Energy Wastage in Hong Kong Focus: household energy consumption Solar panels http://www. renewablepowernews. com/archives/1647 Did you know that people this year are consuming nearly twice as much energy as they were 30 years ago? If we continue to use energy at such high rates, reserves of non-renewable energy may run out really soon. In order to prevent this people must make small changes by using less energy in their daily lives. Even the smallest action can have an impact on the rest of the world. An example of using less energy is as simple as unplugging your recharger from the socket when your not using it.

Most of the energy wastage comes from homes and a lot of the times it’s when we’re doing nothing. Energy wastage occurs very often at home, leaving computers and televisions on standby, using a thick blanket with the air conditioning on 16? C, leaving the bathroom light on during the night, all require quite a large amount of electricity. However there are alternates to all of those things, many ways we can reduce the amount of energy wastage at home. Everything people do is interconnected and has it’s own consequences, everyone might be self sufficient in energy resources but the impact of the energy wastage affects the whole world.

What appliances cause this and how can we stop it So what appliances waste the most energy? Studies have shown that heating and cooling facilities in homes are definitely the highest energy users. With the highest annual average household producing about four tons of heat-trapping pollution, the usage of this appliance heavily relies on the weather. Colder years lead to an increase in emission, while warmer seasons helped dip a bit. However at the same time hot summers increase fossil fuels pollution too because of an excess use of air conditioning.

All year around, many people still set their air conditioners at too low of a temperature and sleep with thick covers. The solution is simple; reduce the amount of cooling and heating air use around the year. Instead of using an air conditioner, a fan produces less energy, or opening the windows on a breezy day could quickly decrease our body temperature. During the winter, have the blinds up for the sunlight to warm the house up, and use solar water heaters. Studies show that solar water heaters save people more than $500 US a year on energy bills, and works the same as a normal heater.

Energy Star http://www. homeenergyteam. com/blog/home-energy-audits/energy-star-label/ After heating and cooling, freezers and refrigerators are a home’s next two large energy consumers. These appliances often consume almost eight tons of heat-trapping emission per year. A widely recommended brand is Energy Start products; these are often the best energy saving appliances chosen from different places. Another reminder when shopping for multiple appliances is the size. Even though it might look better, a larger than necessary appliance could waste electricity, which then increases energy costs.

A lot of people think that when your not using that appliance, leaving it plugged does not generate energy. However, it does, your electric meter is often adding up kilowatt-hours when it’s just idle. Unplugging toasters and cell phone chargers could quickly save a lot of energy and money, it is also better not to buy plug-in air fresheners. An energy efficient light bulb http://www. weresearchhealth. com/index. php/archives/1150 The third biggest energy eater is lighting, and every year, lighting takes up just over a ton of carbon dioxide.

A highly effective way is to change your light bulbs to more efficient ones. This means that instead of using an incandescent 100 watts light bulb, a similar light bulb produces the same amount of light only using 15 watts. Well, how is this a benefit? Changing only one 100-watt bulb into a fluorescent one cuts around 1,300 pounds of global warming pollution. On top of that, they last 15 times as long, and you also save money! An even simpler way is to just turn off the lights when no one is using them. A large amount of electricity expenses come from rooms that stay lit when no one is using them.

It’s summer time now, meaning that there is longer daylight periods, open the shades and use the sunlight to help illuminate the room. Energy in Relation to the Environment and the Economy If the amount of energy consumption continues to increase over the year at the same rate, people will be experiencing not only environmental but also economical difficulties. Burning coal, oil and other natural gasses produce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses, automatically adding to the impurity of the air, however even with this knowledge in mind, studies have shown that over 85% of the energy used worldwide comes from fossil fuels.

Meaning that the more energy we are using, the more fossil fuels are being burned, which heightens the amount of heat-trapping emissions that are trapped in the air. This not only increases global warming, but also adds to the pollution all around the world. The act to stop global warming has been progressing at a slow rate; if we continue to follow the footsteps of the previous generations then we will not have anymore-cold winters. At the same time, because of the deficient amount of non-renewable sources such as coal and oil, thus resulting with an increase in electrical costs.

The amount of energy being used in every household escalates as the technology does in Hong Kong. This leads to many people unable to afford their bills, which puts Hong Kong in a bad position. The connection between energy wastage and economy is an extremely important issue that will hit us hard in the future. At the moment, people are still able to “buy” themselves more electricity, but as energy gets scarcer, soon a lot of people will not have access to it. Instead of Hong Kong’s technology developing to a further level, we will be moving backwards in an adventure to save energy.

At the moment, renewable energy sources represent about 15 percent of the total energy used. These include energy coming from wood, energy from crops such as sugar cane, and biodiesel made from plant oils. Though the most common renewable energy source known may be the sun and wind, it contributes only a small amount to the total percentage of renewable energy sources used. Everyone knows the most beneficial way to save energy, right? Well then why isn’t anyone doing it? Most of the electricity we use tends to come from large power stations connected to a national grid that distributes lectricity. Rather than trying to find more non-renewable energy, a decent idea would be to use renewable energy to substitute the loss. Renewable energy does not only continue to replenish as time goes by, but also doesn’t cause any pollution to the environment. The only downside however, is the price. To use solar panels rather than fossil fuels cost money, just look at the way energy is made by both of them. Conclusion The amount of electricity used in the homes in Hong Kong is far higher than it should be. Most of this wastage is a occurring right now, in our homes.

If we continue to be so selfish, the next generations will not have the environment that we have. Global warming, along with too much pollution, not to mention the large whole in the ozone layer are all consequences of too much energy use. Do we really want to destroy our beautiful world? People, in Hong Kong especially have almost unlimited amount of access to all the energy they need. We tend to forget, and go overboard. Leaving plugs, lights and air conditioners on just because we “forget” or aren’t “bothered” is not a good excuse.

We must work together in saving electricity throughout our homes. This is just a starting point, which more than half of the people around the world fail to meet. Regardless, it is our duty as the people of Hong Kong to reduce the energy wastage, and start using it wisely. Bibliography: 1. “Energy Waste – Clear The Air Energy Blog. ” Clear The Air Energy Blog. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. <http://energy. cleartheair. org. hk/? cat=18>. 2. McLeish, Ewan. Running out of Energy. London: Wayland, 2008. Print. 3. Save Energy and Money at Home. ” Fight Global Warming – Environmental Defense Fund. Web. 24 Sept. 2010. <http://www. fightglobalwarming. com/page. cfm? tagID=267>. 4. Stringer, John. ENERGY. London: Evans Brothers Limited, 2006. Print. 5. Cleanairnetwork, By. “Clean Air Network. ” Clean Air Network |. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. <http://www. hongkongcan. org/eng/>. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Cleanairnetwork, By. “Clean Air Network. ” Clean Air Network |. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. .