negawatt

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word negawatt. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word negawatt, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say negawatt in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word negawatt you have here. The definition of the word negawatt will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofnegawatt, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

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):(file)

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