The Big List of Energy Facts

Covering all aspects involved with a business’ day-to-day operations, take a look at the facts below.

• According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 30% of energy in buildings is used inefficiently
• The combined percentage of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions generated by commercial buildings and industrial facilities is 45%, says the EPA.
• The Energy Information Administration found that $20bn would be saved if the energy efficiency of commercial and industrial buildings improved by 10%. That’s the equivalent to about 30 million vehicles!
• In the US, 86% of annual energy use is created by fossil fuels, with the EPA finding that the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere in 2005 amounted to 6,000 million metric tons. The World Resources Institute found that the US contributes to about 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, despite their population being 5% relative to the rest of the world.
• 11 of the 12 warmest years on record have occurred between 1995 and 2006, according to the IPCC.
• Globally, 2000 to 2009 was the warmest decade since records began in 1850. The average temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface has risen by about 0.75 degrees Celsius since around 1900.
• Producing 1 tonne of recycled paper saves at least 30,000 litres of water, 3000 – 4000 KWh electricity (enough for an average 3 bedroom house for one year) and 95 % of air pollution than producing paper from virgin fibres.
• Lighting an empty office of an average size overnight wastes enough energy to heat water for 1000 cups of coffee.
• Energy saving light bulbs use less than a quarter of the electricity of their equivalents. That’s around £7 a year on your energy bill, or £65 over the bulb’s lifetime. They also can last up to 12 times longer.
• Replacing your toilets with a dual-flush system an save up to 5 litres of water per flush.
• A typical PC left on all the time produces 0.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
• A laser printer operating without a standby facility will use £12 of electrical energy per year. If left on at night, weekends or during holidays, this increases to £60 per year.
• Switching off vending machines at nights and weekends reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 1 tonne annually per machine.
• An increase of only 1 degree Celcius in a room’s temperature will increase a heating bill by 6-10%.
• A photocopier left on overnight uses enough energy to make 5,300 photocopies.
• The average person in England and Wales uses 150 litres of water a day – imagine 264 pints of milk and that’s 150 litres of water. By 2020, with increasing population and housing growth, the demand for water could increase by 5% – that’s 800 million extra litres of water a day.
• A dripping tap wastes at least 5,500 litres of water a year, enough to fill a paddling pool every week for the whole summer.
• Smarter driving techniques can help employees reduce fuel bills by £250 per driver, per year, and cut CO2 emissions.
• Nearly £5 billion is wasted on energy in the UK every year. This is enough to give every man, woman and child £84 a year.

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