The Fifth Fuel and Negawatts

When it comes to energy costs, energy efficiency is the less glamorous, more cost effective, easiest solution to implement. Sometimes referred to as the fifth fuel alongside oil, natural gas, nuclear power, and renewables, it is often overlooked. Its importance has risen about as fast as energy costs. Environmentalists, economists, and homeowners can all support this push as the only byproduct is wealth. A successful push for energy efficiency would drive down consumption which would theoretically lower prices. Experts coined a term for the lower consumption as “negawatts.” Fancy definitions, titles, and technology breakthroughs are important, but the homeowner must be equipped with the finest resources to make educated decisions on how to use this exploding field of energy efficiency to actually lower their bills. CNT Energy hopes to bridge this gap. Real-time pricing programs help maintain system energy efficiency. When residences lower their consumption during high peak, high demand times, it reduces the necessity for electricity generators to turn on more power plants. On occasion the additional plants are forced to produce far more electricity than they will use so they can respond to the need of the consumer. It is amazing that by simply changing the way your home is charged for electricity you can have a positive impact on the energy efficiency system wide.