Energy conservation notes made while at Woodstock

Energy

Conservation

Ideas for energy conservation and/or greening at Woodstock

Conservation is simply using less energy – typically electricity – regardless of the source.

Greening means to use renewable energy sources as a substitute for less-renewable sources.   

Renewable sources

Solar – sunlight

Water, hydropower

Locally-sourced biomass such as leaves or paper or compost or sewage

Muscle power, from people or animal

Lighting

Incandescent to CFL to LED

Incandescent bulbs are cheap to manufacture but expensive to operate

Incandescent appropriate

Some lamps only fit this size

Some lampshades are designed to clip onto a spherical bulb

Publicly-accessible: because of the great cost differential, CFL bulbs are easily stolen

Dimming necessary, as incandescent bulbs readily vary light output by voltage

Heating: most of the electricity of the incandescent bulb is used in heat; only part results in light.

Heating water

Woodstock uses electicity for all water heating;

Why not use gas or solar energy

Set the geyser (water heater) at the lowest heat setting

Set the thermostat according to need

Hand-washing only?  Lower heat

Typically quick usage, with little time to adjust the mix with cold water

Rarely use full tank, so there is time for the geyser to re-heat

Showers (more than one shower in sequence)? Maximum heat

Longer use, so user takes time to adjust the mix with cold water

Longer use, so more likely to need as much hot water as possible

Most efficient to share one tank among several uses, and thus pipe the hot water throughout the building

Add pipe insulation

so that the heat is not wasted

so that the pipe does not heat the room (unless you want that?)

If the users are very conscientious, and power on the geysers only when needed, then smaller local tanks are efficient; but most people do not power-off the geyser, so it is better to have a single more-efficient tank that is well-insulated and always on.

Solar Water Heating

Past experience was bad

Maintenance required often

Spare parts difficult to get?

Monkey damage

Installation requires precise piping to reduce leaks

Newer heaters are factory-sealed, more compact

So they require less precision work at installation

Less subject to monkey damage

Use vertical cylinders rather than flat panels, so the piping is not exposed

Heating rooms

The traditional bukhari is terribly inefficient

Uses wood, which is better saved for villagers to use

Sucks cold air into the house, then

The hottest air goes up and out the chimney

Make the bukhari more efficient

Longer chimney run allows more heat to radiate inside

Provide an air inlet directly from outside into the furnace, so as to reduce the air taken from the room

Place an electric fan to blow across the bukhari, to move the hot air around the room and use the heat from the stove before it goes up the chimney

Place a pan of water on top of the stove, to add humidity to the air and moderate the heat – water is a heat sink

Try not to open the bukhari door frequently, and close the bottom air-gap a bit, to reduce the amount of air that goes up and out the chimney (and yet of course still burns the wood!)

Seal any indoor openings in the chimney, especially at the joints,

to reduce smoke entrance to the room and

reduce later drafts when the stove is not operating

Electric heaters

Take advantage of their easy-on switch, and operate them only when you are in the room

Don’t leave them running when nobody is present

That is both dangerous and wasteful

After the heater runs, the plug and wire can themselves get hot, especially older models

Radiant heaters

Also called Quartz-element heaters

Effectively heat only what  they are pointed at

Not effective for general room heating

Blower heaters

More effective for general  room heating

High power?

Most of our circuits cannot handle the highest heat power  setting – better to use medium or low-power setting for general use

Insulation

Windows

Seal from drafts

Careful planing, to allow for swelling in monsoon and yet little gap in the dry winter

Check the glazing

Add extra putty to insure no holes around the glass

Double-glaze for insulation

An air gap prevents heat from transferring in or out

Provide storm-windows in the winter for most windows in each house

Thereby sealing those windows shut, November-March

Leave untreated one window in each room, for occasional ventilation when needed

Ceilings

Seal from drafts

A layer of plastic would help prevent heated air from escaping out to the attic, and prevent cool air from seeping in

Add insulation in the attic

A layer of insulation—like a blanket, would keep heat in the building.

A lot of heat radiates through the plywood ceiling, and even more through the single-layer corrugated-iron roof

Doors

Seal from drafts

Weatherstripping at the hinges

Weatherstripping at the bottom – a door-sweep

Attach a rubber piece at the door jamb to seal the space, and block drafts when the door is closed

Add closing mechanisms to automatically close the door

Exhaust fans

Louvers

Make sure that all exhaust fans have louvers that automatically close when the fan is powered-off

Transport

Automotive

Safety

Headlights are for seeing and being seen

Use headlights to be seen

In fog

In dim light, at dusk

When coming around a curve quickly

In heavy rain

Research proves that motorcycles especially need headlights always

Developed societies require motorcycle headlamps to be always on

Also many places require headlamps on cars whenever raining  (i.e. whenever windshield-wipers are on)

Seat-belts

Required in most developed societies.  Why?  

Why don’t we wear seat belts?

Driver should always wear a seat belt:

In addition to the reasons applicable for all vehicle occupants,

The driver is responsible for the safety of the car and everyone in it;  if the car is hit or bounces or turns wildly, the driver needs to keep control of the vehicle.  The seat-belt will keep him from bouncing around or being ejected out the window.  He has a responsibility to stay with the car and keep it safe.

Our institution takes responsibility for the health of its employees and students – and will pay for medical care when they are injured;  and will lose their services while they are injured.  Everybody pays when anybody is injured.   Wearing a seat-belt dramatically reduces the likelihood and severity of injury.    Wearing a seat-belt does not cost much:  a little forethought, maybe a little discomfort, that’s all.  But the benefits are stunning, when the accident occurs.

Computers

Electronic equipment

Electricity transport

Electric current is not free, and is not free-flowing, either

Check wiring connections

A badly-connected wire can overheat, cause fire

And certainly wastes electricity, as the resistance causes heat and uses powe

Use larger-gauge wire

Fatter wire is easier for the current, so it loses less current in the transmission

Ensure good-quality grounding / earthing

For personal safety, and fire reduction

Reduce chances of short-circuits affecting a wider area

Electrical Generation

Diesel-fueled generators are expensive to run

Switching power suddenly on-off stresses both people and electrical equipment

Should install a power-cycle synchronizer inline with the generator equipment so that the switch back from generator to municipal power can be seamless.   That would reduce half of the power-cycling, and ease the strain on UPSes and computers (and people).