Energy Efficiency Key To Future

CLIMATE change is a huge issue and one that at Enigin we are very concerned about – although it must be admitted that the majority of the businesses and entrepreneurs that we deal with are also concerned about but claim is not their number one reason for trying to save energy or get into the energy saving business.

The main concern for business owners and those looking to start an energy saving business as Enigin Distributors is money. In the current financial climate businesses are desperate to save money, and by using Enigin’s energy saving products and monitoring energy use with the real-time energy monitor Eniscope, they are able to see that money go straight to their bottom line, rather than the utility company.

Meanwhile those in the energy saving business see the huge potential for a business that helps commerce and industry achieve that very goal.

This may all appear mercenary, that all these people are not interested in the future of the earth and mankind, and after all is that not the attitude that put us into this environmental black-hole?

The reality is all these business people may have the short term goal of securing the financial future of their businesses, but they are all genuinely delighted at the thought of a long term target of reducing carbon emissions and that clichéd carbon footprint.

To achieve these two goals, short term and long term, energy efficiency is the key.

This week India announced plans for the largest solar powered facility in the world. Also this week it has been highlighted that to secure power in the US and the UK that major work needs to be done to provide home produced energy, often through controversial nuclear power stations or carbon producing coal fire power stations.

All these measures are huge capital projects, important for the future in their own right but they also carry environmental concerns in varying degrees. These projects need to be planned and no doubt implemented, but is there something else we can all be involved in? Is there something that could have an even bigger impact? Yes there is – we can become more energy efficient.

Many appreciate that energy efficiency is crucial.

Take the following quote for example, from Aarthi S Anaud on the Express Buzz website – earlier in the article he has been talking about India’s power problems:

“Improving energy efficiency would be the most cost-effective method to tackle the shortfalls and sustain the country’s growth trajectory. It is far less expensive to save energy than to generate new power. An improvement in energy efficiency will save India an estimated $1,200 million a year. Since the conservation potential is estimated at 10,000 mw or 25 per cent of existing generation, it will whittle down a substantial part of the energy shortfall.

“Greater energy efficiency will also reduce India’s rising contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Its current share of global emissions is 4.9 per cent, with per capita emissions being less than 1.23 tonnes, in contrast to the US (22.2 per cent of global emissions, at 20.56 mt per capita). But as India increases power generation as planned by a factor of five by 2032, most of this electricity will come from cheap coal, India will be responsible for eight per cent of the rise in global GHG emissions in 2005-30 and thus, for the second highest increase in GHG emissions worldwide. (International Energy Agency estimates)”

How can we be more energy efficient? At Enigin we look at ways we can help all areas of business.

There is a lot of press regarding new “eco” builds – offices, factories, homes - with targets set by authorities and governments regarding everything that can have an environmental impact. Enigin’s products fitted into new builds help to achieve those targets.

The problem for many though is that the infrastructure that is already in place contributes hugely to environmental problems – knocking everything down and starting again but would be the best solution but completely impractical.

Again Enigin come into play – most of our products are retro-fit. Eniscope analyses where energy is being used and wasted, from its graphical data decisions can be made and energy saving products used to make existing buildings, operations and machinery far more energy efficient.

As most business and buildings are already up and running and producing; we cannot stop and start all over again, hence we need to become more energy efficient in our existing environment and this can have a quicker and bigger impact than new energy sources, renewable and otherwise. It is also far, far cheaper than major capital projects in effecting environmental change and also provides a fast return on investment, plus reducing ever increasing energy bills.

It’s just down to all the individual businesses to take action – governments need to provide impetus to this by offering grants and subsidies for installing energy saving products and methods.

So are you energy efficient?

You can only go so far with low and no cost changes, such as turning out the lights, turn off the computers and fitting energy saving light bulbs. Real-time monitoring along with energy auditing and then the thoughtful use of energy-saving products can make a huge impact on a companies profits and their carbon footprint.

Comments

[stuart doderer]

Absolutely agree, retro fits with evidence showing the pay back time and long term benefits keep the bean counters happy and give a green card to the tree huggers to save the world for THEIR kids!

[Mautaz Dobouni]

Absolutely agree, I think there will be time where we will all have shortage of energy unless we start doing something about it right now. The only realistic way of doing that is to retro fit what we have and to come up with new ideas to save energy and the environment.