Horas non numero nisi serenas
(I count only the hours that are bright)
Anon inscription on a Sundial, which means Lindsworth Deer wrote it
Global Warming will definitely be having an effect on our Energy consumption patterns, whether we conserve or not. So says Dr. Michael Taylor, Climatologist and Head of the Department of Physics, Pure and Applied Sciences, University of the West Indies at the Energy Conference 2011 on Monday September 19th 2011AD.
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The Energy Conference 2011 is a joint talk shop sponsored by the University of Technology, the Department of Engineering from the University of Technology and the JIE (Jamaica Institute of Engineers) as stated in the article “Climatologist: Demand for more Cooling will increase Energy use”, published Monday September 19 2011 by Adam Moss, Gleaner Writer, The Jamaica Gleaner.
Dr. Michael Taylor, bespectacled, explains it elegantly as he does, quote: “We depend on the cool nights to save our Energy. We might be running [refrigeration and Cooling units] at night”.
Normally, when reading articles of a Scientific and Engineering nature, I usually rant at the scant coverage given to such important deliberations in the Jamaican Mainstream Media, mainly because I suspect the Jamaica Gleaner reporter Adam Moss who wrote the article in question was looking for a catchy byline and may not have any understanding of the implications of some of these scientific announcements.
65% is a lot of Energy for a country to waste on Cooling and refrigeration, albeit I suspect it is actually a reference to electricity consumption, not every source of Energy in Jamaica.
Not surprising though, as there are a lot of businesses and householders in Jamaica that have Refrigerators and Air Conditioning Units that are continuously running at nights, making Dr. Michael Taylor’s words prophetic and the statistic shocking.
Jamaica Gleaner, how’s that for a byline?
A logical necessity in the case of Refrigeration to prevent spoilage in the case of householders and business people and fans and air conditioning, which many could do without, though some may question my rational, especially on a very hot day. Which is practically every day!
This statistic is especially relevant to Telecom Provider LIME and Telecom Provider Digicel, as their cabinetized Node B equipment in the field, be if for Nortel, Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya or Huawei, requires constant cooling to function in the extremely hot weather typical of Jamaica. It is a MAJOR source of power usage as collated in my blog article entitled “LIME look to the future with new Services - Video and Audio Friends with Benefits in the Dead Zone” suggesting methods of saving on this necessary facility using Alternative Energy.
Air conditioning is necessary to prevent computer equipment from overheating and failing e.g. Telecom Provider CLARO MSC (Mobile Switching Center) in their basement of their headquarters on Knutsford Boulevard and Telecom Provider Digicel’s Data Center at Caymanas, which have to maintain the temperature at a nominal 23 degrees Celsius via their Environmental Control Systems.
So more press time for this revelation please, as it justifies the pronouncement of JPS Co (Jamaica Public Service Company) CEO Damian Obiglio in stating that the Energy consumption habits of Jamaicans are in part responsible for their high electricity bills, such as Jamaica’s continued usage of Incandescent bulbs instead of Energy saving Fluorescent and LED (Light Emitting Diode) bulbs as stated in my blog article entitled “JPS CEO Damian Obiglio wants Incandescent Bulb ban - Jamaican in the Twilight Zone”.
So two (2) things are now clear:
1. 65% of any householder’s bill is for Cooling i.e. fans, refrigerators, Air Conditioning, etc.
2. If the phenomenon of global Warming is as bad as I suspected, it may go a long way to explain in part the high electricity bills before JPS Co alleged over billing
Such protests of JPS Co overbilling were the stuff of bylines and 10 second sound bytes on Television Jamaica and CVM TV. But a scientific discussion on the issue is ignored, because it’s not interesting. Oh well….
Solutions abound, the chief being the continued pursuit of Energy Sector Liberalization as stated in as my blog article entitled “Minister Clive Mullings retrogade step on Energy Sector Liberalization - JPS Co's Monopoly An Inconvenient Truth” , a bi-partisan issue that should unite both the JLP and the PNP, not a issue that should divisive.
Especially as the various Government of Jamaica Ministries are themselves so wasteful in their usage of Electricity and other utilities and could take a leaf out of the Obama Administration book in terms of using Alternative energy to cut excessive Government usage of Utilities as stated in my blog article entitled “GOJ and Government Ministry's Energy Usage - Senator Audley Shaw and the Langoliers”
In the short term, however, the best one can do to lower your electricity bill is:
1. Follow the lead of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and change our electricity usage habits as stated in my blog article entitled “Ministry of Labour and Social Security JA$9 Million Energy Savings - Mad Money for Happy Workers”
2. Ban not only the importation of Incandescent bulbs as stated in my blog article entitled “JPS CEO Damian Obiglio wants Incandescent Bulb ban - Jamaican in the Twilight Zone” and their miniscule contribution to Energy consumption, but also the importation of refrigerators and air conditioning units with low Energy Star Ratings.
3. Employ the use of Optical Waveguide Lighting Technology in buildings as described in my blog article entitled “Optical Waveguide Lighting to save on Electricity - Sound of Music meets the Lightning Thief”
4. Employ the use of Solar Powered Air conditioning Units as suggested in my blog article entitled “Alternative Energy and Air Conditioning - Cool Runnings”
5. Make Alternative Energy installation a mandatory part of Jamaica’s Building Code, with penalties for contractors that do not include the usage of Solar Water Heaters and Solar Panels (Photovoltaics) in their design.
If the utterances of Dr. Michael Taylor at the Energy Conference 2011 can be taken as gospel, it would appear that the increasing cost of our 65% Energy consumption obsession with Cooling and Refrigeration will be with us even after we adopt the wide-scale usage of Alternative Energy in a Liberalized Energy Sector. A SERIOUS future problem especially for Telecom Providers!
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