Sustainability of Electricity Consumption Lighting and HVAC Systems

Sustainability in electricity consumption is the concept that summarize all actions that are related to the electrical devices and use of electrical energy with the purpose to meet today’s needs of the human society, but without compromising the ability of the future generations to development. Sustainability in electricity consumption is important because electrical energy is a significant pillar of modern society and the need for electricity is growing rapidly. The processes associated with the electrical systems’ consumption have numerous environmental, social, and economic impacts. There are two main aspects correlated to sustainability in electricity consumption that must be considered: the electrical devices manufacturing, usage, and disposal, plus the way the electricity is utilized. This chapter describes the technical and environmental aspects of sustainability in electricity consumption in the areas of lighting and HVAC systems. Thus, for each type of electricity consumption sector, i.e., lighting and HVAC, it is presented their construction, discussed their advantages and disadvantages, energy efficiency aspects and the impact on the environment.