Energy Efficiency Starts At Home

I came across a couple of interesting links about energy efficiency that I'd like to share...

The first is about using algae as a biodiesel. I've always been more partial to biodiesel than ethanol or "clean coal." Biodiesel is much easier to make, is cleaner, and has more energy per gallon.

However, there was always the problem of scale. It would be impossible to supply our current fuel needs if tried to fill our diesel tanks with soybean oil. We simply do not have enough farmland.

Enter algae! This stuff is probably the fastest growing plant in the world... you can get 100 to 200 times the amount of fuel per acre, compared to other plants. Plus algae uses existing pollution as fertilizer! We'd only need to set aside at most 1.5% of our current farmland to grow enough algae for our transportation energy needs. Plus, since the algae would need to be grown in specialized tanks, we wouldn't even need farmland. We could grow it in a parking lot.

GreenFuel is an MIT based startup that is growing algae for biofuel on the roof of an existing power plant. The carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone emissions from the plant are fed to the algae... which then grows like crazy.

This reduced the greenhouse gas emissions of the power plant by 82 percent... and it created biomass which could be used by diesel automobiles.

That was pretty dang cool... I started thinking that algae could be the solution to our energy problems...

This second article brought me back down to earth... the Christian Science Monitor put out an interesting article last month about energy efficiency in the home. They put forward a good case that an inefficient home does more damage to the environment than two cars in the driveway!

The problem is that generating and transmitting electricity is highly inefficient... the power plant wastes two kilowatts just to supply you with one kilowatt at home! This waste comes in the form of heat at the plant, or sometimes its lost during transmission to your home. Therefore, the more you reduce your electricity consumption, the better.

Luckily, lowering electricity usage is pretty dang easy. Here's some tips:

• Replace all your lights with compact fluorescent lamps.
• If your fridge is 10 years old, have it hauled away and replace it with a EPA approved Energy Star appliance.
• Plug electronics into power strips that have switches, and turn off the power strip when not in use. This avoids phantom loads, which is the electricity that an appliance uses even when its supposed to be off.
• Caulk and seal any drafts that could cause heat loss.
• Generally improve your insulation.
• Use natural gas for heating as much as possible.
• If you must use electric heating, try an underfloor heating system.

Doing the above will save you money, and help far more than purchasing that hybrid you've been eying. Only after you grab the low-hanging-fruit should you stress about using hippie-licious solar panels, backyard windmills, and biodiesel cars.

Every little bit helps... but you should focus your energy on getting the biggest bang for your buck.