Recognition by the Government of homes and firms that have taken concrete steps to conserve energy will encourage others to take a similar path. Extensive energy audits are a good way to identify the achievers
How much energy do our homes, offices and commercial establishments consumeIJ Is it at its optimum level or is there a scope for streamlining and rationalisationIJ As energy resources become scarce and costly, these questions are assuming enormous significance. The recent polar vortex in the United States drove up energy consumption to an unprecedented level, leading to soaring energy bills. This in turn has fuelled tremendous interest in means and methods of energy conservation, such as energy audits.
In today’s global scenario, energy conservation is being aided immensely by energy audits, which are capable of assessing energy efficiency of buildings, consumption pattern besides providing advisory on how to improvise the energy conservation further.
Energy cost has a vital role in economic and industrial activity besides having a direct bearing on the product cost and inflation. The challenge facing the industry today is to bring down energy cost while retaining the same or enhanced levels of productivity besides setting course for a sustainable future.
This is particularly logic-defying in a scenario where nearly 10 per cent of the manufacturing cost is attributed to energy consumption that takes the form of heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, lighting and production equipment. The industrial sector needs to create an energy-surplus scenario by identifying and reducing energy wastage, besides fixing and achieving energy-saving targets for individual cost centres.
Energy audits for residential use have rapidly captured the imagination of developed nations and are fast gaining momentum. This reverence for energy conservation is most visible in the United States. For instance, in Chicago, nearly 3,700 home-owners have implemented energy-efficiency projects in their residences, assisted by subsidies provided by the Government. The residential energy audit often revolves around weatherproofing and insulation in order to maximise climate control impact. Since the audit includes an analysis of the installed equipment and analysis of energy bills, the real time estimation of energy saving potential is determined.
In India, energy audits have paid rich dividends where they have been implemented properly. For instance, in December 2013, Tata Power conducted more than 100 energy audits under the ‘My Mumbai, Green Mumbai’ campaign, thereby ensuring that industrial and commercial consumers in the city save 18 million units of electricity. However, there is a significant need to extend the same to households across the nation.
With higher levels of development in the economy and rising per capita income, households worldwide are moving towards fuels that are cleaner, more efficient and convenient. However, the same is not happening in India as renewable forms of energy are still largely absent from mainstream usage. A renewed introduction of domestic energy audit can set this right. The experiences with industrial sector can be employed in evolving an effective energy audit strategy that covers the household's across the nation.
As inflation plays havoc with family budgets, a decrease of up to 15 per cent in energy bills can be a compelling proposition for the common man. Power and gas companies need to embark on an awareness drive in the first phase to engage the attention. This can be done by launching advertisements on electricity and gas bills besides offering discount coupons on energy audits done by the house owners.
As of today, there are a number of organisations that offer audits for a fee, but the house owners are neither aware of the quality service providers nor a list is provided by their respective resident welfare association. This needs to change. Based on a professional energy audit firm’s recommendations, the RWAs need to frame guidelines that help minimise domestic energy consumption besides pinpointing sources of wastage. This would help in knowing the total cost incurred on energy in the household and isolating the devices and process, which are relatively less energy efficient.
Domestic energy audits can also help understand the patterns of energy consumption between high or low energy consuming appliances based on the amount of electricity needed for their operation, this in turn can help promoting renewable energy efficient products.
The initiative to roll out energy audits should include renewing the audit certificate every year and adoption of energy efficient technology by the consumer should be recognised by offering the house owner discounts on lED lights, CFl bulbs besides rebates on property tax. These measures would help instil confidence among the community in the overall environment policy of the Government and encourage active participation.