Would turning off one light bulb really save oil?

[gonzo2k]

partial post by jasonpetras:

Something smells fishy, and it ain't New Jersey.

As someone who lives in NJ, I suggest turning off your computer to help. I'll keep an eye on the meter!

 

[zephyrprime]

I don't see how turning off a light bulb would save any oil. Electricity isn't generated from oil is it? I thought it was all generated from coal, nuclear, & hydro plus a small quantity of renewable.

Plus, that 33% figure for standby current usage is way too high. I quick search on the web showed much lower figures.

 

[Matt]

I would disagree to the previous statement. Oil is a very common fuel for powerplants. I don't have any figures but I would make a rough estimate to be 20-30% worldwide.
Anyone have a more precise estimate than that?

/Matt

 

[Ipno]

In the US:

Coal - 11%
Petroleum - 32%
Gas - 22%
Water (Conventional Hydroelectric) - 30%

The following made up less than 4% combined: Water (Pumped Storage Hydroelectric), Nuclear, Waste Heat and Other Renewable sources.

Other Renewable includes Geothermal, Biomass (wood, wood waste, nonwood waste), solar and wind.

This is extrapolated from data availible here.

Hope this helps.

 

[KenGr]

Originally posted by: Ipno
In the US:

Coal - 11%
Petroleum - 32%
Gas - 22%
Water (Conventional Hydroelectric) - 30%

The following made up less than 4% combined: Water (Pumped Storage Hydroelectric), Nuclear, Waste Heat and Other Renewable sources.

Other Renewable includes Geothermal, Biomass (wood, wood waste, nonwood waste), solar and wind.

This is extrapolated from data availible here.

Hope this helps.

The source you linked to is "planned" capacity, not actual generation. Actually, you have to be very careful with this data. Capacity is very different from generation. Many of the oil and gas plants are peaking plants that may, in some cases, operate only a few hundred hours per year, while nuclear and coal plants tend to be base loaded and operate constantly.

I couldn't quickly find a definitive source, but from what I could find and remember, coal accounts for over 50% of US electricity generation. Nuclear is slightly over 20%. Natural gas is over 10% and increasing. Oil is only about 2%. Renewables are over 5% but don't seem to be increasing right now because hydro capacity is being taken out and becoming less reliable lately.

Overall energy use for the US shows a different story with 35 to 40% being oil, about 25% natural gas, about 25% coal and about 15% being nuclear and renewables. I don't have any numbers for the world as a whole but I think it is similar with a bit more reliance on oil and less on coal.

 

[Ipno]

Actually there are two collumns, one for existing capacity and one for planned capacity. The numbers I used were from the existing collumn.

 

[KenGr]

Originally posted by: Ipno
Actually there are two collumns, one for existing capacity and one for planned capacity. The numbers I used were from the existing collumn.

OK, I looked again and I see where you made your error. Apparently you calculated based on number of units, not the capacity. When you do it by capacity, you get the following capacity distribution by type of fuel:

Coal 43%
Oil 7%
Gas 20%
Hydro 11%
Nuclear 14%
Other Renewables <1%

Because the Coal and Nuclear units are much larger and have low fuel costs, they are base loaded and contribute a larger portion of the total generation, as I quoted in a previous post.

 

[Ipno]

Oops. Yes, thats what I did. No idea why I did that.