Power Shift

Over the past weekend I attended a conference, along with 10,000 other young people, called Power Shift. This was a great experience for me and I would like to encourage anyone interested in environmental and sustainability issues to go next year. There were a number of panels and workshops presented by leading researchers, entrepreneurs, and leaders in many fields concerning sustainable power and how to achieve it.

This was a great experience that allowed me to learn a little bit more about different methods of combating the energy crisis. Many of the forums focused on our dependence on oil or on new energy sources, such as wind, geothermal, and solar. One of the forums I attended looked at making buildings more energy efficient. This one was especially informative and covered everything from what types of insulation work best in new buildings to how to go through old buildings and find ways to improve their energy efficiency with minor upgrades.

One work in progress that one of the panelists mentioned was a water heater, for any sort of building, that would use the heat normally lost from the hot water holding tank to reheat the water in loop. This would greatly reduce loss of energy from the hot water and recycle it for more efficient water heating. The panelist mentioned that it has the potential to take the water heating bill for a normal family home from about $75 down to about $16 a month.

Other more simple updates can be made to your home or the places you work, such as using more energy efficient light bulbs and eliminating "decorative" lighting fixture. Replacing old windows with new, more insulating ones is also becoming a popular investment. These methods are especially important for old buildings that cannot handle major renovations, but that have e tendency to drain power and have high energy bills.

Consider going though your home or office and looking for minor upgrades that will help us all in the long run.