Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mr. March and I'm here today to teach you all about reducing demand on fossil fuels.

So grab everything that you need for today's lesson and let's get going.

So by the end of today's lesson you'll be able to explain how energy efficiency and energy conservation in transport and in the home can reduce demand for finite energy resources and reduce carbon emissions.

There are three key terms for today's lesson.

Those are demand, efficiency, and finally, conservation.

Demand refers to the amount of energy that is needed to power daily activities.

Efficiency refers to using technology that needs less energy to perform the same task.

And energy conservation involves changing people's behaviour in ways that mean they use less energy.

There are three learning cycles for today's lesson.

We're gonna start with learning cycle one, which is all about reducing energy demand.

So the demand for energy is increasing, that much is clear.

The graph in front of you does a great job in illustrating that point because if we look at the beginning of the graph in 1800 and compare it to 2023, we can see how energy consumption is increasing year on year.

So let's study the graph in a little bit more detail.

It says, "What sources of energy are most important globally, renewables or non-renewables?" Now you may like to pause the video here to study that graph in a bit more detail and come out with the answer yourself.

So the answer we were looking for, as Sofia says, is that non-renewables make up around 80%, and those include oil, coal, and natural gas.

What does this mean though for carbon emissions and why should we care? Once again, you may like to pause the video here whilst you consider your answer to that question.

Well, the reason that we should care is, once again, Sofia says that carbon emissions will go up instead of reducing.

And why is that such a big problem? As Sam says, that means more global warming.

There is a clear relationship and link between the amount of carbon emissions being released into the atmosphere and our average global temperature.

So Sofia and Sam are absolutely right, burning fossil fuels is the main cause of increased carbon emissions.

And increased carbon emissions are the cause of increasing global temperatures, which is driving climate changes around the world.

So as long as increased demand for energy is met by increased use of fossil fuels, then carbon emissions will continue to increase, all other conditions being equal.

Globally, most countries have agreed to reduce the amount of carbon they emit to meet targets.

So how is this to be achieved given increased energy demand? So why don't we just swap to renewable energy, as Lucas so correctly says? It seems like an obvious switch.

Then we can meet rising demand without increasing carbon emissions.

The switch to renewables is happening but it's happening too slowly.

So fossil fuels are being used to actually meet this extra demand for energy.

And why is the switch to renewables not happening fast enough? Well, it's not happening fast enough because of the demand for energy is rising very quickly as living standards rise in developing and emerging countries and as rapid population growth continues in some developing countries.

As living standards rise, people can afford things that consume more energy such as cars, fridges, and air conditioning.

And as population sizes increase, there are more people to consume energy.

Alongside this, renewables take a long time to build, such as wind farms, hydroelectric power, and solar farms, and the best places to build them are often not where existing power facilities are actually located, so there needs to be a whole new infrastructure around them to connect them to where energy is consumed.

Fossil fuel lock-in is all about the existing fossil fuel power stations, pipelines, and all the factories and facilities that are built to run on fossil fuel energy.

These were built to last for decades and it's not cheap or easy to actually just replace them.

In many countries, fossil fuels may be cheaper than renewables.

Indonesia, with its large coal reserves, for example, which makes it economically and politically hard to transition to renewables, which would mean more expensive energy for ordinary people and businesses.

Renewables like wind only produce power when it's windy and solar only produces energy when there's enough sunlight and renewable energy can be challenging to store.

Meanwhile, fossil fuels are much more reliable in the sense that they will generate energy whenever you need it.

There is often a certain amount of political opposition to the renewables in many, many different democracies because politicians recognise that large numbers of people are wary about paying more for energy.

And some sectors are hard for renewables to replace non-renewables, especially transport, which relies heavily on oil, and heating in homes and businesses also relies heavily on gas and coal, as well as some very high-energy-use industries such as steel and cement production.

So energy efficiency and energy conservation both work to actually try to bring down or decrease the energy demand.

Energy efficiency uses technology which reduces the amount of energy needed to do something.

For example, energy light bulbs use less energy to provide light than traditional incandescent bulbs.

Meanwhile, energy conservation encourages people to change their behaviour, to behave in a way that uses less energy.

For example, trying to encourage people to use bicycles, which reduces energy used for transportation, for example.

Time now for a learning check.

It says, "True or false? Energy efficiency and energy conservation mean the same thing." What you need to do then is pause the video here whilst you consider and then select your answer.

And the correct answer was false.

Now once again I'd like you to pause the video whilst you consider as to why or how this statement is false.

And the reason it's false is that energy efficiency is about using technology to do the same task but with less use of energy.

Meanwhile, energy conservation is about changing people's behaviour so that they use less energy.

Really, really well done if you were able to get those two answers correct.

Our next learning check says, "Which two of the following are examples of energy efficiency?" So what you need to do then is read through the four statements, pause the video whilst you consider, and then select your two answers.

And the correct answers were home insulation and, B, LED light bulbs.

So home insulation is energy efficiency because by reducing the amount of heat that is lost from a house, it means a smaller amount of energy is required to keep the house just as warm as before the insulation was installed.

And LED light bulbs are energy efficiency because they use a smaller amount of energy to provide as much or more light as a traditional incandescent light bulb.

Using public transport instead of driving your own car is a behavioural change that reduces energy use.

One bus uses a lot less fossil fuel to run than if everyone on the bus drove their own individual car to achieve their journey.

And washing clothes at a lower temperature than usual is a change in behaviour.

Once again, energy conservation, which reduces the amount of energy used to heat water in the washing machine.

So really well done if you were able to select A and B as the correct answers.

So on now to our two practise tasks for our first learning cycle, and the first one says to, while using examples, explain the difference between energy efficiency and energy conservation.

The second question says to explain how energy efficiency and energy conservation can help to reduce carbon emissions.

So what I'd like you to do then right now is pause the video here whilst you attempt these two practise tasks.

Best of luck.

And now for some feedback.

So your answer may have looked something like this.

Energy efficiency is about using technology to do the same task but with less use of energy.

An example would be an aerodynamic lorry which uses less energy to carry the same load the same distance as a standard lorry because it has less wind resistance.

Energy conservation is about changing people's behaviour so that they use less energy.

An example would be encouraging people to use public transport rather than drive individual cars.

The second question, once again, your answer may have included something like this.

Currently, carbon emissions are increasing because there is increasing demand for energy globally and 80% of that energy is coming from fossil fuels, which release carbon emissions when they're burnt.

Currently, the switch to renewable energy is not happening fast enough to meet increasing demand.

In the meantime, energy efficiency and energy conservation reduce demand for energy.

In some sectors, such as housing and transportation, that can really reduce carbon emissions.

So really well done if you were able to include anything like that in your own answer.

We're now onto our second learning cycle, which is all about energy efficiency and conservation in transport.

The aim of energy efficiency in transportation is to actually reduce the amount of fuel being used without reducing travel.

And this can be done through fuel-efficient vehicles and these go further on less fuel due to improved engines, better aerodynamics and less weight.

What about hybrid and EVs, electric vehicles? Electric vehicles are much more efficient at converting energy from their batteries, in the case of an electric vehicle, into motion than petrol or diesel engines.

And thereby, by being more energy efficient, they're of course using less energy to begin with.

Furthermore, with energy-efficient public transport.

Making trains, buses, and trams more energy-efficient reduces the amount of fossil fuel needed for the same journey.

It also makes public transport much more energy-efficient than travelling by private car.

So, a quick learning check.

It says, "True or false? Electric vehicles, or EVs, are not an example of energy efficiency because they do not use fossil fuels." So what I need you to do right now then is pause the video here whilst you consider and then select your answer.

And the answer was false.

Now once again I'd like you to pause the video whilst you consider as to why this statement then is false.

And the reason it's false is that energy efficiency in transportation means using less energy to complete the same task, so driving the same distance, for example.

EVs are much more efficient at converting energy into motion than petrol or diesel, petrol or diesel engines, which loses much as 80% of energy as heat.

So really, really well done if you were able to identify those two correct answers.

The aim of energy conservation in transportation is to switch people to lower-energy transportation or just to reduce how much or how often people travel in the first place, and how can that actually be achieved? Well, we can try to encourage people to drive less.

For example, we can encourage people to walk to work or cycle to work instead of driving.

Working from home instead of actually making that commute, that trip to work, will of course bring down the amount of energy needed.

Also encouraging car sharing, so using one car rather than two or three to get to different destinations.

And finally, encouraging the use of public transport.

So once again, trying to limit the number of journeys being taken by individuals in cars.

The same is true in terms of encouraging people to actually fly less.

14% of transportation carbon emissions come from aviation or flying.

And we can do this by persuading people to actually holiday in their own country.

Or, if they do go internationally, perhaps going by train rather than by aeroplane.

Also encouraging video conferencing instead of business travel can of course the number of flights taken by employees of different businesses, so trying to do things more digitally rather than go into meetings physically.

Time now for a learning check.

It says, "Which of the following is not a benefit of encouraging people to cycle to school or work instead of driving?" So you can see you've got four different options there on the screen.

What you need to do is pause the video whilst you consider and then select your answer.

And the correct answer was B, increases air pollution.

This is not a benefit of encouraging people to cycle to school or work instead of driving.

Rather, it's the opposite, it actually decreases air pollution.

So really, really well done if you were able to select B as the correct answer.

We're now onto our two practise tasks for our second learning cycle, and it says to describe two examples of energy efficiency in transport.

And the second question says to explain, using an example, how energy conservation in transport can reduce demand for finite energy resources.

So please then pause the video here whilst you attempt these two practise tasks.

Best of luck.

And the feedback for the first question.

Your answer could have included the following.

So I've said that electric vehicles are an example of energy efficiency in transport.

They are very efficient at converting energy from their batteries into motion or movement.

Aerodynamic vehicles reduce air resistance for vehicles like cars and lorries, and lower air resistance means less energy is needed to move the vehicle forward.

The second question, once again, your answer may have included something like this.

I said that when people drive to work, then they're using fossil fuels, even in EVs, unless the car has been charged using 100% renewable energy.

Fossil fuels are non-renewables, which means they are finite energy resources.

So persuading people to walk or cycle to work instead of driving is an example of energy conservation, as these forms of transport do not require fossil fuels which are conserved for other uses.

So really well done if you were able to include anything like that in your own answer.

We're now onto our third and final learning cycle and this is all about energy efficiency and conservation in the home.

Energy efficiency in the home is about using technology and design to use less energy to complete the same tasks.

So how can that be achieved? Well, loft and wall insulation are examples of energy efficiency in the home.

I wonder, can you explain why? You may like to pause the video whilst you consider your answer to that question or discuss your thoughts with someone near you.

So Izzy says that the insulation actually stops heat escaping through the roof and walls.

And as Sam says, and that means that less energy is then needed to heat the house.

If we're able to retain that heat within the house, then there's no need to turn the heating back on, and as a result, we are using less energy to heat our homes.

LED light bulbs use about 80% less electricity than traditional incandescent bulbs to provide the same level of light.

Meanwhile, condenser boilers use less gas than old boilers to heat water and radiators.

Furthermore, they lose less heat energy too.

So these are two excellent examples of how we can use technology to make our homes much more energy efficient.

Time now for a learning check and it says to match these examples of home technology with the reasons that they are energy efficient.

So on the left-hand side you've got double glazing, low-flow shower head, A-rated fridge, and finally, a smart thermostat.

What you need to do then is match them with the statement on the right-hand side, so please then pause the video here whilst you attempt this learning check.

So, double glazing matches with it reduces heat loss through windows, so less energy is needed to heat that home.

Low-flow shower head reduces water flow while still providing a good shower experience, reducing the amount of hot water needed.

A-rated fridge uses an advanced motor and insulation to consume less power, often 50% less.

And finally, a smart thermostat senses when rooms are unoccupied and reduces heating inside them.

So really, really well done if you were able to get those answers correct.

Energy conservation in the home is about using less energy by trying to change our habits or reducing unnecessary energy use.

For example, Laura says that "my dad turns the thermostat down to 19 degrees Celsius, and if me and my mom say that we're cold, he says we should put on jumpers.

Is that energy conservation?" And I've got two options here.

It's either A, yes, it's about changing habits; or no, it's about technology.

So you may like to pause the video here whilst you consider your answer to that question.

Well, the answer was yes, it's all about changing habits.

Now, Laura's father could have said, "Absolutely, we'll turn the heating back up." But actually he suggested an alternative, an alternative behaviour, which was to put on a jumper.

So it's about trying to change our habits to try and reduce our energy consumption, in this example by wearing a jumper rather than turning the heating back up.

So time now for a learning check and it says, "Is Aisha right?" So we've got two statements on the left-hand side.

Alex says, "My granny puts her washing outside to dry, but we always use the tumble dryer at home." Aisha says, "If you could persuade your parents to use a washing line instead of a tumble dryer, that would be energy conservation." Now the learning check here is for you to consider whether Aisha is correct.

Yes or no? A or B? So what you need to do then is pause the video here whilst you consider and then select your answer.

And the correct answer was yes, it is energy conservation, because it would be persuading Alex's family to reduce the amount of energy they use to dry clothes.

You could even say this is about reducing unnecessary energy use.

Why fossil fuels to dry clothes when the sun and wind will do it on a clothesline for free? Unless it starts raining, of course.

So really, really well done if you were able to get A as the correct answer.

Here are some more examples of how we can bring energy conservation into the home.

The first thing we can do is actually just take a shorter shower, so thereby using less warm water.

We can also wait to wash clothes until we have a full washing machine load rather than just doing a half load, for example.

Don't leave the fridge door open.

Just fill the kettle with the amount of water you need, so don't fill a full kettle if you're only gonna use enough water for one cup of tea.

Close curtains to keep the heat in.

Unplug devices rather than leaving them on standby.

And finally, turning the light off when you leave a room.

So these are all different examples about how we can perhaps change our behaviour to conserve energy.

Our next learning check says to suggest two ways in which energy conservation could reduce heat loss from this home.

So you've got four different options on the screen there.

What you need to do is pause the video, read through the options, and then select what you think are the two correct answers.

Best of luck.

And the two correct answers were A, start closing curtains, and C, stop leaving windows open.

So these are two behavioural changes, whereas B and C are more related to energy efficiency.

Remember, this question is about changing behaviour to reduce energy use.

Insulation and condenser boiler are more to do with energy efficiency.

So really, really well done if you were able to get A and C as the correct answers.

We're now onto our two final practise tasks for our final learning cycle and the first one says to add annotations to outline at least four examples of energy efficiency in the home.

The second question says to imagine you are looking for ways to reduce energy bills in your home.

Suggest three changes that would encourage energy conservation.

So what I'd like you to do right now then is pause the video here whilst you attempt these two practise tasks.

Best of luck.

In terms of feedback for the first question, your annotations could include the following.

So I've included that we could have loft and wall insulation because it reduces heat loss, so less energy is actually needed to heat that house.

LED lights instead of traditional light bulbs.

They use 80% less energy to provide the same amount of light.

A smart thermostat senses when rooms are unoccupied and thereby reduces heating in them.

And finally, a condenser boiler uses less energy to provide the same amount of heat as an older boiler with less heat waste.

The second question then, your three ways could have included the following.

When the weather is suitable, hang out washing to dry outside on the clothesline rather than always use the tumble dryer.

Put the old egg timer from the kitchen in the shower so we can all keep our showers under 10 minutes.

If someone feels cold in the house when they're just wearing a T-shirt or a vest, then instead of turning up the thermometer, they should just try putting on some warmer clothes first.

It makes perfect sense.

So really, really well done if you were able to include anything like that in your own answer.

So we're on now onto our learning summary and what do we need to know from today's lesson.

Well, we need to know that demand for energy is increasing and fossil fuels continue to be the main source of energy used, as the graph on the right-hand side shows.

This increases carbon emissions instead of reducing them.

Now, energy efficiency and energy conservation are two ways of reducing demand for energy.

So really well done during today's lesson, it was a pleasure teaching you, and I will see you again on the next lesson, goodbye.