stop using fossil fuels to have any impact on greenhouse gas emissions and it has to happen now, as in before 2025, which is only two years away. According to their findings, a key way to get there is rapid, widespread electrification. And the reason is clear: the earth is already 1.1 degrees hotter than it was 150 years ago and 1.5 degrees is the point at which scientists warn that irreversible and catastrophic changes will start to happen.  In fact, we’re already seeing extreme weather becoming the norm. In 2021, B.C. both burned and flooded within months and set all-time Canadian heat records. According to Natural Resources Canada, because of its northerly location, Canada experiences climate change at twice the rate of the world’s average and the Canadian Arctic is warming about three times faster than the rest of the world.    

What is Energy Efficiency?

So what can we do? Well, we can start by being smarter with the energy we use. You could say the hero of the climate successes in the world so far has been efficiency. Simply put, energy efficiency is all about doing more with less. Think of it as a challenge to use less energy while still getting the same job done. It’s like a game of “how low can you go” with your energy usage. You can use energy-efficient light bulbs, appliances, and electronics to help reduce your energy consumption and turn off the lights and devices you’re not using. All of this means that power plants won’t have to produce as much electricity which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  But efficiency isn’t a silver bullet, and we can’t “efficiency our way out” of the climate crisis. No matter how efficient your gas furnace or gas car is, it’s still burning fossil fuels. That’s why efficiency and electrification have to go hand in hand. It’s a lot easier to electrify everything and run our lives on clean electricity if we’re not using as much energy in the first place.  

What is Electrification?

If efficiency is the hero, then electrification is like the superhero that saves the planet. It’s all about using clean electricity from wind, water and the sun instead of fossil fuels to power our homes, cars, and devices. According to the International Energy Agency, electrification is how we will reach our net zero goals. With electrification, we can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But we still have to get there and while renewable sources are powering more and more of the world’s electricity production, coal and gas are still the largest source.

How Can We Implement Energy Efficiency and Electrification in Our Daily Lives?

You can start by turning off the lights and devices you’re not using, using energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances, and adjusting your thermostat when you’re not home. You can also take public transportation or use an electric vehicle instead of a regular car. You can even install solar panels or wind turbines to generate your own electricity.  And if you think it can’t be done without major sacrifice, think of this. Compare the light bulbs you probably used in your home in the early 2000s to the ones you use today. In just a few short years, LEDs majorly changed the average home’s electricity consumption. In 2015, light bulbs accounted for 10% and now that number is less than 4% and be honest – did you really notice a big change in your day-to-day life? The same thing has happened with refrigerators. They use 75% less energy now than they did a couple of decades ago. There is also a lot of promise in the building and industrial sector. Electrification technologies are already well-developed for heating and cooling the air and water. According to the IEA, electric heat pumps have become the most common heating technology in newly built houses worldwide. We’re also creating improved building envelopes and using more energy-efficient appliances.  

Conclusion

The World Economic Forum says 80% of CO2 emissions today come from creating energy. In a recent analysis, they found that cleaning up the supply side is only half of the solution. Tackling energy demand and the way we use it will account for 55% of energy decarbonization by 2050. That means electrification and energy efficiency need to work together – kind of like Batman and Robin – they need each other to be successful. Canada already has a few advantages, the most important being a relatively clean electricity system. The vast majority of our power generation comes from non-polluting sources (mostly hydro). But less than a quarter of a typical Canadian household’s energy use comes from electricity. Basically, we use enough to cover the devices and appliances we plug into the wall. We still put gas in our cars, and while a record 86, 000 electric vehicles were registered in Canada in 2021, that still only makes up 5% of the vehicles on the road. Gas also still largely fuels our stoves, barbecues, school buses, trucks, and public transit.  To get to a greener future, homes and businesses will have to forgo natural-gas furnaces in favour of heat pumps and we’ll have to move away from gas stoves. We’ll also have to get rid of our gas-guzzling vehicles and drive electric ones. To power all of this, electricity grids will have to produce as much as double what they generate today. We’ll have to replace coal and natural gas with non-polluting sources, like wind, solar and hydro.  But by reducing our energy consumption and using clean electricity instead of fossil fuels, we can help create a healthier planet for ourselves and future generations – one energy-efficient and electrified step at a time.
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