Energy efficiency

[perpetualponder]

Politicians like to push sexy-sounding but technolgoically dubious low-carbon technologies such as hydrogen and corn-based ethanol. Here are some practical technologies that already exist.

1) Insulate your house well. This is by far the most important way to reduce heating costs. Doubling insulation roughly halves heating costs!

2) Florescent lights

Comments

[anonymous]

Would you say that my family (of 5 people) is using a lot of energy? Here is the approximate annual usage:

Electricity: 3600 kW hrs
Oil (heating): 260 Gallons
Propane (stove, water): 280 gallons
Gasoline: 900 gallons

[perpetualponder]

Your electricity and oil consumption are good, assuming that your climate is similar to Massachusetts's. Your propane consumption is ok but not great. Do you have a front-loading clothes washer? Post-type clothes washers gobble hot water. There are probably ways to improve the first three (try getting a free energy audit from your electric company), but those are in the expected range. You probably cannot improve those dramatically without doing something exotic such as wood or solar heat

[perpetualponder]

The EPA's webpage on the improving mileage: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.shtml

[perpetualponder]

If you take conservative driving in a small car to the extreme, you can get six thousand MPG (http://www.netcomposites.com/news.asp?3291). That record was set at about 10 MPH; biking would be faster! You can go 50 MPH on solar power (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Solar_Challenge).