Energy efficiency

How it is used

Common in policy, buildings and industry. You improve or invest in energy efficiency; there are energy efficiency measures, projects, standards and labels. It is often called the cheapest clean energy source, because saved energy needs no new supply.

Example sentences

1. The energy efficiency project paid for itself in less than three years.

2. New regulations set minimum energy efficiency standards for electric motors.

Common collocations

• improve energy efficiency
• energy efficiency measures
• energy efficiency standards
• invest in energy efficiency

Related terms

• energy consumptionThe amount of energy used by a person, building, machine, company or country over a period, for example a day, a month or a year.
• energy auditA detailed inspection of how a building or industrial site uses energy, showing where energy is wasted and which measures would save energy and money.
• heat pumpAn electric device that moves heat from the air, ground or water into a building to heat it, or out of it to cool it, delivering more heat than the electricity it uses.
• insulationMaterial placed in walls, roofs, floors or around pipes to reduce heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer, so less energy is needed for heating and cooling.
• energy performance certificateAn official document that rates a building's energy efficiency, usually on a scale from A (most efficient) to G, and is needed when a building is built, sold or rented.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• energy efficiency · Environment & Climate