If you are working to save the environment or you worry about saving money, more than likely you have found many tips to use at home to help save electricity.  This way you keep energy consumption down and any emissions to a minimum that are related to your energy consumption.

Line loss is another reason that you should considering cutting back on the amount of electricity that you are using.  If you look at the numbers on the emissions from your household electricity based upon the amount of consumption you see on the electric bill, you may be off.  In fact, they are probably 6-10% higher than you thought, and this is due to something known as line loss.

What exactly is line loss anyway?  Well, as electricity goes through the lines for many miles to get to your home, there is some resistance that occurs, and some of the energy is lost along the way.  Usually this is lost as heat.  More electricity gets lost the farther it has to travel to its destination.

So, if you think about the high figures, for 10 tons of coal that end up being burned to generate electric, because of line loss, one ton can be lost.  The loss that is in the United States alone is estimated to be enough to run 14 cities that are the size of New York City.  Now that is a lot of energy lost, which is something you definitely need to consider.

Wondering how much energy is lost because of line loss within the state that you live in.  You can look online at the estimates given on an annual basis by the Energy Information Administration.  Look at your state and then go to Table 10 on the page, which will give you the figures on line loss.  You may be surprised to find out how much energy is lost in your state.

So, what is the solution when it comes to line loss?  There are some solutions available.  Some that are being worked on include expensive and complex options, such as transmission lines that are refrigerated to help avoid this loss.

Another solution can be grid connect solar power systems.  You can deal with line loss this way.  Although it won’t be totally efficient, it still will be better than the power station that uses coal.

Of course, not everyone is at a point where they can afford to put up solar panels.  This means that reducing the amount of energy consumption is going to be important.  You can help to deal with line loss by taking simple measures like unplugging electronics and more.  This way you save money and also help to minimize the amount of line loss that occurs too.