Energy Matters
-mat redsell

Today the power went out in Port Burwell and I am writing this column from my office, lights on, lots of heat, a hot meal , in fact I even have the television on. So how did I do it? Well my home office has been off grid for some time now and that biodiesel heater I have been developing is keeping me warm. Now I did cheat a little since the solar cells had produced very little electricity today because of the overcast skies, and the windmill is still waiting for gentle weather to be installed. Knowing I had a lot of work on the computer I fired up the diesel generator and am using it to top up the battery for the night.

So why am I doing all this preparation to be self sufficient? I have been in business for the last 30 -40 years and realized early in 2004 that our western world as we know it is totally dependant on fossil fuels. Alarmingly most oil producing areas of the world are now in decline and yet our lifestyle is demanding more oil every year. Add to the fact that oil is finite it was just a matter of time before the demand will outstrip supplies. And that time is now. There also is another way to look at it: the discoveries of oil and gas are not keeping up with usage either.

Now why don't we just move over to renewable energy such as wind, solar and biofuels since the preferred energy sources of coal is one of the worst atmospheric pollutants and Nuclear has the problem of the disposal of left over radioactive material and gasoline is getting in short supply? Well lets take a little example: My windmill which has a blade diameter of 12 feet will produce at its best about 500 watts if the wind is blowing. That is enough to power half a hair dryer! And if I store the electricity in my battery I will only get a fraction of it back. This is why I have solar cells and a windmill. Hopefully when the sun is not shining the wind is blowing. When I am lacking both I have a backup generator that runs on biodiesel. BUT if we have a large scale installation where everyone is connected and demanding power without any interruption we have to keep the coal fired plant and the nuclear plant going. Relying on the sun and wind is only something an individual can do. I vary my needs with what is available. In other words most businesses can't just shut down for a day because the wind was not blowing. But that may be the way of the future whether we want it or not.

Now this system I have if purchased and installed on the open market would cost about $30.000 and yes it will only power may one hair dryer! And then add to that a lot of maintenance so that having a day job is out of the question. You can see we have a problem.

In order to maintain our north American lifestyle it is going to get very expensive so the easy solution to all of this is to cut down on our energy needs. And how much? About 75% and if this does not scare you then consider the alternative of not having any. So how can one cut down their energy use , help reduce the emissions and yet maintain the quality of life? Well thats my next column.