negawatt

English

WOTD – 30 August 2008

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.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈnɛɡ.ə.wɒt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈnɛɡ.ə.wɑt/

• Audio (US):

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Noun

negawatt (plural negawatts)

1. A unit of saved energy.
   • 24 December 2000, Barbara Whitaker, “A Lightning Rod in California”, in New York Times:

     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.

   • 7 July 2008, Amory B. Lovins, “The Case For Efficiency”, in Forbes:

     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.

Translations

"negative watt"

• Finnish: negawatti