Bathurst Community Climate Action Network

Energy Matters
A friend recently was having trouble with her fridge frosting up and the motor seemingly running all the time. It set me thinking that I did's really know all that much about how household appliances chew up power and then trying to understand my electricity bill. Down the track from that I could see that if I could understand these things, I might be in a better position to make some changes which might in the end lower my bill. With energy costs predicted to rise quite sharply over the next couple of years, with our without an Emissions Trading Scheme, that has to be a good idea.
The fundamental properties of our power appliances is their ability to do work for us, the inherent energy they are capable of delivering and the rate at which they do their work for us. These are called respectively, Work, Energy and Power and they are frequently confused.
Many of our appliances come with an electric motor which is specified as such and such a kilowatt motor. This means in broad terms, that motor can at any instance deliver 1000 watts of energy.
However, from our observations, we know that our motors must work harder under certain conditions. For example the motor on a fridge must switch on more in hot weather to keep the compressor running and the refrigerant circulating through the tubing, assisting the removal of heat from the food stored in the fridge.
If under certain conditions our fridge has had to run for 3 hours during a 24 hour period, then it will have delivered 3 kilowatt hours of power.
When we look at our power bill, we can see that we are paying for our electricity in the number of kilowatt hours consumed by our lights and appliances.
With our lights, it is somewhat easier to calculate what our power consumption is. If a 100 watt incandescent bulb is left on for say 100 hours during a meter reading period, then our contribution of our light to that bill will be 100 watts multiplied by 100 hours, which will equal 10, 000 watt hours or, converting to kilowatts hours (dividing by 1000), giving us 10 kwh.
On can see immediately that changing one's lights to 20 watt compact fluorescent fittings, will have quite a dramatic change in our power usage - 20 watt light on for 100 hours gives 2000 watt hours or 2 kwh.
As with our fridge example there will be other factors at play which will influence the power required to keep our food cool. A couple to keep in mind is the need to regularly defrost your fridge, ice build up makes the compressor work harder, malfunctioning of the thermostat in the fridge will also create a similar effect. Outside the fridge itself, it is important to have a clear air gap at the back of the fridge and limit any overhanging object to enable as much fresh air circulation as possible to allow the hot air passing out of the coils to move away from that area and make the compressors job easier.
A final option is to look at our appliances and make a value judgment on replacing an older model with a newer more efficient appliance. The technology is improving rapidly and one might get a considerable financial benefit from such an exchange.

However, as mentioned in a previous blog, there is the further issue of what is  likely to happen to your appliance, when you upgrade. If that appliance is consigned to landfill as so many are, then the net benefit in terms of overall greenhouse gas savings are unlikely to be realised, so sometimes you do the planet more benefit by trying your hardest to keep your appliances working as efficiently as possible for as long as they can.
One of the ways you can actually find out what each appliance is using in terms of power when it is switched on is to use one of the devices on the market at present and as shown on some popular tv shows recently.
The Power-Mate is one such device and can be connected to individual devices one at a time by plugging the Power-Mate into the socket to which the device is normally connecte then plugging the device into the Power-Mate itself and then turning the socket switch to 'on'. A digita readout can be seen and if the device is left on, such as the fridge , one can see its power usage fluctuate as the compressor motor swiches on. There will be a surge in power just to get the compressor moving the fluid in its coils and then it will settle back as is settles into its "work".
Alternatively, one can get an electrician to connect up the Power-Mate to the rear of your electicity switch board and then the device can be centrally placed in the house and observed as different appliances are switched off an on. This might be a handy device for educating all members of a household and may lead to signigicant energy savings over time.
 
A couple of important events coming up for BCCAN in the near future, I can mention here but will confirm as news on the web site as soon as dates and venues are concerned. Firstly we are holding a dinner and guest speakers will be Dr. Bruce Fell, who has recently published a book on the effects of television and Climate Change. "Not connected", you may think, but you will be surprised by Bruce's findings from his research. The second speaker is Dr. Andrew Rawson, form the Orange campus of Charles Sturt University who will help to answer peoples questions and concerns in the debate over Climate Change. This set to be a very stimulating evening and we are hoping for a capacity attendance.
The second function will feature Claire Power presenting the issues of Transition Towns, a worldwide movement which has sprung up to empower communities to prepare and grasp opportunities to the challenges, which will increasingly present themselves as our rivers dry-up, oil decreases in supply and our soils become more depleted. These on top of the predicted risks of climate change itself.
I will present a short piece after Claire, foreshadowing my 20 year plan for Bathurst to become a cycle friendly city. This is not unconnected to Claire's presentation as with population growth assured, the pressure on our roads will increase, so a strategy for alternative transport options is appropriate at this time. Of course there are many side benefits to a community which wholeheartedly embraces cycling, which spread far beyond the health and fitness angle. So please come along and hear the issues and see if it is something you would like to see in your city.