Researchers have calculated minimum levels of energy use needed to live a decent life, but what about maximum levels?
How energy-efficient a home is depends not only on the energy label but also on the lifestyle.
To focus on energy efficiency is to make present ways of life non-negotiable.
Adjusting energy demand to supply would make switching to renewable energy much more realistic than it is today.
Matching supply to demand at all times makes renewable power production a complex, slow, expensive and unsustainable undertaking.
Unlike solar and wind energy, human power is always available, no matter the season or time of day.
More and more consumer products are controlled by networked software: what does this mean for energy demand, and exactly who is responsible for increasing consumption?
The information society promises to dematerialise society and make it more sustainable, but modern office and knowledge work has itself become a large and rapidly growing consumer of energy and other resources
The energy use of the internet can only stop growing when energy sources run out, unless we impose self-chosen limits.
Most modern heating systems are primarily based on the heating of air. This seems an obvious choice, but there are far worthier alternatives.
Cooling people by increasing local airflow is at least ten times more energy efficient than refrigerating the air in a given space.
A fireless cooker doubles the efficiency of any type of cooking device because it shortens the time on the fire and limits heat transfer losses