[Okc] The importance of energy conservation

[Robert Waldrop]

80% of natural gas production and 98% of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico remains off line.  And so it comes to pass that even the Bush administration is hopping on the energy conservation bandwagon.  Is it just me, or is the general response one big national yawn?  I don't think people will be yawning when they open their gas and light bills in December.

The official line is "six months of pain", but really this is only the opening stages of the coming decline in world oil production.  The decline in North American natural gas production is already here, despite the huge amount of drilling -- the largest episode of natural gas drilling activity in US history -- production remains in decline.  This plateau period is likely to be characterized by a lot of ups and downs, but over time the trend will be up, not down.  

We tore the boards off the south wall today, most of them anyway, we took the brick off last week.  Although of course the glass isn't in, opening that wall up makes a really startling difference inside.  The utility room was added at a later date, and the room just north of it is the kitchen, so there aren't any actual outside windows in the kitchen. THere are however two doors with glass and two windows that formerly opened onto the scenic view of the utility room, now we have a view all the way outside and it brightens things up considerably.

We've decided what we're doing on glass, so work on the passive solar sunspace continues apace.  Hopefully the electricians will finish their work this week, so we can have the first inspection, and then we can start the insulation and drywalling.  The point is to be snug as bugs in rugs without high utility bills.  

To do that we are (just to review): superinsulating -- R-33 in the walls and R-50 in the attic. We installed double glazed, argon filled windows, and put in new doors with weatherstripping. We are converting our south facing utility room into a passive solar sunspace.  A friend in Colorado ran the figures for us, and his math says that with our superinsulation, and the characteristics of our house (size, materials, etc), we can get most of our winter heat from 106 sq ft of south facing glass.  One unanswered question in this experiment is how the heat will percolate through the house, we may have to get a fan or two, but we'll see about that when the cold weather gets here.  We have also relined our chimney so we can use wood for backup heat, and disconnected from the natural gas system entirely.

I strongly urge everybody to start right now to develop a plan for making their own dwelling more energy efficient.  Remember: as the price of energy goes up, so does the price of energy conservation materials and work.  Insulation is more expensive this year than it was last year, and it will be even more expensive next year than it is this year.  

Many people get really hung up on the issue of "cost effectiveness".  Just remember that cost effecetiveness is in the mind of the beholder.  When we are finished, we will have a dwelling that will keep us comfortable even if all of the utility services go down in a winter storm, or due to a tornado elsewhere in the area, or a terrorist attack.  Even though it will be cold outside, we will be warm inside.  How many reading this can say the same thing?  So what price should I or anybody else assign to that kind of peace of mind?  Especially folks that have kids.

And here's another aspect of "cost effectiveness."  As the price of energy increases, the amount of energy conservation that is cost effective also increases.  This of course is complicated a bit by the fact that as energy increases in price, so does the price of energy conservation. So your best bang for the buck is to insulate today, and not wait for tomorrow. "Don't delay -- you'll pay".

I also think that if you can only do one thing, the most important thing to do is lots of insulation.  Insulation, once installed, just sits there and does its job, irrespective of whether or not the electricity and natural gas are on.  If you can't afford to superinsulate the entire house, then superinsulate one interior room as kind of a "warmth shelter".

One final comment about the present situation:  the rapid run-up to $3.00+ gallon gasoline has opened the spigots on fuel stockpiles worldwide.  THis is possible because nearly every nation has been squirreling away crude oil and refined products for the last several years.  It is somewhat dismaying to me that such a small increase (compared to what is coming) in gasoline prices could cause people to open their stockpiles.  More used now means less available for later.  There is a limit to how much these stockpiiles hold, and I expect that as the realities of the new energy regime become apparent, those stockpiles are going to be slammed shut again, and politicians will be cursing behind closed doors because they depleted them.

Three dollars a gallon is cheap for gasoline.  The day is coming when we will all think this.

Robert Waldrop, OKC
www.energyconservationinfo.org


http://www.theoildrum.com/story/2005/10/3/12927/6582#more

October 3, 2005  

And it begins. . . the government says (more deeply this time, 
and with feeling):  `CONSERVE!'

>From the Comments section:

http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/03/news/economy/gasprices_bod
man/index.htm

Six more months of gasoline pain?
Energy Secretary tells paper that higher prices to continue; 
shortages may be possible.
October 3, 2005: 8:24 AM EDT 

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman 
has told a newspaper that consumers can expect to see at least 
six months of high gasoline and heating fuel prices until energy 
production recovers from hurricane damage. 

"We're going to go through a very challenging time the next six 
months, is my guess," Bodman told USA Today in an interview 
pub-lished Monday. "Both in terms of gasoline availability and 
(prices of) natural gas and heating oil, we're going to have some 
problems."

Bodman warned he didn't yet know the extent of damage done by 
Hurricane Rita to offshore oil and natural gas platforms as well 
as Gulf Coast refineries and pipelines, telling the paper it would 
take two to three more weeks to complete an assessment. But 
he suggested there could be shortages depending on the extent 
of damage.

"Most of us have viewed energy availability as a kind of right of 
citizenship," he said, adding that Americans might have rethink 
that attitude.

The U.S. Minerals Management Service reported Friday that only 
2 percent of offshore oil production in the Gulf was back in 
service, and only 21 percent of natural gas production is again 
operating. In addition, roughly 20 percent of U.S. refining capacity 
remains shut due to damage from either Hurricane Katrina on 
Aug. 29 or Hurricane Rita, which hit Sept. 24.

While gasoline imports have helped bring pump prices back 
below $3 a gallon on average nationally, importing heating oil 
and natural gas is not as easy. Experts warn that there will be a 
sticker shock for heating bills this winter, with prices rising by 
about a third for those using heating oil and by two-thirds for the 
majority of Americans who use natural gas to heat their homes.

Bodman plans to detail a national energy conservation plan 
Monday, the paper reported. Among other steps that the plan will 
include is asking Americans to turn off lights, change thermostat 
settings, drive slower, insulate homes.

Copyright 2005 CNN


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