energy conservation news, energy saving new, building energy news
We are biased towards vision, 70% of the information we process is visual information, we can identify faces in a piece of toast, we identify shapes in clouds and find meaning in the outline of rocks, just like Lion Rock.
But everyday your are exposed the same, you see the same building, the same equipment every day, same the accommodation, it is engrained and we can’t see the wood for the trees. Fresh eyes breaks normal, provides a fresh perspective, introducing you to new possibilities.
China announced that it aims to become carbon neutral (whatever that means) by 2060, will that new target have any impact on Hong Kong or the government energy reduction targets?
Counting the whole, I will predict the local impact in Hong Kong will be minimal, as I have said “Neutral” in reality requires over production, for China that means over production at scale, China has the space and political will for the carbon emissions aggregated to achieve its new target.
Energy Intensity is a metric to measure and target energy improvement work. But it is based on energy consumption per capita, using GDP as the index.
Policymakers often make pledges and promises to reduce energy consumption, and the HKSAR government choose Energy Intensity to measure that performance.
Fast forward to 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused global GDP to fall of a cliff, that dramatic decline, give a stable energy demand, means the Energy Intensity score improved, without any effort. Energy Intensity and GDP are useless metrics for the energy sector.
the time switch solved a problem, mechanical models being replaced with dastardly digital versions that nobody knows how to programme. Naturally they are programmed to operate when you and your staff are not around.
For example, external lighting might be switched ON at 18:00 and OFF at 23:00 hr (following the charter) , but I have lost count of the number of broken and incorrectly set time switches, check them, check them frequently.
Lighting fittings with LED type lamps are more energy efficient, use less electricity lowering your electricity bill dramatically, and they emit less heat, a lot less.
In Asia, we use air conditioning, switching over to LED type lamps means less heat and therefore lower cooling demand up to 50%! So a side benefit is lower the cost of air conditioning too.