Energy Conservation

Energy conservation is the idealistic or economic practice of reducing the use of energy. This is done in two ways:

- Increasing energy efficiency, to output the same level of goods and services with a smaller amount of energy input. (Examples of this approach: LEV, LED Lighting)
- Decreasing the amount of a certain activity, or reduce the quality of a service, to reduce the amount of energy needed.

On a larger scale, energy conservation is an element of energy policy. The need to increase the available supply of energy (for example, through the creation of new power plants, or by the importation of more energy) is lessened if societal demand for energy can be reduced, or if growth in demand can be slowed. This makes energy conservation an important part of the debates over climate change and the replacement of non-renewable resources with renewable energy. Encouraging energy conservation among consumers is often advocated as a cheaper or more environmentally sensitive alternative to increased energy production.