How You Can Conserve Energy

I want to go over a number of tips so you can do your own part to help conserve energy. 

1) Turn off lights when you are not in the room
2) Instead of turning lights on in the daytime, open the blinds and curtains for natural sunlight!
3) In the winter, turn down the thermostat and wear thicker clothes.
4) In the summer, try to keep the AC running low by wearing thinner clothes.
5)  Allow hot foods to cool before putting it in the fridge
6) Cover the foods and liquids that you put in the fridge
7) Insulate your home
8) Use alternate sources of energy eg. solar power.

References

Energy consumption : http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/
Youtube: part one :  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATybfZFkT8U&feature=player_embedded
               part two : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUuARL6_Rqc&feature=player_embedded
New York times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/business/energy-environment/31renew.html
Financial times : http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2010/06/17/chinese-government-to-further-curb-energy-consumption/
World watch : http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5346

Which energy source does China use most?

 Most of the energy production in China is comprised of coal, which in 2006 accounted for 76.7% of total energy production.  Crude oil had a 20.4%, natural gas had 3.0%, and hydro-, nuclear-, and wind-power accounted for the remaining 7.2%.
To this day, China is still mainly using coal as its main energy source.  Coal is the worst fossil fuel; it is even worse than oil!  There is no such thing as clean coal, by the way, for those of you who have heard of it.  It is completely fiction.

What has China done to reduce energy consumption?

1. China is about to get tougher on energy-intensive industries, according to Xie Zhenhua, a top official responsible for the country’s climate-change policies. Xie said the government will cap electricity supplies in some areas, and that any subsidies provided to energy-intensive industries must end immediately.
2.  Moreover, China has become the world leading producer of solar and wind technologies, however transmission losses are high for sending power over long distances to cities, and nearly a third of China’s wind turbines are not yet connected to the national grid.
   China’s commitment to renewable energy is expensive. Wind energy is still 20 to 40 percent more expensive than coal-fired power and solar power is still at least twice as expensive as coal.
3. Furthermore, China has tough new energy standards for lighting and gas mileage. 
4.  China has created a energy conservation guide for citizens to promote energy saving and reducing emissions.  The guide is printed on recycled paper and lets the citizens know how much energy each action would save as well as the associated carbon dioxide emissions. The energy savings would grow dramatically if one in every fifty Chinese—some 25 million people—made the effort to conserve.

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video coverage about China's energy use

Part 2

China has become the world leading producer of solar and wind technologies

Solar technology

Although quite expensive, the prices of these panels are starting to drop.
The best part about this is that the installation will slowly repay itself!
This means while you are feeling good about reducing your carbon footprint, you can also feel good about saving money in the long run! It will pay itself in about 10 - 15 years


Basically energy from the sun is converted into electricity through solar cells known as photo voltiacs.

COST: A rough range for upfront costs, including installation, for solar panels, inverter box, wiring, etc., is approximately $30-40,000 for a single family house, if you are looking to entire replace grid-based electricity with solar energy.  It seems expensive but remember! It will pay off in the long run.



Wind technology



Wind turbines are used to generate kinetic energy from the kinetic power of wind.

Wind turbines provide an inexpensive, self reliant way of generating clean energy.

However, there are some disadvantages with regard to birds, thunderstorms and the fact that there is not always wind to power the turbines.