Name ______Date______Per____

Energy Perspectives- EXCEL Graphing Activity

PRESENTATION NOTES/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Activity Purpose: Study and interpret real data/information about energy consumption or energy resource development. Use EXCEL tocreate a graph (bar, pie, or line graph) representing the data, for a visual presentation that describes the information.

Source of Information/Data: Dept. of Energy- Energy Information Administration_(eia.org)______

DATA SET / Discussion QUESTIONs / NOTES
  1. Energy Imports & Exports
(groups 1 & 2) / Describe overall trends in imports and exports since 1950. / * imports greatly exceed exports
* imports mostly of petroleum, least of coal
  1. Energy Production & Energy Consumption
(groups 3 & 4) / -Describe the overall trends in production and consumption.
-How does production of fossil fuels compare with consumption amounts?
-What years was there a boost in RENEWABLES production and consumption? / * we generate far less fossil fuels than we consume (this is mostly petroleum, not shown in this set of plots)
* We consume and produce far more fossil fuels than renewables or nuclear power
* Dependency on foreign oil has significantly decreased in last 5 years
  1. Energy Consumption by “SECTORS” (Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Transportation)
(group 5) / -Which Energy Sector uses the most energy? What energy resource does this sector primarily use?
-Which sector is increasing the fastest? Where does most of its energy resource come from? / * energy use is split in approximately thirds (transportation, industry, buildings (residential+commercial))
* Energy used by the transportation sector is growing most rapidly
* energy use by industry is still the greatest total share, but it is not growing
  1. Residential Energy Consumption 2014, by Source
(group 6) / * Natural gas is the most widely used directly in the home
* Renewables are used only for ~7% of the total direct home energy,
biomass represents the most of this
* Electricity consumption is growing rapidly and becoming a larger % of the total home energy use
* Electricity losses are generally between 65-70% of the total energy used to generate the electricity
  1. Residential Energy Consumption, by Source
Avg. US
(group 6 and 7) / -Which TYPE of fuel is used most in the U.S.? Least? / Most-Natural Gas
Least-Coal
  1. Household Energy Consumption 2009, by End-Use
Avg. US and 4 Regions
(group 8) / What are some reasons for differences in energy consumption in US- different regions? / -South
-West
-Northeast
-Midwest
*Climate, population density, lifestyle, industry
  1. Household Electricity Consumption
(group 9) / -List the overall ways we use energy in our home for which data was represented. Circle what uses the most energy. Underline the least.
Which kitchen appliance uses the highest % of the total Kitchen usage? Why? /
  • space heating
  • electric air conditioning
  • water heating
  • refrigerators
  • lighting
  • other appliances

  1. Household Energy Use vs. Type of Housing
(see Hillerich #8;
groups 10 & 11) / -List 4 main types of housing.
Circle the type that uses the most energy.
-How might this data be use as a possible reason why US energy use is so much higher than other parts of the developed world? / -single family
-apartment building, 5 or more units
-2-4 unit apartment building
-mobile homes
*energy consumption per household increases substantially in larger homes
*Other countries do not have large subdivision developments full of fairly large, single family houses.
  1. Top Oil Importers and Exporters
(groups 12 & 13) / -Explain where the U.S. stands on the lists of TOP importers and exporter. What does it mean? / * US imports 3X more than any other country. The US consumes more than it produces and is dependent on foreign oil.
*US is not a top 5 exporter.
*Saudia Arabia is the top world exporter of oil.
  1. Top Oil Producers and Consumers
(groups 14 & 15) / -Which country consumes the most oil?
-Compare how much oil the U.S. consumes with the amount we produce. Where does the rest come from? / *US is #1 consumer and #1 producer!
*Our consumption has leveled off in the past decade.
*US production rate has rapidly increased in the last 5 years and put US above other oil producing countries, however it is still less than what we consume.

CONCLUSIONS:

What are the real problems in our energy consumption?

According to the EIA, the US consumption rate of oil exceeds our production making us highly dependent on foreign. fossil fuels for most of our energy supply – this energy is instrumental for maintaining our current society. Our supply of non-renewable energy sources is being depleted and may even reach a point where the limited supply adversely affects their lives. The average American uses six times the energy as the global average. In the US alone we use one million dollars worth of energy every minute. We can personally make choices that affect the energy situation.