Efficient, economical use of energy
In industry, electricity is typically used to increase the value added. The manufacture of refined steels, ferrochrome and zinc is particularly energy-intensive.
Private households are making increasing use of electricity in heat pumps in order to save energy. Heat pumps utilise the natural heat stored in the ground, in water systems and in the ambient air. Heat pumps can generate approximately 2.5 units of heat from one energy unit used. It is recommended to equip low-energy houses with electric heating as it allows fast and accurate control of temperature, ventilation and humidity separately for each room, if desired.
In small and medium-sized industries the use of electricity is growing as flexible manufacturing systems gain popularity. Automatic control systems can adjust electrically operated processes more accurately and more efficiently than fuel-based processes. They can also direct high power volumes exactly where desired without local flue gas emissions.
As companies are focusing more and more on their core businesses, it is often preferable to procure energy in the form of electricity, which eliminates the need for investments in things like boilers and fuel stocks. It also eliminates the need for burner maintenance and the local environmental effects of flue gases and ash residues.
Besides the industrial sector, electricity consumption is also growing in the service sector. Major electricity consumers include large, newly-built shopping centres. Electricity is needed for air-conditioning, cooling equipment, conveyors, escalators, advertising signboards, lifts, and other machinery and equipment. Between 1997 and 2006, electricity consumption in the service sector grew by more than 3 % a year compared with a 2.6 per cent growth in total consumption.
The use of electricity in private households is growing as people acquire more spacious homes. Many people also want to install electric heating in their leisure homes in the countryside to make them suitable for year-round use. The number of one- and two-person households is growing, as is the number of household appliances in each home, such as stoves, vacuum cleaners, fridges, ovens, freezers and washing machines.
The efficient, economical use of energy has always been a necessity in Finland. Due to the cold climate and dark winters, energy costs are higher for households in Finland than in other EU countries; in industry the cost of energy is included in production costs, and every attempt is made to minimise it, the same as with any other production costs. Energy-saving requirements are taken into consideration in process and equipment design, and investments focus on the best available technology to ensure competitiveness.
Heating: The share of heat pumps is increasing in the overall demand for electricity in heating
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Annual Growth of Electricity Consumption by Sector (PDF, 1 page)
