August 2012


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Wise use of our energy

By Rajesh Kandhai

In Trinidad and Tobago, we are fortunate to have an abundance of natural resources. However, these are being depleted and the environment which we depend upon may soon not be productive or viable. In a study published in February 2012 by the Yale Centre for Environmental Law and Policy, 132 countries were ranked based on their environmental performance. This was done by generating a standardized environmental performance index which looked at many metrics. Some included environmental health impacts, air and water pollution, climate change and energy management. Trinidad and Tobago ranked 96th, which is not a very comfortable place considering what we have to lose.

This article focuses on the behaviours that must change if we are to reduce our impact on the environment and improve our global ranking.

We often justify our poor behaviors by highlighting the lack of policy or enforcement, but in reality, the lack of enforcement is due to our cultural expectations. The truth is the responsibility is ours, and the consequences of neglect are enormous.

For those of us who care, here are some tips that can help reduce your environmental footprint and save money.

We can begin by improving efficiency in three broad areas: energy consumption, water management and waste generation. In this issue, we will look at how we can adjust the way we consume energy.

Energy Consumption

Domestically our major energy consumption comes from fuel for vehicles and electricity at home. In 2011, residential consumption accounted for 29% of the electricity usage. Our usage involves the extraction of natural gas as well as combustion to produce the electricity. The main environmental impact is the volume of carbon dioxide generated, which contributes to climate change. Work is being done on exploring more efficient and sustainable mechanisms for electricity generation. Several ways we can reduce consumption at home include:

Manage high energy demand appliances such as water heaters, dryers, electric stoves, air condition units and refrigerators. To improve efficiency of these appliances try the following:

Dryers

  • Ensure lint traps are clear
  • Use with full loads
  • Opt to use air drying instead of electric dryer

Water Heaters

  • Use tank less water heaters
  • Consider a solar water heater

Air condition units

  • At the end of the day, open windows and allow the house to ventilate before turning on the unit. (When the hot air blows out the unit uses less energy to cool down.)
  • Install roof vents in the eaves of your home. (Any trapped heat in the roof will be ventilated outside and not inside and this reduces the cost of cooling your home.)
  • For new construction, use heat insulation which reduces the heat penetration into your home.

Turn off appliances when not in use because when in standby mode they continue to draw power.

In homes with incandescent light bulbs, 90% of the energy used to generate that light is wasted as heat making them a very inefficient way to light your home. These bulbs should be replaced with Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) as these use 75% less energy, produce 75% less heat, and last up to 10 times longer.

Rajesh Kandhai is Manager, Occupational Health, Safety and the Environment, UWI, St. Augustine.