In: Other
We mentioned earlier in the course that energy technologies in developing countries often have much lower efficacies than those in developed countries. Let’s look at one example, lighting via kerosene lamps, which are common in developing countries but about 150x less effective than incandescent lightbulbs at turning energy into useful light. If a family wanted just one tenth of the light provided by the 75 W lightbulb, they’d need to consume 15x as much power, or 1125 W. If a family ran 1125 W worth of kerosene lamps for just 2 hours each day, how much CO2 would this emit? You may assume that kerosene produces the same emissions as gasoline.
This problem is being solved considering the following international standards-
According to the problem, kerosene produces the same emission as gasoline which means,
Now,
39 kW or 39000 W power is produced from 1 gallon of kerosene per hour.
Therefore, to produce 1 W power amount of kerosene needed per hour = 1/39000 gallon.
Therefore, to produce 1125 W power amount of kerosene needed per hour = ((1/39000)*1125) gallon= (3/104) gallon
Now, if 1125 W worth of kerosene lamps are used for just 2 hours each day, then the amount of kerosene needed per day= (3/104) gallon/hr * 2 hr/day = (3/52) gallon/day.
Now, approx 19.64 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) is produced from burning a gallon of kerosene.
Therefore, amount of CO2 produced from (3/52) gallon/day kerosene= 19.64 pounds/gallon * (3/52) gallon/day = 1.133 pounds/day.
1 pound = 0.453592 Kg.
1.133 pound= 0.514 Kg(approx.)
Therefore, amount of CO2 produced from (3/52) gallon/day kerosene=0.514 Kg/day
Therefore, If a family ran 1125 W worth of kerosene lamps for just 2 hours each day, amount of CO2 emission is 0.514 Kg of CO2/day .