November 6, 2013 at 1:23 p.m.
Over the last couple of months we’ve been working our way through what I term ‘The Energy Diet’.
Today it’s time to take stock and review our progress so far to see if we are ready for the biggest step of all — ‘Renewable Energy’.
The Energy Diet is based on the Mantra of ‘Reducing Wastage, Increasing Efficiency and Introducing Renewables’.
Assuming you’ve been following some of the advice I’ve been giving.
By now you should have minimised your energy wastage by: remembering to turn out lights that are not in use, using timers for outdoor and security lighting, adding ‘smart strips’ to your computers and entertainment centre’s to get control of peripheral devices that are either not in use or in standby mode, and perhaps hanging your washing out on a line on sunny days rather than using the energy gobbling clothes dryer.
Efficiency
Efficiency should also have significantly improved as a result of throwing away all of your hugely inefficient incandescent light bulbs and replacing them with either compact fluorescent lights (CFL’s) or LED’s making your lighting at least 400 per cent more efficient in the process.
A few of you have also made the wise investment to replace those aged water heaters with a high efficiency heat pump water heater reducing your water heating costs by as much as 70 per cent.
Assuming you have followed most or all of the above recommendations then you are already starting to see the results in the form of a significantly less bloated BELCO bill at the end of the month.
The question now is ‘What’s Next?’ The answer: ‘It’s time to look at Renewable Energy Systems.’
Wikipedia tells us: “Renewable energy is generally defined as energy that comes from resources which are continually replenished on a human timescale such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat.”
The most accessible forms of renewable energy for the average household or business are sunlight (solar), wind and geothermal, the others, particularly tidal and wave energy, are presently very limited in their commercial applications and still financially beyond the reach of the average consumer.
In Bermuda, over the last three years, we have begun to see significant growth in the use of solar thermal and solar electric systems, particularly in the residential market.
A solar thermal system (see chart left) uses one or more thermal panels that are mounted ideally on a south facing roof or other structure.
Water is pumped from a storage tank up to the panel, usually by a small circulating pump, where it is gradually heated by the sun.
Temperature sensors measure the difference in temperature between the water in the roof panel and the storage tank and when the difference reaches a preset level the hotter water in the panel is exchanged for cooler water from the storage tank.
The cycle continues until the storage tank reaches the maximum preset temperature at which point the circulation pump switches off to avoid heating the water in storage to dangerously high temperatures.
As water is used from the tank it is replaced with cold water and gradually the temperature falls until it reaches the preset minimum at which point the circulation pump turns on and the heating cycle recommences.
Sunshine
In Bermuda, thanks to our high levels of daily sunshine, solar water heating is very efficient and when coupled with a large storage tank — typically 80 – 120 gallons — and it can virtually eliminate the need for any secondary heating via electricity.
The systems are highly reliable; having virtually no moving parts and require minimal annual maintenance.
To make the equation even more attractive, there is a $1,500 government rebate available (while funds last!) to help offset the cost of purchasing and installing a system. The return on investment, for a smaller system, can easily be less than four years and with an expected lifespan of at least 25 years, it represents one of the best investments in energy saving technology presently available.
Next time we will look at Solar Electric Systems and how we can use them to stabilize our cost of electricity over the lifespan of the system.
Nick Duffy is the divisional manager for Bermuda Alternate Energy. Any comments and questions can be e-mailed to [email protected]
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