Efficient Technologies

| by Victor Cherubim

( September 27, 2012, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Why do we always heat a full kettle of water to have a cup of tea? Why waste our time, energy and money, as a small island with limited resources disproportionately? Why buy a sweet shop to have an occasional lollipop? Who can we blame for our neglect of our environment, or for our derelict of duty and wonton waste?

We in Sri Lanka have always been in the vanguard of environmental progress, our characteristic care of our heritage, which was the envy of South Asia, until our disquiet to fight a costly near thirty year war. In love and war everything is abandoned. But sooner rather than later, we are back to showcase our ingenuity, but in a nature friendly way.

Efficient technology is one field of our current endeavour. We call it smart technology, “a way of automation of flow process management programme to help reduce energy consumption and thereby increase savings.”

Home efficiency technologies and green environment is news, not solely and exclusively for climate change. Minister of Power and Energy, Patali Champika Ranawaka has called for the switching off of 50 percent of street lamps to save energy due to the temporary breakdown of the Lakvijaya coal power plant in Norochcholai, losing 300 mw of electricity supply to the National Grid. By investing in efficiency it is hoped to tide over this crisis, but more so to reduce our energy bills.

The time is ripe for us everywhere, to be energy efficient. A report recently published by an environmental think tank in UK states: more needs to be done to make consumers aware of the enormous benefits of efficiency to reduce household energy bills. But, it has to be complementary.

On the other end of the scale, energy efficiency is also the responsibility of the manufacturers of electrical appliances and equipment. The main tool to delivering this efficiency is product policy –

a commitment from manufacturers to design more energy efficient products.

Efficient technologies are available to reduce or eliminate waste, increase productivity security, mitigate risk and improve efficiency. They have been prevalent in other industries too. Motor engineering, for instance easily adapts to efficient technologies in fuel, in following ways: improved engine efficiency and performance by optimising the flow of fuel and air into the engine for various engine speeds, integrated starter/generator (ISG) systems which automatically turn the engine on/off when the vehicle is stopped to reduce fuel consumed during idling and cylinder deactivation saves fuel by deactivating cylinders when they are not needed. These are among some ways of sustainability.

Energy conservation can best be achieved in Sri Lanka through increased efficient energy use.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) can be awarded to commercial enterprises in the first instance followed by consumer households. Consumers perhaps, are often poorly informed of the savings of energy efficient products. Comparative costs for sustainable energy – biomass, geo-thermal, solar, tidal and wind farms- have to be made available to the consumer, if not now but as soon as possible.

Likewise home efficiency technologies introduce innovation. New technologies introduce and reduce energy consumption through efficiency technology, environmental cleanup and alternative

energy technology.  

By 2020, we note that 42% of energy bill cost reductions are expected to come from product policy saving, approx. £158 off the energy bill in UK. Apart from this an even bigger saving of £300 can be made right now, by replacing an inefficient boiler, an antiquated gas burning cooker, and a washing machine with a high energy rating. The cost saving in replacement of these appliances can more than compensate over the years, for the initial expenditure cost.

President Rajapaksa just days ago, switched on the thermal plant at Kilinochchi to connect the north to the grid. For over 25 years, people north of Vavuniya were either permanently having power cuts, or that the lights were so dim that even students had to study under street lamps and surgical treatments in hospitals had to be undertaken using power generators. This may have been one reason for industry shunning the North. Though the above is consigned to history, we are steadily moving to import adaptive technologies which continuously monitor our thermal plants to make energy efficiency through saving, our top priority.

It is a well recognised fact that much can be done to conserve usage of electricity supply in our households, for lighting, for T.V., internet, broadband, not to mention energy efficiency of our fridge/freezers, A.C’s and particularly to curtail unnecessary expense catering for our fancy at private functions and parties. The issue is not about freedom, but the frugality of use.