Dictionary

negawatt en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈnɛɡ.ə.wɒt/ (UK)
• /ˈnɛɡ.ə.wɑt/ (US)

Etymology

Coined by Amory Lovins, chairman of the Rocky Mountain Institute as a contraction of negative watt on the model of similar compounds like megawatt, by surface analysis, nega- + watt. Lovins credited the term to a typo in a document by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission in which the word "megawatt" was misspelled.

Meanings

1. (informal) A unit of saved energy.
   • Three-fourths of U.S. electricity--69% of which is used in buildings, nearly all the rest in industry--can be saved for less than the price of just running a coal or nuclear plant. This "negawatt" potential is not just in smarter motors, lights, appliances, etc., but even more in their larger systems. 2008 July 7, Amory B. Lovins, “The Case For Efficiency”, in Forbes:
   • And he has suggested ways to help consumers buy the so-called time-of-use-meters […] so they can benefit from using energy at off-peak times and through "negawatts," or credits for not using power. 2000 December 24, Barbara Whitaker, “A Lightning Rod in California”, in The New York Times:

Forms

Translations (1)

fi negawatti ("negative watt")

wikipedia: Rocky Mountain Institute · wikipedia: Amory Lovins