35 Interesting Fun Facts About Energy You Haven’t Heard!

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Surprising Fun Facts about Energy That Might Surprise YOU

We all read and talk about energy consumption, conservation, or energy efficiency facts but have you ever felt that we’re living in a sea of energy? In this article, I’ll share some interesting fun facts about energy that will astound you surely.

Fun Facts About Electricity

Approximately 40% of total energy is used in the production of electricity

Facts about energy conservation show that about 40% of energy from all-natural resources is spent in the generation of electricity.

Electricity travels at 1/100 of the speed of light

The electrical energy or electromagnetic waves travels at around 186,000 miles per second, or the speed of light. But the electricity in the wires and appliances in our homes moves only about 1/100 the speed of light.

Human and animal bodies conduct electricity

Did you know that our bodies also use a form of electricity? Humans and animals use bioelectricity that transfers signals from cells to muscles.

Electric eels can generate around 500 volts of strong electric shocks for defending against predators and hunting their prey.

Electricity from cheese!

Sounds weird, right? French cheese is famous for its taste and texture. In the town of Albertville (France), a byproduct (whey) of local Beaufort cheese is being used in a power plant to generate electricity.

The whey of the cheese is used to produce biogas that fuels the power generation process. This cheese-based power plant is generating enough electricity that can power a community of 1,500 people.

An average U.S. home needs 11000 kWh of electricity

A typical home in the U.S. uses about 11000-kilowatt hours of electricity every year, an average of 916 kWh every month.

Google searches consume a lot of power

People around the world make around 40000 searches every second on Google. While you’re getting the answer for your query within a blink of an eye, it’s taking a lot of energy in return.

Google’s data centers spend enough energy that can power 200,000 homes. It’s assumed that 10 Google searches cost energy that’s enough to power a 60-watt lightbulb for an hour.

A single wind turbine can power 460 homes for one month

According to the U.S Energy Information Administration, the average home in the U.S uses 867 kWh every month. The average turbine can produce 402,000 kWh every month that can run an average of 460 homes for one month.

Coal produces a significant amount of electricity

In the USA, 20% of the total electricity is generated from coal. 60% of the total electricity is produced from fossil fuels.

Facts About Conventional And Energy Efficient Appliances

Incandescent and halogen lights are very inefficient

You’ll be surprised to know that these bulbs use only 10% total of the energy usage to lighten up a space. The rest of 90% of energy is spent to just produce heat.

LED bulbs are both efficient and durable

LED light bulbs use only one-sixth of the electricity that the traditional incandescent bulbs use. But they are 40 times more long-lasting than the traditional ones.

Turning CFL lights on and off frequently can shorten their lifespans

If you are using CFL bulbs, turning them on and off now and then can shorten their lifespans. You would better turn them off if you leave the room for 15 minutes or more.

Conventional microwave ovens use more electricity to power the digital clock

A conventional microwave oven uses more electricity to allow the digital clock to work than heating your foods.

Electric appliances use energy even when they aren’t in use

Electric appliances use an amount of electricity even when they aren’t active. An average desktop computer consumes 80 watts when it’s switched off.

Modern appliances are far more energy efficient

A fridge that your parents bought 30 years ago uses four times more electricity than the modern one you’re using now.

Fun Facts About Nuclear Energy

Nuclear energy is safe for climate

The production of power in nuclear plants emits nearly the same amount of greenhouse gasses as wind, water or biomass energy does. Solar energy emits three times and coal releases 30 times more greenhouse gas than nuclear energy.

52% of carbon-free electricity of the U.S. in 2020 was supplied from nuclear energy. Moreover, 96% of this nuclear waste is recyclable.

Nearly half of the uranium of this world is deposited in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan alone has 50 huge deposits of Uranium. About 50% of the supply of uranium comes from Kazakhstan.

Uranium is dense with energy

One ton of natural uranium can produce the same amount of energy that we get from burning 16,000 tons of coal or 80,000 barrels of oil.

20% of the electricity of U.S comes from n18uclear power

There are more than 100 nuclear power plants in the U.S. and 20% of its total electricity comes from nuclear energy. Nuclear energy powers 1 in 5 households and businesses in the US.

Nuclear power plants release very little radiation

Some research says that you’re exposed to more radiation over your lifetime from your electronic appliances than you would get from living near a nuclear plant.

Nuclear fuel is surprisingly dense

The amount of nuclear fuel used over the last 50 years in the U.S. nuclear energy industry could be stored in a football field to a depth of fewer than 10 yards.

Fun Facts About Natural Gas

The rotten smell is infused in the natural gas for detecting a gas leak

In the primary state, natural gas is odorless. But a kind of “rotten egg” smell is infused in the natural gas by the manufacturer companies so that our nose can easily detect a gas leak.

Natural gas is a clean fossil fuel

Natural gas is said to be one of the cleanest options for fossil fuels because it releases less carbon and pollution into the atmosphere. As a result, natural gases are crucial for green cleaning.

Natural gasses are kept in liquid form while transporting

When natural gas is transported around the world, it’s kept in liquid form. Because in a liquid state it occupies less volume.

LNG is reduced by 600-fold before transporting

To get the natural gas in a liquid state, it’s chilled to a very low temperature. LNG gas is chilled at -161°C which increases the density by 600-fold.

There are 2.5 million miles of natural gas pipeline in the U.S.

The U.S. has over 2.5 million miles of pipeline for distributing natural gas. The UK alone has 171,000 miles of gas pipes, that can encircle the Earth more than four times.

Transportation of natural gas is sensitive

Methane is the main element of natural gas which is one of the greenhouse gases. Therefore, the transportation of natural gas is a very sensitive issue since undetected leaks can lead to climate change.

Fun Facts About Solar Energy

60 minutes of solar energy could power the Earth for a year

The sun supplies 430 quintillion Joules of energy per hour to the Earth. If we could make use of just one hour’s energy from the sun, it alone can power the Earth for the whole year.

Solar energy can be the primary source of power in future

As we’re supposed to run out of fossil fuels in future, the solar energy can be the primary source of power by 2040.

A single lightning bolt releases five times more heat than the sun

When bolts from the lightning are released into the atmosphere, they heat air five times hotter than the sun does, up to 30,000°C.

Other Fun Facts About Energy

There are above 2 million miles of pipeline in the world

There are more than 2 million miles of pipeline in this world for energy industries.

Food is also a form of energy

While we normally mean electricity, gas, and power as energy, food is also a form of energy. Food is chemical energy that powers living organisms. When the body digests foods, it converts them into mechanical energy or heat.

Daylight saving time saves some energy

Energy experts estimate that when we turn our clocks one hour forward in March, it results in saving 0.5 percent of energy each day. Even it’s an insignificant percentage apparently, it saves 1.3 billion kWh of electricity that can power 100,000 households for a year.

Biomass is a great source of energy

Biomass is a good source of renewable energy. The U.S. has 200 existing biomass plants that are supplying electricity to around 1.5 million homes.

Fossil fuels can run out in the future

Fossil Fuels are being burnt to produce energy at a higher rate than they’re being formed in nature. Environmental experts are anticipating that it can run out soon if it’s burnt at the same rate.

Oil is the largest source of primary energy

Crude oil or petroleum is the most supplied primary energy source, especially for transportation. It’s also a basic element for petrochemicals like plastics. 4.5 billion metric tons of crude oil are being produced and supplied worldwide every year.

What Is Energy?

When a force is applied to an object to cause a displacement, that is called ‘work’. And energy refers to the ability to do any ‘work’.

Energy is conserved in this universe and it’s said to be limited. Though energy isn’t any material substance, it can be measured and stored in various ways.

Surprisingly, we don’t really consume energy. Energy is transferred between different states and forms thus works on different objects to allow our daily activities to go on.

Why Is Energy Important?

Energy is so important for us because it drives human life. These fun facts about energy show how energy is inseparable from our life. Whether we want to grow anything or cook food, make us feel warmer or feel cooler, we need energy.

From getting up from bed to going to sleep at night, energy is needed everywhere, every time. Whether you want to power a huge machine or want to just lift your finger, energy is behind all. Confused about the latter? You would not be able to move your finger if your body didn’t get chemical energy from food.

As far as modern appliances or simple technology like google search, email, etc are concerned, nothing can be operated for a fraction of a second without energy.

How Does Energy Help Us?

Energy helps us by all means. First of all, chemical energy through foods allows our body to survive. Secondly, we use thermal energy in cooking, heating, cooling, drying, and manufacturing.

We use electrical energy for lighting, heating, cooling, refrigerating, powering home appliances, computers, machinery, transports, and whatnot. Mechanical energy helps in doing manual tasks easily and efficiently, lifting heavy objects, cutting tough materials, transporting things worldwide, and so on.

Nuclear energy is used as uninterrupted light sources in aircraft and public buildings, in smoke detectors, in agriculture for improving crops, preserving foods, controlling pests, and numerous other purposes.

Why Is Energy Efficiency Important?

The fun facts about energy show that the benefits of energy efficiency are numerous. If we look at the environmental benefits, energy efficiency will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. It’ll save water resources thus reduce electricity use.

Energy efficiency will lower the utility bills, create scope for jobs, a balance between electricity price and variability. The long-term benefits of it will be an overall decrease in electricity demand which will result in less investment in the generation and transmission of electricity.

How Does Electricity Affect Climate Change?

Around the world, about 40% of Carbon dioxide is emitted from the production of electricity. This emission results from the combustion of fossil fuels to produce heat for turbines.

Therefore, the more electricity is produced, the more Carbon dioxide it releases. It results in global warming and climate change.

However, if electricity is generated from renewable resources like solar, wind, or geothermal, it doesn’t affect climate change or air pollution.

Conclusion

These 35 fun facts about energy show that how energy is revolving around us and how much energy we’re using as an individual. For the well-being of our life and environment, it has been necessary to take these energy efficiency facts seriously and lead an eco-friendly lifestyle right now.

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