Most people don’t understand the difference between energy conservation and energy efficiency. Yet, it’s an important concept to understand.

For the sake of this example, let’s take a 100 watt incandescent light bulb. You plan on leaving it on for an hour, which will consume 100 watts over the hour or 0.10 kW/h. Giving it some thought about the electricity you will use, you decide to reduce your energy consumption by either conservation or improving the efficiency of the light bulb.

Energy Efficiency.

You decide to swap the 100 watt incandescent light bulb for a compact florescent bulb, which uses only 26 watts over an hour. The 26-watt CFL is as bright as the 100 watt incadescent bulb, so you don’t end up losing anything.

When you choose energy efficiency  you don’t lose anything by switching over to the more efficient technology. Indeed, with modern compact florescent technology, the electronic ballasts are flicker and lamp color resembles a regular bulb. The bulb doesn’t get hot and lasts longer. You always win with efficiency!

Government can easily set efficiency standards. Through laws and regulations, the US Energy Department can tell manufacturers that they must limit the amount of energy required to complete a desired task. That does not mean giving up features, or shutting off the light bulb. Yet, without government efficiency standards, it can often be difficult to find more efficent appliances, because manufacturers are lazy and do not feel the need to innovate.

Energy Conservation.

You decide to keep the 100 watt incandescence bulb and turn off the light after 15 minutes, so you sit in darkness for the rest of the hour. You only use 25 watts over the hour.

When you choose conservation, you save money, but give up utility in response. If their is enough day light, you can turn off a light bulb, and use the day light to read by. You choose to buy a smaller car or television set to conserve energy. It’s a personal choice, or as Dick Cheney famously said, “Conservation is a personal virtue”.

Government can not normally force people to engage in conservation. Unless fuel is rationed or they send a cop to your door to tell you to turn off that 100 watt bulb, you can choose to use as little or as much energy as you want as long as you pay for it. People can be educated on virtues of conservation.