Rethinking our energy use

With more and more people fighting for a finite amount of oil in order to enjoy high living standards, we are heading towards a big problem. Oil price is going through the roof, which will have severe impact in the future if it carries on getting more and more expensive.

So until we have found a way to produce more energy from renewable sources in a sustainable fashion, we have to be more efficient at using what we have. There are HUGE gains to be made. Right now, we waste energy like drunken sailors! Big buildings can and should be design to be as environment-friendly and power-saving as possible. Transport also has a big potential for improvement. On the Home Sweet Home front, the way we produce, transport and consume energy should also be redesigned with efficiency in mind.

The average thermal efficiency of a power plant is around 33%! And we lose 7% of that through the grid! The energy facilities combining heat and power generation achieve efficiencies of 65% to 90%. We could gain by using natural gas in every building both for producing electricity and heat.

Saving energy is the easiest, logical step we can take now in order to be more self-sufficient and less polluting.