Cut costs and energy consumption in 10 easy steps

You don’t have to take drastic measures in order to adapt to the energy and climate crises. By adhering to these 10 simple steps, you’ll cut down on your carbon footprint while simultaneously shredding your monthly utility bills!

It doesn’t take expensive solar panel instillation to do it, either. Just take a little bit of time out of your day, walk around your home, and consider the following:

• Set your thermostat to 78° Fahrenheit (about 25 C°). It’s a low-energy yet comfortable temperature that’s sure to save you big bucks during those long, sultry summer months.
• If you’re running the air conditioner, make sure the windows and doors are all closed. Waste not, want not, as they say.
• Make sure those vents aren’t being blocked. A lot of times (often for feng shui), people will unknowingly position furniture against the AC vents. This restricts the flow of cool air throughout your home, forcing you to run the unit longer.
• Another common decorating mistake – make sure your TV, lamps, and heat-emitting appliances are positioned away from the thermostat. They have a tendency of tricking the AC into thinking it’s hotter than it actually is.
• Did you know that your water heater is generally your third largest energy expense? Turning it down just a few degrees will help you save money consistently month-to-month.
• Washing your clothes in cold water instead of hot will pocket you an extra hundred dollars or so every year. Also, stashing a dry towel in the dryer with each load of freshly washed clothes reduces drying time by absorbing dampness. That means running the dryer less. Using less water. Less energy.
• Microwaveable TV dinners – not so bad after all! The microwave oven uses about ½ as much energy as a convention one. So don’t feel bad the next time it takes you five minutes to cook dinner. Feel like you’re being responsible.
• Vacuum your refrigerator? Sounds a bit ridiculous, I’ll admit. But when dirt and grime build up in your fridge’s coils, it has to work twice as hard to keep your food cold.
• If you haven’t brewed coffee, played video games, or watched TV in a while – unplug your appliances! Surprisingly, many consume electricity even when they’re off.
• Have an attic? A basement? Even a crawlspace? Inspect your insulation regularly to make sure that it’s dry. When moisture seeps in, it greatly impacts the insulation’s effectiveness. Cold air leaks out during the summer, and in during the winter, making it very difficult to stay warm or cool (depending on the season).

Well, there you have it. 10 easy steps to reducing costs and energy consumption. And remember, when it comes to global warming – we’re all in this together. So take the time to make sure you’re being as energy-efficient as possible. Tell a friend. Make a difference.

As Ghandi once said, “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. We need not wait to see what others do.”

[ energy consumption, global warming, Ghandi, nrglab, nrglab pte ltd, nrglab сингапур, nrglab singapore, ana shell, annie j, anastasia samoylova nrglab ]

科技正在变得更智能，为什么城市不能呢？

智能手机。运动感应灯。能记录我们的搜索历史并在我们完整输入问题之前就自动将问题补充完整的搜索引擎。是的——在我们生活的时代，大多数人都需要用智能科技来弥补自身的不足。我们已经意识到所走道路的偏差。我们的人性。那么，我们为什么不能运用同样的思维去看待被过度污染的城市呢？

“可采纳性比我们预想的要低一点儿，”法国能源供应商施耐德电气的高级副总裁吉姆·圣德林（Jim Sandelin）承认，“在技术上是可行的。而最近的三四年，用于检测建筑和设备性能状况的平台和分析也已出现，并在不断改进。”

您可以走进一家麦当劳，使用触摸屏交互菜单点餐。大学宿舍被要求使用节能型供热制冷系统，以便降低成本和消耗。见鬼——甚至于iPad都像是直接来自《星际迷航（Star Trek）》。

那么，接下来会是什么呢？

现在，通过一个单独的集成网络，全新的数据处理中心就能针对办公大楼、高速公路、体育馆甚至整个城市街区的电力分配进行分析。但是，当政府已经开始投资，向“智能城市”转型的时候，私人业主却拒绝为之买单。

“许多投资者不愿谈论（绿色能源）这个问题，”达拉斯林肯物业（Lincoln Property）管理公司的区域工程总监约翰·道生（John Dawson）说道，“他们不愿意花钱。他们计算出了电力涨价的转嫁费用，质疑为什么要他们来付费？”

达拉斯每年的电费通常高达数千万美元。自2003年开始，人们改造了市政厅、达拉斯艺术博物馆、停车场以及几十栋办公大楼，在其中配备了自动恒温器、动作感应灯，并改善了建筑的隔热隔音性能。达拉斯政府预计，未来的两年内，在能源方面的花费将减少约3,000万美元。

尽管美国城市多少有些不情愿接受节能改造，但在欧洲，许多国家都通过法律要求完成此类改造。得克萨斯大学的建筑规划学教授史蒂芬·摩尔（Steven Moore）说：“对于那些不能立即从中得到好处的改变，大多数人都会反对。（但是）改变很快就会来临，也将出现更多的激励措施，让机构和政府得以适应改变。”

然而，让一座建筑变得节能并不是“一锤子”买卖。随着建筑使用年限的增长，它们就会开始榨取能源。这也是为什么我们需要对其进行定期维护、熟练操作的原因。我们需要不断调整建筑，以便继续使用它们。

现在，问题是：人类是否能够适应全球变暖，并得以幸存？又或者，我们没能从错误中吸取经验，与地球一起饱受煎熬？

从英文版翻译而来。原文于2013 7月1日， http://annie65j.blogspot.sg/2013/07/technology-is-getting-smarter-so-why.html

[ 全球变暖, 政府, 新技术, NRGLab 项目, NRGLab推出的SH-box, Jim Sandelin, John Dawson, Lincoln Property, Steven Moore, nrglab, nrglab pte ltd, nrglab сингапур, nrglab singapore, ana shell ]

New apps for your phone make going green fun!

Are you one of the hundreds of thousands of people out there constantly looking for better ways to go green? From leasing hybrid cars to making energy upgrades around the house, environmentalism has solidified itself as a trend amongst today’s adults. 

Saving energy may not always be easy, but it can definitely be fun! New green applications for your smartphone promise exactly that…

Did you know that 56% of American adults now own some variety of smartphone? Meanwhile, Google and Apple recently hit the 50 billion downloaded-app mark! That’s a lot of people who, collectively, could be making a major impact on cutting energy consumption.

An app called Joulebug turns conservation into a game. Players can earn points and badges for reusing shopping bags, coffee cups, or sorting their trash for recyclables.

Last year, the White House launched the Green Button initiative, an app that helps Americans track their energy usage. The theory was that if people could gain a better understanding of their utility bills, it would entice them to reduce their energy usage, while simultaneously saving money.

You can try apps like Kill-Ur-Watts or Leafully. Leafully recently won the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Apps for Energy” contest, and works by connecting to companies that offer Green Button data. Another app called WattRebate let’s you search by zip code to find tax rebates for becoming more energy efficient.

Riding a bicycle is one eco-friendly, health-conscious way to cut back on your transportation costs. An app called Ride the City provides information like routes, local shops, bike-share stations, and local weather. New York City, Chicago, and Washington D.C. now offer bike-sharing programs for commuters. Just pick up and drop off and go about your day with a clean conscience!

So instead of downloading another mind-numbing game on your supposedly smartphone, try downloading a green energy app. See how much electricity you’re wasting. See how much money you could be saving. See how fun going green can be!

[ White House, Apple, Green Button initiative, Kill-Ur-Watts, Leafully, Ride the city app, Joulebug, annie j, ana shell, green energy, nrglab, nrglab сингапур, nrglab singapore, research council nrglab ]

Masih Percayakah Kita kepada Pemerintah?

Boleh dibilang hampir setiap malam, siaran berita selalu dibanjiri dengan berita utama yang berkaitan dengan perilaku pemerintahan yang tidak pada tempatnya.  Coba saja, pilih sebuah negara - negara mana pun.

Amerika Serikat, "tanah kebebasan" itu, diam-diam memata-matai warga negaranya sendiri. Mendengarkan percakapan telepon pribadi mereka.  Membaca surel mereka. Dan semua itu 100% legal! (tapi secara konstitusi atau moral - pastinya bertentangan)

Di Turki, polisi terpaksa menembakkan meriam air bertekanan tinggi ke kerumunan massa kerusuhan yang berjumlah sekitar  15.000 orang loyalis Partai AK. Bayangkan berapa banyak orang yang bakal bersorak dan melambaikan bendera Turki di TPS ketika mereka mengadakan pilkada di bulan Maret mendatang.

Korea Utara menuntut pembubaran intervensi PBB di Korea Selatan. Dengan menuduh  bahwa AS menggunakan wilayah Korea Selatan sebagai persiapan strategis untuk perang melawan Korea Utara, Duta Besar Sin Son Ho memperingatkan bahwa perang bisa berkobar "setiap saat."  Dan yang dimaksud bukan Perang Korea lainnya. Kita bicara Perang Dunia III. Bencana nuklir. Seperti yang kita tahu bakal menjadi akhir kehidupan.

Para pemimpin negara-negara asing tidak dapat bertatap muka secara langsung lagi, karena takut dimata-matai oleh pesawat pengintai tak berawak rahasia yang seharusnya menjadi sekutu mereka. Apa yang dilakukan oleh pesawat pengintai tak berawak itu? Tentu saja memata-matai Anda. Bahkan Presiden Barack Obama, seorang liberal, telah menggunakan serangan pesawat pengintai tak berawak untuk menciduk tersangka teroris. Tanpa pengadilan. Tanpa perlu membacakan hak-hak orang yang diciduk tersebut. Parahnya lagi - warga sipil tak berdosa terperangkap di tengah.

Apakah Anda bersedia untuk menerima atau tidak, gagasan tentang "privasi" di era berbasis teknologi ini semakin berkembang dengan cepat. Bagaimana cara terbaik bagi pemerintah untuk menyerang dan menangkap seorang pembunuh? Bagaimana Anda menimbang antara hak-hak individu versus demi kebaikan bersama? Ini adalah beberapa pertanyaan yang sangat sulit, dan keputusan yang diambil bakal tidak mudah pula. Tapi apakah Anda memberikan kepercayaan kepada para pemimpin politik untuk membuat keputusan itu bagi Anda?

Itulah mengapa kami di NRGLab berusaha memberikan kebebasan kepada orang lain. Dengan membuat akses listrik yang universal dan terjangkau,  Anda membuat akses ke informasi yang universal. Ini akan menciptakan pemilih yang mendapat informasi dengan baik. Warga negara yang bertanggung jawab, dapat membatasi kebiasaan konsumsi mereka sendiri dengan generator bebas karbon seperti SH-Box ini. Mereka bisa belajar teknik daur ulang yang lebih baik. Dan yang terpenting, mereka dapat berbagi dengan dunia apa yang telah mereka pelajari. Dan melalui jaringan informasi ini, satu orang bisa membuat sejarah.

Jadi jangan pernah menyerah! Jika Anda berpikir bahwa mematikan satu lampu untuk menghemat sedikit watt itu tidak artinya - pikir lagi! Memimpin dengan memberi contoh. Membantu memastikan lebih baik, masa depan yang lebih hijau bagi kita semua.

Diterjemahkan dari Bahasa Inggris. Artikel asli diterbitkan pada 26 Juni 2013 di http://annie65j.blogspot.sg/2013/06/do-you-still-trust-government.html

[ pemanasan global, proyek nrglab, research council, research council nrglab, ana shell, energy project, nrglab, nrglab pte ltd, nrglab сингапур, nrglab singapore ]

Teknologi Semakin Pintar, Mengapa Kota-Kotanya Tidak?

Ponsel pintar. Lampu dengan sensor gerakan. Mesin pencari  yang merekam riwayat pencarian kita dan otomatis-melengkapi pertanyaan kita sebelum kita menuliskannya secara lengkap. Ya – kita hidup di era di mana sebagian besar penduduk menuntut teknologi pintar untuk mengimbangi kekurangan mereka sendiri. Kita telah menyadari kesalahan dari cara kita sendiri. Umat manusia sendiri. Jadi mengapa kita tidak bisa menerapkan pemikiran yang sama untuk kota-kota kita yang kelebihan penduduk?

"Penerapannya  lebih lambat daripada yang kita inginkan," seperti diakui oleh Jim Sandelin , Senior Vice President  Schneider Electric, perusahaan penyedia energi asal Perancis. "Teknologinya sudah ada. Platform dan analisis, yang memberitahu Anda bagaimana bangunan dan peralatan bekerja, baru benar-benar datang dalam tiga atau empat tahun belakangan ini, dan [semakin] membaik saja."

Anda bisa masuk ke McDonald dan memesan makanan melalui sebuah menu layar sentuh interaktif. Asrama perguruan tinggi yang diatur dengan sistem pemanasan  dan pendingin yang hemat energi membantu mengurangi biaya dan konsumsi energi. Bahkan iPad sudah kelihatan seperti langsung dari Star Trek.

Jadi, setelah ini apa?

Pusat-pusat pengolahan data baru saat ini memungkinkan gedung-gedung perkantoran, jalan raya, stadion dan seluruh blok di kota dijalankan melalui jaringan tunggal dan terintegrasi yang menganalisis distribusi tenaga listrik. Namun,  saat pemerintah sudah mulai berinvestasi dalam transisi menuju “kota pintar,” pemilik bangunan swasta tetap menolak untuk membayar tagihan.

"Banyak investor yang tidak mau tahu [dengan energi hijau]," kata John Dawson, Direktur Regional Teknik Lincoln Properti, sebuah perusahaan manajemen di Dallas. "Mereka tidak ingin menghabiskan uang. Mereka mencari listrik yang sudah ada saja, jadi mengapa mereka harus membayar untuk itu? "

Tagihan listrik tahunan kota Dallas reguler biasanya bernilai puluhan juta dolar. Sejak tahun 2003, Balai Kota, Dallas Museum of Art, tempat parkir, dan puluhan bangunan perusahaan telah direnovasi dengan termostat otomatis, lampu dengan sensor gerak, dan insulasi  telah diperbaiki. Pemerintah mereka memprediksi penghematan energi selama dua tahun ke depan sekitar $ 30 juta.

Meskipun kota-kota di Amerika agak enggan untuk mendukung pembaruan yang hemat energi, di Eropa hal ini secara undang-undang justru dibutuhkan banyak negara. Menurut Steven Moore, seorang profesor perencanaan arsitektur di University of Texas, "Kebanyakan orang menolak perubahan karena mereka tidak dapat segera melihat manfaatnya. [Tapi] perubahan akan datang, dan akan ada peningkatan insentif agar lembaga dan pemerintah mau menerapkannya."

Namun membuat bangunan hemat energi jauh dari sekadar kesepakatan "sekali dan selesai". Ketika makin berumur, bangunan-bangunan mulai boros energi. Itulah sebabnya bangunan-bangunan tersebut membutuhkan perawatan rutin. Kegiatan operasionannya dipelajari. Gedung-gedung harus terus beradaptasi agar bisa tetap bertahan.

Sekarang pertanyaannya adalah: akan umat manusia beradaptasi dengan pemanasan global dan bertahan? Atau akankah kita gagal untuk belajar dari kesalahan kita, dan tergoreng bersama dengan planet ini?

Diterjemahkan dari Bahasa Inggris, artikel asli di publikasikan tanggal di 1 Juli, http://annie65j.blogspot.sg/2013/07/technology-is-getting-smarter-so-why.html

[ proyek nrglab, pemanasan global, nrglab, nrglab pte ltd, nrglab singapore, nrglab сингапур, annie j, ana shell, University of Texas, Steven Moore, John Dawson, Star Trek ]

Is fracking cracking our planet?

A new study reveals a startling correlation between hydraulic fracturing techniques aka "fracking" and increased earthquake activity. While pumping highly-pressurized water, sand, and chemicals into the ground, it’s only natural to expect some tremors, but it’s actually the disposal of wastewater following the process that leads to the largest quakes.

"Fortunately, there haven’t been any deaths [and the] damage has been limited to date, but it is obviously of concern to people as we think about the future of the energy economy," says William Ellsworth, a seismologist with the United States Geological Survey.

Between 2010 and 2012, over 300 earthquakes of a magnitude of 3 or higher were recorded across the Central and Eastern seaboard of the U.S. That’s way up from an average of 21 earthquakes per year from 1967 to 2000, Ellsworth points out.  

In southern California, the Salton Sea is experiencing more earthquakes than ever, and although the tremors are tiny, there is “a very small probability of triggering the 'big one'" on the San Andreas fault, claims Emily Brodsky, a geophysicist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

When the big one hits, you can say “goodbye” to the West coast. Laguna Beach, Santa Monica, San Diego – drowned.

Scientists aren’t sure how big these fracking induced earthquakes can get. (How scary is that? They’re supposed to be the experts!)

"We know a lot about the process that starts an earthquake — both natural and man-made ones — but what is really difficult for us to understand at this point is how far they will run once they get started," Ellsworth says.

Most induced earthquakes are tiny, but a few have been large enough to feel. Handfuls have even caused damage. Back in November of 2011, a 5.7 event near Prague, Okla. destroyed 14 homes and injured two people.

Nicholas van der Elst, a researcher at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, believes the quakes “wouldn't have happened if there wasn't this pumping to raise the pore pressures, but then they would've happened sooner or later even without the trigger. The trigger makes them happen now as opposed to later.”

Fracking to produce natural gas and oil requires pumping millions of gallons of water laced with chemicals and sand deep underground to break apart chunks of shale rock, freeing trapped gas to escape through fissures into wells.

The larger earthquakes are associated with injection of wastewater into underground wells, a technique used to dispose of the briny, polluted water that comes to the surface after the process is completed.

Do we have to choose between living in a world with a clean energy infrastructure and living in a world devoid of daily earthquakes?

NRGLab doesn’t think so. That’s why we’ve developed a number of alternative and renewable energy projects. Hopefully, we won’t have to rely on fracking for too much longer. Because who knows – the big quake could hit tomorrow…

[ United States Geological Survey, William Ellsworth, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, fracking, nrglab, nrglab singapore, nrglab сингапур, ana shell, anastasia samoylova nrglab, hydraulic fracturing technique ]

All in for change

Those who play it safe don’t make history. Those who put it all on the line, who risk everything for an idea that defies convention – they’re the ones who do. They mold the world to fit their vision for it. They constantly ask: “Why? How come? What if…” These are the type of people who fight for what the world tells them is wrong because deep down, they know it’s what the world needs.

People like Martin Cooper. In the 1970s, the former executive of Motorola pushed the company to develop a hand-held mobile phone. At the time, Bell Labs had a monopoly on the market with their car devices, and this was the mobile extent of the telephone, most thought. They would always need bulky batteries. They would always need chords. The car, therefore, seemed like the perfect fit for a phone. Besides – whoever thought they’d be able to order a pizza while on the way to pick it up? No one! So hooray for the car phone!

But Martin Cooper saw a different world. A better one. He saw a world where everyone had a phone in his or her pocket. Where you could talk while you walked. So, Cooper decided to take a gamble. He invested Motorola’s future in developing the cell phone, even though most said he was crazy, and that it couldn’t be done. (He was, at the time, trying to condense 30 lbs. of equipment into a 2 lb. device – no simple task).

However, on April 3^rd, 1973, Cooper took a stroll through Manhattan and dialed up his rival CEO at Bell Labs. The conversation was brief, but it marked the beginning of the cellular revolution. Less than half a century later, we’ve taken Cooper’s phone and figured out ways to add a camera. A calendar. A music player. A video game system. We live in an era of limitless connectivity. Of breaking news. Tweets, and tags.  And it all started with one man who was willing to risk everything on a vision for what was possible.

Well, we don’t just have one man, or woman, working with us on NRGLab’s Research Council. We have a team with a dream, and that dream includes clean- energy independence, affordable electricity bills, and socio-economic stability. We intend to be the chapter that ensures human history continues well into the future. And we’re willing to risk it all that we’re right.  

by Alex K

• sg.linkedin.com/pub/alex-k/67/5bb/60/

[ nrglab, nrglab pte ltd, nrglab singapore, nrglab сингапур, ana shell, annie j, Matin Cooper, Bell Labs, research council, research council nrglab ]