Why does energy consumption vary throughout the year and what are some ways I could reduce energy consumption?

Question

give some specific examples

Answer 1

Most people have lights on more when day length is greater, we use energy to heat or cool our homes, we drive through snow and allow vehicle engines to run to warm up before taking to the road  in winter.

In summer we run our car air conditioner or leave the windows open to cool off, increasing fuel consumption.

We hang our clothes out to dry more in pleasant weather, run a drier when hanging the wash out would freeze the hands.

Because there is far less wind to run the turbine, we get less wind power in summer and spring, so pull more from the grid.

The photovoltaic panels do not have a consistent seasonal variation... but it does vary day to day as heavy cloud cover makes us more grid dependent. Similarly we get less heat from the sun during winter if there is heavy cloud cover, and we are depending on the sun for heat.

Answer 2

Energy consumption varies especially because the weather (seasons) do. In winter, it's dark and cold, so you'll switch your lights on earlier, you'll turn up your heating and you'll spend more time indoors, watching TV or playing computer games. To reduce your energy consumption directly you could turn your heating a few degrees lower (put on warmer clothes instead), use CFL's instead of normal light bulbs, eat less meat (meat production costs a lot of energy) and switch off your television completely (do not use the stand-by option). Good luck!

Answer 3

People consume more motor fuel in the summer because they take vacations, go power-boating, etc.  Electricity use for air conditioning peaks in the summer also.

Heating energy use peaks in the winter, for obvious reasons.  Electricity for lighting peaks in the darkest months, with a surge in some places for holiday lights.

What you can do:

- Get the most efficient car which will serve, and use it as little as you can.

- Insulate your house.  Put plastic film over the windows.

- Use awnings or plant trees to keep summer heat out.

- Use CF lamps instead of incandescents.

- Live close to work and shopping, so you don't have to drive as much or even at all.  This saves time also.

Answer 4

winter and summer are your peak consumption times

1)winter for heating the house due to extreme cold

2)summer for cooling the house extreme heat

3)winter darker hours due to suns angle in the sky LIGHTS

4)spring and fall temps are More moderate heating and cooling of the home is the huge energy consumers

Answer 5

well it just makes sense to keep your house cool in the summer and heat your home in the winter, so it would make sense if energy use went up during the winter. Someways to conserve energy is to dress warmly and turn your thermostat by a couple degrees. Turn off your lights, if you have a family and a 2 story house, keep them all on one level.