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Mary Murray
Architect, Perth Office
We should all by now be well aware of the
effects of Global Warming and the urgent need to
reverse this phenomenon. Carbon emissions and
the Kyoto Protocol are words which crop up again
and again but what does it all mean and how can
we contribute towards achieving the goals which
Kyoto set down?
Conceived in 1997, the Kyoto Treaty commits
industrialised nations to reduce their emissions
of greenhouse gases, primarily Carbon Dioxide,
by some 5.2% below 1990 levels, over the next
ten years.
Two key ways in which we, as individuals, can
help are by reducing our energy consumption and
generating our own, sustainable power. Although
domestic scale attempts to cut down on energy
use and pollution may appear insignificant in
relation to the massive outputs of existing and
emerging industrialised nations, they do signal
a trend towards increasing environmental
awareness, a collective consciousness which
should eventually be reflected in a greater
movement towards achieving the targets set down
by Kyoto. Let’s hope our efforts are not too
little, too late
First Things First - Reducing Energy
Consumption
We are all aware of the ways in which we can
reduce our energy consumption but how many of us
actually commit to taking even the simplest of
steps towards this reduction? There are some
very easy and cost effective ways in which we
can help restore the climate of our planet by
reducing our power, heat, fuel and water usage
and we all probably do some of these things
every so often.
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The Next Step - Generating Your Own, Sustainable
Power (Micro-Generation)
Once you are regularly reducing your energy
consumption, why not consider generating some of
your own power? This can, of course, be a very
costly venture and cost may, indeed, rule out
your efforts in this regard. However, if you are
prepared to take a long term view, then money
invested now may be recouped in the long run by
a reduction in operating costs. Here are a
number of ways in which you can generate power:
Solar Electrical Energy
Solar electrical power generation requires
solar photovoltaic cells (PV’s) which usually
come in the form of roof mounted panels.
Although solar photovoltaic technology has come
a long way since its first use, it still remains
a very costly source of power and, short of
covering your entire roof with PV panels, you
are unlikely to be able to generate sufficient
energy to meet your own needs let alone consider
the possibility of feeding spare energy back
into the grid. Unfortunately the high capital
cost and extremely lengthy payback periods for
solar PV’s render them viable for few uses other
than pocket calculators, garden lights, parking
meters and so on. Consequently, domestic
installations continue to be rare. Reports vary
widely but it seems that domestic systems
costing anywhere between £6,000 and £16,000
should save between one third to one half of
your annual electricity bill.
Solar Water Heating
Solar water heating panels provide a more
cost-effective means of harnessing solar power.
Roof panels typically heat a domestic hot water
system. Costing between £500 and £1,500 for a
DIY installation or between £2,000 and £5,000
for a commercially fitted system, these panels
have a far shorter payback period than solar
PV’s. Dating as far back as 1911, this
technology has been advanced such that modern
day systems can provide almost all of your
average domestic hot water in summer and
approximately 50% year round.
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