ENERGY CONSERVATION
Energy conservation is the simplest and most cost effective means of protecting our environment, our earth and our atmosphere.
Conservation isn’t limited to just energy conscious habits like turning off lights when you are not using them but also ties into increased energy efficiency in our appliances, automobiles, buildings, power plants and distribution grid.
Habits
Changing your habits as they relate to energy is a no-brainer. It is easy to do, it is good for the Earth and it can save you money. This type of behavioral change is the focus of our Cool Braintree program and is the subject of the workbook the Low Carbon Diet.
Consider getting an Energy Audit for your home. An energy audit is a free assessment of your home that is performed by your local utility company. All utilities offer energy efficiency rebates after an audit is performed.
If you are an oil heat customer your free audit will be performed by BELD; if you are a natural gas customer your free audit will be performed by National Grid / MassSave.
Appliances
Buying energy efficiency appliances is a great way to follow-up on energy conscious habits. When purchasing a new appliance always look for the Energy star label. Energy Star is a system of ratings and rebates that is run by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Dept of Energy.
Automobiles
MPG (Mile per Gallon) has certainly come into its own since the year 2000. Not only are most automakers striving to increase the MPG of their vehicles but most automakers also offer gas-to-battery hybrid, battery to electric (aka plug-in) hybrids and all-electric vehicles.
Buildings
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Building Sector consumes nearly half (48.7%) of all energy produced in the United States. The building developer and construction industry has a major opportunity to ensure that the design and construction of all new buildings and major renovations will reduce the amount of energy required to heat, cool and otherwise operate. The Green Building movement as it has come to be called is vibrant and growing larger every day.
Power Plants and the 'Super Grid’
Unless energy is being produced on-site in a private residence or commercial building there is a good chance that your power is coming from the enormous network of power plants that are tied together via a grid of high-tension wires that span across countries and indeed across continents. The power plants can range from fossil fuel-powered facilities like coal or natural gas plants, to nuclear reactors, to renewable energy power plants like concentrated solar thermal (CST) and wind farms. Obviously we need more of the latter and less of the former but we also need a smarter and more efficient grid to carry that energy. According to the National Energy Technology Laboratory, the estimated annual cost to society due to outages and transmission losses of the outdated US grid is $206 billion per year. $206 billion in energy costs translates to a whole lot of unnecessary CO2 emissions.
