Energy
Saving money and energy the easy way
Due to the current challenges of demography and renewable energies, a small investment in new equipment to reduce energy costs might prove worthwhile, for consumers worldwide. Because saving energy is also about saving money. And it has become easy with the help of several technologies and public grants and initiatives.
Not only do some technologies offer possibilities for unlimited energy (for example, geothermal power), companies and individuals can already proactively reduce their electricity and heating bills, and prepare for a future where more effective systems will consume less, and work in harmony with the environment. At best, in some cases, some consumers might even find ways to earn from their domestic energy production. We offer, in this article, guidelines to help you make the most of these emerging technologies.
Key advances
Key advances and research in energy technologies
Globally, three key advances can help us achieve a low, smartly distributed, and entirely sustainable energy consumption : Geothermal Energy, Smart Energy Grids, and LED lighting solutions.
Geothermal energy
One of the benefits of geothermal energy is that small scale installations may be used to directly address one of the most important challenges of energy economy : heating. One of the problems of geothermal energy is that it must be deployed with caution, and might need carbon capture to prevent pollution, as large scale plants may cause a small amount of vapors to be released into the atmosphere. See National Geographic : Underground power and Wikipedia : Geothermal power for more information.
Smart energy grids
This includes domestic energy (produced by domestic users, for example using idle solar panels, or wind or water turbines), as well as many larger power plants - mostly using sustainable and clean energy sources.
The vision, being actively developed, is an abstract and uniform "energy cloud" rather than households connected to limited "batteries". Any and all energy sources can then be plugged back into that cloud to refuel it.
The drawback is complete transparency for energy and grid providers, since the whole network is aware of energy consumption at device level. Clearly, users should be cautious about the conditions set forth by their preferred providers and demand an even cost, based on volumes, never on device types or other specific details.
Types of renewable energies used on smart grids :
- Geothermal power - Read more about small scale geothermal power
- Wind power - Read more about small scale wind power
- Water power - Read more about micro-hydro energy
- Solar power - Read more about small scale solar power
See also the European Supersmart grid and the American Smart Grid initiative, for examples of continental policies on the development of smart grids.
LED lighting
A variation of LED, using separate red and blue components, allows indoor growth of vegetables and plants, with performances superior, for a 90W installation, to a regular 400W sodium lamp.
Many companies already use LED systems to reduce their costs for large scale lighting, and the technology further extends to television and monitors, promising important savings on electricity consumption for the years to come. See the Philips Color Kinetics showcase for more information.
Other possibilities
Solar energy
For an accurate estimate of the capacity of a solar installation, we recommend measuring energy levels over the course of a year, or referring to recent figures, if available, for the target location. See charts and tools for solar potential calculation. Finally, many other domestic applications of solar energy can be considered, for example, swimming pool heating systems.
Wood and biomass energy
The drawback of biomass energy is that it can be depleted, through excessive use and deforestation. To avoid this, energy sources such as the geothermal solution, shallow or deep, should also be considered when using wood or biomass power. Read more on biomass boilers.
Water power
Another advantage of water power, even for households, is that production rates remains relatively constant over time (while solar and wind power production rates vary depending on external factors). If there is running water on your property, a micro-hydro installation could cover an important share, and in some cases even, the whole of your electricity consumption.
Wind farms
In some areas, wind farms are an interesting solution for industrial energy needs. On the other hand, while domestic wind turbines are evolving, they still require favorable conditions to perform adequately. Thanks to public figures and tools, US residents can rapidly estimate how well a domestic wind turbine would serve them. If figures are not available, as in the case of solar power, we recommend measuring wind speeds on site for a year before investing in actual equpiment.
Even if domestic usage currently is limited, the wind power potential of the planet exceeds our energy needs, and large scale farms may produce enough electricity for thousands of households. For this reason, in many countries, the development of wind farms, and the distribution of domestic turbines are supported by public grants, like other clean technologies listed above (geothermal, solar, and water based - and in some areas, biomass also).
Carbon capture
Carbon capture is a tool to mitigate the small environmental impact of geothermal power, and generally, carbon levels in our atmosphere. By injecting vapors freshly emitted by fossil fuels or other sources back into the ground, it can also help heat conservation and assist geothermal power plants in reducing their carbon footprint. Read more on carbon capture.
Hybrid cars
Hybrid cars have become an interesting alternative to regular cars, due to the recent variations in petrol prices. They are competitive with many standard models, and offer several long term advantages to their counterparts (reduced maintenance and fuel costs). See this detailed guide to hybrid cars for more information.
Programmable Thermostats
Solar ovens
In some areas, solar cooking may be an interesting alternative to using standard or microwave ovens. Solar ovens come in different forms, generally, easy to assemble - even from spare parts. The finest of these ovens rival commercial electric ovens - and they are suitable for sunny areas, or for barbecues. They practically have no impact on the environment. Read more about solar cookers.
Measuring costs
It is important to be able to measure costs in order to reduce them. One has to know what to optimize, before choosing technologies and establishing a budget. And this holds true, under different processes, for companies as well as individuals or families. The following guide seeks to help you measure your domestic or industrial energy consumption.
Device categories
According to official energy consumption statistics, most of the energy consumed by individuals and companies is used for heating and to change temperature, of places or single items. All technologies which cause great variations in heat also cause the most important energy costs. Lighting is next, multimedia appliances such as computers, television, or sound systems, follow, and transport should also be considered.
As we will see, it is important to estimate the entire energy consumption of a household or company before defining an energy budget. We will evaluate solutions to reduce consumption for each category in the section about "Reducing costs".
How to measure energy
Energy is generally measured as kilojoules, or "kilowatt hours" (we recommend measuring them over a year) which should be visible on bills, or available from energy providers. Appliances such as boilers, also, come with monitoring equipment, allowing energy companies to perform their own measurements. You should collect information from these sources, as detailed as possible, about your own energy consumption over a year in order to define improvements which will meet your personal needs. See the following Kilojoules to Kilowatts x hours converter to help you calculate your yearly energy consumption.
Google Powermeter
Google Powermeter is a simple and free energy monitoring software, which can be used to watch the energy consumption of one's appliances, even remotely over the Internet. It is compatible with available measurement tools and devices, namely, AlertMe and TED Electricity, and can be adapted to other energy meters.
One of its advantages is that it is transparent to the end user, as opposed to similar applications which send data exclusively to the network provider. A free, reliable, fast, portable way to collect information about energy consumption, Google Powermeter is an important effort to define standards for energy and smart grid technologies.
Managing costs
Defining an energy budget
After having estimated your yearly energy consumption (see previous section), consider all available technologies to reduce it, and set a goal for yourself. Do you want to cut your bills in two? Three? Which options are available to you to achieve this result? Will a thermostat help? Can you afford a wind turbine or solar energy at your location? Set reasonable targets for improvement, draft an "action plan". And head over to the next section to read more about how to make it happen.
Reducing costs
For companies
Following what we have discussed in previous sections, the first improvements to consider are :
- Best practices and internal policies on energy.
- Heating. - Can your company improve heating regulation or benefit from shallow geothermal installations?
- Calculate your LED light budget. - for example using the free tools by Philips.
- Calculate your solar potential.
- Calculate potential wind power in your area.
- Consider geothermal power for some areas.
Typically, for factories, as in the Masarang example.
For households and individuals
- See our "additional recommendations" section.
- Consider using programmable thermostats to manage heating.
- Consider using shallow geothermal power for heating.
- Estimate your LED light budget.
- Calculate your micro-hydro potential.
- Calculate your solar power potential.
- Calculate your wind power potential.
- Consider specially designed tools, such as these environment friendly kitchens.
- Consider low energy appliances.
And of course, in both cases, enjoy your savings.
Additional recommendations
A few simple habits can greatly help lower the energy consumption of a household :
- Shutdown all appliances which are not currently in use (completely).
- Close doors and windows in rooms where the heating or air conditioning are active.
- Use pressure cooking whenever possible.
- Use sunlight whenever possible.
- Clean and maintain appliances, such as light bulbs or fans.
- Turn off the lights whenever possible.
- Avoid using external air in air conditioning systems.
These apply to corporate environments as well, where best practices may yield important savings, while helping preserve the environment.