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Here are some things that everyone should know about renewable
energy.
Energy Efficiency
A kilowatt-hour not used is just as good as a kilowatt-hour generated (actually better). Conserving
energy is the easiest and most cost-effective thing that the average citizen can do, and should be
addressed as part of using renewable energy. It does not
mean "freezing in the dark": in many cases it will actually result in improved comfort.
- Transportation
- Most Texans spend a substantial portion of their energy budget on transportation.
When you buy your next car, consider something more efficient than that gas-guzzling pickup
or sport-utility vehicle. If possible, carpool and use mass transit.
- At Home
- Attack the big things first. Your "big three" energy consumers (and some
things you can do to be more efficient) are likely to be
- Heating/Cooling
- Lower your winter thermostat
- raise your summer thermostat
- install a setback thermostat for nighttime and when you are away
- Evaluate insulation upgrades, storm windows, solar screens
- Caulk/weatherstrip
- In the spring and fall, turn off the A/C, open your windows, and take in the fresh air
- Water Heating
- Lower your water temperature
- install a water-heater blanket
- insulate your pipes
- Use low-flow fixtures
- Refrigerators
- Today's refrigerators are significantly more efficient, and super high-efficiency
models are available. If you have been considering a replacement, now might be a good time.
In addition, as your lightbulbs burn out, consider replacing them with the new Compact Fluorescent
lights. Though initially more expensive, these are 3 times as efficient as incandescant lights, and
last many times longer.
Solar - Thermal
Any direct use of the sun's heat is called "Solar Thermal".
- Solar pool heating
- Solar heating of swimming pool water utilizes inexpensive plastic-mat collectors to heat pool
water directly. This is a very cost-effective technology.
- Domestic Hot Water
- Solar water heating works well, and is popular many parts of the world.
Considering cost alone, it has a fairly short payback time compared to electric heating,
though it is hard to justify compared to natural gas.
- Building Heating - Active
- Generally, the "high tech" solutions for solar house heating (collectors, tanks, pumps, etc)
have given way to the more "passive" solutions, for reasons of cost, effectiveness, and
reliability.
- Building Heating - Passive
- The passive solar house of today is not the solar house of the 70s, looking much
more like an ordinary house, probably incorporating a number of the following features:
- Extremely efficient - well insulated and with controlled infiltration
- Properly sited, with southern exposure and vegetation on north, east and west
- More windows on south, with properly sized overhangs
- Strategic use of thermal mass
- Properly designed ventilation
- Features that control summer heat gain (eg. ventilated metal roof)
A well designed building can work with the environment to significantly decrease
both heating and cooling requirements.
Texas houses are being built that require little or no auxiliary heating or cooling energy.
- Solar Cooking
- An effective solar cooker can be homemade in a couple of hours from cardboard, aluminum
foil, and plastic oven bags. High-performance solar cookers are commercially
available. In some parts of the world, solar cooking provides an effective
alternative to burning manure or scarce firewood.
- Electric power generation
- Although not a technology for the homeowner, concentrated solar
energy has been used to power commercial power plants, several of
which are currently in operation.
- Water Distillation
- Like solar cooking, this technology can be very simple and quite effective.
Solar - Photovoltaic
Photovoltaic (PV) technology produces electricity directly from sunlight. The cost of this technology has dropped dramatically
and is still falling, and it is a cost effective energy source in may portable and remote applications,
though it still cannot compete with the electric utility if the electric grid is nearby
(however if you have some spare cash and want to be the first
on your block to generate your own electricity, it's not prohibitively expensive).
In some cases, tax considerations can make it more attractive
In rural areas, an increasingly popular use of PV is for pumping water.
Wind
Although wind power isn't a personal option for most city dwellers, electric companies are increasingly using
wind power from large commercial wind farms. If you buy electricity from the City of Austin or the LCRA, you
are using some wind-generated energy. You can help by letting your utility know that you feel they should
use renewable energy sources.
If you live in a windy rural area, wind energy may well be a practical personal energy source.
Biomass
In the simplest form, burning wood is using biomass. These days, it is possible to convert various
crops into fuel that can be used in place of fossil fuel. Energy in sunlight is stored as chemical
energy in plants.
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