You might use one to dry your hair or wash your dishes. There's one in every elevator and ventilation system. And in industry they run machines, pumps, fans, conveyors and more. I'm talking about electric motors. They are quite literally everywhere and they use a lot of energy.

In fact, they are the single biggest consumer of electricity. They account for about 45 percent of global power consumption, according to a new analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Lighting is second, at 19 percent.

The IEA analysis is startling. It means that every second power plant - more or less - is producing electricity for the sole purpose of running motors. In just 60 seconds, motors worldwide use enough power to meet the annual needs of 12,700 households in China.