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Seven Centuries of Energy Services: The Price and Use of Light in the United Kingdom (1300-2000)
Abstract and Figures
Before the mid-eighteenth century, most people lived in near-complete darkness except in the presence of sunlight and moonlight. Since then, the provision of artificial light has been revolutionised by a series of innovations in appliances, fuels, infrastructures and institutions that have enabled the growing demands of economic development for artificial light to be met at dramatically lower costs: by the year 2000, while United Kingdom GDP per capita was 15 times its 1800 value, lighting services cost less than one three thousandth of their 1800 value, per capita use was 6,500 times greater and total lighting consumption was 25,000 times higher than in 1800. The economic history of light shows how focussing on developments in energy service provision rather than simply on energy use and prices can reveal the ÔtrueÕ declines in costs, enhanced levels of consumption and welfare gains that have been achieved. While emphasising the value of past experience, the paper also warns against the dangers of over-reliance on past trends for the long-run forecasting of energy consumption given the potential for the introduction of new technologies and fuels, and for rebound and saturation effects.
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... The years of 1760-1830 marked the industrial revolution [10] where vast numbers of technological innovations occurred, most notably in the manufacturing industry. Among this rapid emergence of knowledge and modernisation, was the development of the electrical bulb [95,168] which changed the way humans lit their homes and their surroundings, creating a world filled with anthropogenically generated artificial light at levels never seen before. As lighting technology advanced, the price of artificial lights fell which widened its accessibility to consumers [95] and increased the demand which increased its prevalence around the world, termed the "rebound" effect [95,108,148,293]. ...
... Among this rapid emergence of knowledge and modernisation, was the development of the electrical bulb [95,168] which changed the way humans lit their homes and their surroundings, creating a world filled with anthropogenically generated artificial light at levels never seen before. As lighting technology advanced, the price of artificial lights fell which widened its accessibility to consumers [95] and increased the demand which increased its prevalence around the world, termed the "rebound" effect [95,108,148,293]. Although scientists have been aware of many anthropogenic stressors affecting the environment, such as the release of carbon dioxide inducing global warming, and fertilisers causing wide-spread eutrophication in aquatic systems, light pollution itself was not recognised as a worldwide concern until 2009 during the UN's International Year of Astronomy [120]. ...
... Among this rapid emergence of knowledge and modernisation, was the development of the electrical bulb [95,168] which changed the way humans lit their homes and their surroundings, creating a world filled with anthropogenically generated artificial light at levels never seen before. As lighting technology advanced, the price of artificial lights fell which widened its accessibility to consumers [95] and increased the demand which increased its prevalence around the world, termed the "rebound" effect [95,108,148,293]. Although scientists have been aware of many anthropogenic stressors affecting the environment, such as the release of carbon dioxide inducing global warming, and fertilisers causing wide-spread eutrophication in aquatic systems, light pollution itself was not recognised as a worldwide concern until 2009 during the UN's International Year of Astronomy [120]. ...
Humans first began using artificial light at night (ALAN) during the industrial revolution and sources of light have diversified and intensified considerably over the last century. Light pollution has previously been defined under two separate branches, “ecological light pollution” where the natural light patterns are altered in marine and terrestrial environments, and “astronomical light pollution” where the view of the night sky is reduced. Natural light is vital for the regulation of animal behaviour and interactions. Surprisingly, this environmental stressor did not become a worldwide concern until 2009. Since then, research into this subject has substantially increased, with studies highlighting the detrimental effects of ALAN. These effects can be serious for many organisms and include the disruption of the essential circadian rhythms that most organisms use to time important behaviours such as foraging, reproduction, and sleep. Whether all organisms possess phenotypic plasticity to effectively adapt to increasing and changing artificial light pollution is not yet known. Here, we summarise the effects of light pollution among many different species, from marine to terrestrial, with a focus on the areas that require further research to enhance our knowledge of this subject. The aim of this review is to raise awareness and enhance understanding about this little-discussed environmental concern, including some novel ideas on camouflage and polarised light pollution, hopefully encouraging future research into the effects of light pollution on organism behaviour.
... In each case, flames lengths were lower than the limits given by ASTM F-2417 and EN 15493. With wicks shorter (11) where h is the flame height, ṁ is the burning rate, ρ vap is the density of the fuel vapour at its boiling point T vap given by the ideal gas equation-of-state, D 0 is the diffusivity of air in the fuel at ambient temperature T ∞ , S is the stoichiometric molar air-fuel ratio, and T f is the flame temperature. Gülder has proposed a modification to the work of Roper using a function f 1 , dependant on fuel properties in place of the diffusion coefficient [52] : ...
In this work, pillar candles are examined with eight varieties of candle wick having lengths from 1.0 mm to 19.5 mm and diameters from 1.4 mm to 3.2 mm using paraffin wax, beeswax, and soy wax as fuels. Experiments were undertaken to measure burning rate, flame height, flame width, and melt pool diameter using video and gravimetric analysis. Several properties of candle waxes were examined to understand their impact on burning rates and flame shapes. A model is proposed using the Spalding B-number with a novel wick efficiency model for burning rate accurate to ± 1.7 g/h (± 46%). The selection of wick was observed to have a strong impact on the burning rate of the candle flame. The Roper model for diffusion flames was found to provide a suitable estimate for the upper limit of flame lengths, and with the modification proposed in this work it can be used to predict candle flame lengths to within ± 10.4 mm. The width of candle flames was modelled using the Froude number and wax vapour specific gravity and was found to be accurate to within ± 1.69 mm (± 38%). The wick selection had no significant impact on the flame length or width external to its impact on burning rates. A numerical model for the diameter of the wax melt pool of a candle is presented and can be used to extend manufacturer data on melt pool sizes to other waxes. A simplified model is presented to relate the size of the melt pool to the heat release rate for various waxes.
... This can be a particularly good way of getting past the difficulty of context discussed in section 2: If multiple cases, taking place in different contexts all exhibit the same basic pattern, then that pattern is more likely to also apply to the target innovation. This type of inductive approach has been used to identify fundamental patterns in technology such as complexity (Arthur, 2011) learning by doing (Wright, 1936), and long term price elasticities (Fouquet and Pearson, 2006). Historical analogues being used in this kind of research strategy should be selected to maximize variation while maintaining strategic similarity with the target innovation. ...
Historical research has played an important role in helping researchers and decision makers to understand, plan for, and influence technological transitions towards sustainability. To date, however, this research has often emphasized theory-building over specific present-day relevance. We introduce the SHARD (Systematized Historical Analogue Research for Decision-making) process to address this methodological gap. This is a systematic, transparent, and repeatable process for using history to discover specific, actionable findings about a sustainable target innovation in the present day. SHARD applies a rigorous case selection protocol to select a historical analogue technology with strategic similarity to the target innovation. It also proposes a transparent and repeatable means of researching and developing findings from the historical analogue, to maximize external validity and ensure that it is relevant to present-day decisions. To illustrate the steps in the SHARD methodology, we include a condensed pilot study on how a historical analogue (margarine) can inform the development of a nascent sustainability technology (plant-based meat).
... In this modern era, people find nighttime use of artificial light against the natural darkness customary and essential. In the United Kingdom, total lighting consumption was 25,000 times higher in 2000 than that in 1800 (Fouquet and Pearson, 2006). Light exposure at night (LAN) can desynchronize circadian biological rhythms, which develop under the 24-h solar cycle, from environmental rhythms. ...
Nighttime use of artificial light is usual and essential in these modern times. Although light exposure at night (LAN) is reportedly a risk factor of several diseases, epidemiological studies on indoor LAN levels are still limited. Hence, the present study aimed to measure bedroom LAN levels by using light meters in a larger sample than in previous studies, and to evaluate the associations with comprehensive health outcomes. Out of 3012 participants, 2947 (mean age, 69.3 years; female, 60.6%) completed the bedroom LAN intensity measurement. The median bedroom LAN intensity was 1.0 lux (interquartile range, 0.2–4.0 lux). In a multivariable analysis adjusted for potential confounding factors, the highest quartile group of bedroom LAN intensity had significantly higher body weight, body mass index, abdominal circumference, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol than the lowest quartile group. The group with a median LAN intensity ≥10 lux had significantly higher white blood cell counts and had significantly lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels than the group with a median LAN intensity <10 lux. In addition, the groups with median LAN intensities ≥3 and ≥10 lux had significantly higher odds ratios for sleep disturbances and depressive symptoms than the group with <3 and <10 lux, respectively. Therefore, the present study provided real-world data on bedroom LAN levels as a marker for indoor light pollution in a large sample and suggested that higher bedroom LAN levels are significantly associated with parameters of obesity, dyslipidemia, systemic inflammation, sleep disturbances, and depressive symptoms.
... ALAN alters natural light cycles in terms of the intensity of light as well as its timing, dynamics, spectrum, and polarization (3,4). These changes have arisen at scale largely with the use of electric-powered light sources and thus only in the past approximately 100 years (5); the presence of networks of outdoor lights may be perceived by people, particularly in regions where they are presently unaffordable, as an indicator of modernity. Global estimates of the long-term growth in ALAN remain wanting, because of a lack of suitable data. ...
The nighttime is undergoing unprecedented change across much of the world, with natural light cycles altered by the introduction of artificial light emissions. Here we review the extent and dynamics of artificial light at night (ALAN), the benefits that ALAN provides, the environmental costs ALAN creates, approaches to mitigating these negative effects, and how costs are likely to change in the future. We particularly highlight the consequences of the increasingly widespread use of light-emitting diode (LED) technology for new lighting installations and to retrofit pre-existing ones. Although this has been characterized as a technological lighting revolution, it also constitutes a revolution in the environmental costs and impacts of ALAN, particularly because the LEDs commonly used for outdoor lighting have significant emissions at the blue wavelengths to which many biological responses are particularly sensitive. It is clear that a very different approach to the use of artificial lighting is required.
Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Environment and Resources, Volume 47 is October 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
... In a historical study of lighting in the United Kingdom, Fouquet and Pearson (2006) investigate how efficiency and consumption in this sector have changed from 1300 to 2000. Of particular interest are the transformations from oil lamps in 1800 to modern electric light in 2000. ...
William Stanley Jevons identified what has come to be known as the Jevons paradox: the observation that improvements in energy efficiency are often connected with rising, not falling, energy consumption. This insight informs the subsequent economic concept of the “rebound effect” and the expansive research investigating this relationship. We provide an overview of key empirical research, which establishes that large rebounds in energy consumption connected with rising energy efficiency are common across various units of analysis, including the national, subnational (e.g., states/provinces/cities; power plants), and household levels. We then focus on the range of theoretical arguments that have been put forward to explain why rebounds occur in varying contexts, with particular consideration of implications for efforts to move away from fossil fuels. We emphasize the important distinction between direct effects, indirect effects, and economy‐wide effects in regard to rebounds, particularly those connected with macro‐structural forces, for understanding the causes and implications of the Jevons paradox.
This article is categorized under: The Carbon Economy and Climate Mitigation > Decarbonizing Energy and/or Reducing Demand
... Third, our study adds to the literature that has examined energy consumption and its relationship to other economic outcomes in long-run studies for the United Kingdom. One branch of this literature documents trends in energy consumption, services and prices over several centuries (Fouquet, 2010(Fouquet, , 2011Fouquet & Pearson, 1998, 2006Warde, 2007). A second branch of this literature has examined the relationship between energy consumption and other economic variables. ...
We examine the relationship between human capital and energy consumption in the United Kingdom employing time series data dating back to the mid-sixteenth century. We first employ traditional parametric techniques, such as cointegration tests and autoregressive distributed lag models, to examine the long and short-run effects. The findings suggest that there is a negative relationship between total human capital and energy consumption in the long run, with most estimates suggesting that an additional year of schooling reduces energy consumption in the range 15-20%. Given that such a long time series contains non-linearities and structural shifts in the data, we investigate the non-linear properties and find a long-run asymmetric relationship between human capital and energy consumption. We also relax the functional form assumptions and utilise local linear non-parametric regression. The results show a time-varying non-parametric link between human capital and energy consumption, although, consistent with the linear long run estimates, the relationship continues to be negative.
... This theorem is also known as backfire. This is illustrated, for example, by the study by Fouquet and Pearson, which shows that with the increase in more efficient light sources due to new technologies, total lighting consumption in the United Kingdom increased 25,000 times from 1800 to 2000 [6]. Leonard Brookes made similar observations, but made the connection between energy prices, gross domestic product, and energy demand. ...
This work looks at the rebound effects associated with digitalization of the use of rare earth metals in terms of environmental sustainability
with a focus on the life cycle of REE in its technological applications. There is no doubt that digitization offers numerous advantages for industry
and society. These primarily include improving efficiency and performance, as well as optimizing the susceptibility to disruption of production
and business processes through automation, the consistent availability of information in connection with rapid knowledge transfer. This also
results in lower process costs and short reaction times to problems within the value chain. Employees can be used more flexibly due to mobile
work. The most important topics of digitization include artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, cloud computing and autonomous
driving. However, digitization also has environmental disadvantages. These include, above all, an increasing demand for raw materials and
its cost-effective procurement in countries with low environmental and social standards instead of a sustainable circular economy, which is
financially and industrially more complex for manufacturers. For this purpose, a model calculation of ICT devices in the consumer sector is
carried out within the scope of this work and the resulting electronic waste is determined.
Bu çalışmada Georgian Dönemi olarak bilinen 1714-1830 yıllarında Kral George I, Kral George II, Kral George III, Kral George IV tarafından yürürlüğe konulan ilginç ve tuhaf vergiler inceleme konusu yapılmaktadır. Georgianlar Dönemi İngiltere’nin endüstriyel ve emperyal anlamda zirve yaşadığı, çeşitli ekonomik, sosyal ve siyasi olayların sıklıkla cereyan ettiği bir dönemdir. Ancak tüm bu gelişmelere karşın vergilendirme konusunda bir o kadar da kötü üne sahiptir. Georgian dönemi pek çok keyfi vergilerin alındığı ve bu vergilerin halkın üzerinde önemli ölçüde yük oluşturduğu bir dönemdir. Britanya İmparatorluğu’nun vergileme tarihinde yer bulmuş bu dönemi “keyfî vergiler çağı” olarak adlandırmak mümkündür. Bu çalışmada bu dönemde yürürlüğe konulmuş birbirinden ilginç vergi örneklerini incelemeye çalışacağız.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Georgian Dönemi, Keyfi Vergiler, Vergileme Tarihi
Alan Tanımı: İktisadi Düşünceler Tarihi, Kamu Maliyesi, Vergi Tarihi
Several networks of Sky Quality Meters show long-term trends in measuring the night sky brightness. Causes of this variation could be ageing of the instruments and variations of the sky emission. The data from Ekar Observatory (Italy) are here considered.
No significant ageing effect was detected on 9-year-old housing windows. A 9-year-old IR blocking filter shows a variation of its spectral transmittance up to 80%.
No trend on the SQM output was found due to only the variation of the spectral distribution of the night sky emission. Together with ageing of the IR blocking filter, it causes a reduction of the SQM output of about 0.01 magSQM arcsec⁻² per year.
Slow trend of the aerosol optical depth suggests the air near the considered site is changing towards less polluted conditions. It reduces scattering of the artificial light and consequently sky glow in the light polluted considered site.
This article is a contribution to the debate on the significance of the principle of laissez-faire for nineteenth-century government based on a detailed analysis of the London gas industry. It argues against the accepted viewpoint that the gas industry moved from a period of free competition among companies in the early years to an era of monopoly, government regulation and municipal ownership as a result of a mid-century change in public opinion, a growing civic consciousness, and a progressive acceptance of collectivist ideology. Instead it maintains that the fortunes of the gas industry can only be satisfactorily explained by the economic changes within the industry itself. Indeed, these changes may have altered political opinion and policy rather than the reverse. Although Parliament was prepared from the start to intervene in the industry this had no more effect by the end of the period than it had at the beginning. Growing municipalization also had no influence on the operation of the gas industry and should be seen simply as the replacement of private with ratepayer investment.
What happens when a radically-new fuel or technology transforms the energy system? How does the energy system evolve at different stages of economic development? What are the implications for people’s lives and their environment? Building on an award-winning article, in this exciting book Roger Fouquet investigates the impacts of technological innovations and economic development over the last seven hundred years on our ability to provide heat, power, transport and light. Using a unique data set, collected over a decade, the analysis identifies the forces driving revolutions in energy services. It highlights the tendency of markets to produce ever-cheaper energy services, which in turn incite greater energy consumption. It also examines how these revolutions affect people’s well-being and the environment. The framework, analysis and insights in this book offer an original perspective on future energy markets, transitions to low-carbon economies and strategies for addressing climate change.
Heat, Power and Light is an invaluable and unique contribution to this profoundly important topic. As such it will appeal to a wide audience of energy economists, climate change analysts, policymakers, economic and technology historians and economists more broadly.