Energy Efficiency

It’s a moot point that the word sustainability has become part of the jargon used by all and sundry to project an understanding of the complexity of cause and effect of energy consumed by humans in their endeavours to harness a ‘better quality’ lifestyle.

My quest to understand the science of energy started at an early age; not so much in the comprehension of AC / DC power, but the effort one put in and the divided return. Mr Briggs (an old farmer who lived ‘next door’) spoke to me not as a child of 10 but as probably just someone to talk to.

He discussed the effort that Nugget (his draft horse) provided and the hay and grass he needed to maintain his strength to pull the plough; how planting a half acre of strawberry and carrot would earn him net few Pounds.

I also learned that prevention is better than cure and this statement of fact has never been more relevant than today.

Geosequestration is no cure (nor will it ever be viable); the likes of geothermal energy or ethanol from algae are all pipe dreams more about how corporations can pull in investors and relieve them of their money than actually turning a profit; even the holy grail of solar power has limitations that relate back to a simple equation of Nugget (the draft horse) and his work load being proportional to his consumption of other resources.

We have reached a point in time where we recognize it cant be business as usual with respect to reducing carbon emissions; however, most attention has focused on new technologies which in simple terms just translates into more resources being allocated to supporting a system that is unsupportable.

What we seem to have lost sight of is prevention … businesses revolves around consumption, so it makes sense that the new mantra is energy efficient technology, but what is technological about reduce consumption ? What everybody seems to have lost sight of is the real issue is behavioural.

Some people want to believe technology will find an answer, so they procrastinate or their attention wanders to other priorities in their life; however, corporations need to sell more stuff not less stuff, so they badge product to appease / mislead the public.

The federal and state governments have individually taken steps to address reduce energy consumption; however, as they semi-own the power generating companies, their hearts are not that into the effort.  The Green Loans program should have been effective, but vested and or constrained thinking of organisations supposedly there to compliment, have actually under-mined it through agendas known only to themselves.

There has to be recognition on the importance of behaviour, when people have the necessary information, they do make decisions and modify their lifestyle choices for a win-win situation if that option is available.

At the end of the day, comfort in the home (and even work) comes from enjoying natural nature rather than trying to replicate it, so choosing the correct orientation, design and suitable building materials will will prevent costly cures.