Individuals, businesses can ease power grid load

– One World


Amy Oberlin

Amy Oberlin

Just think of your grandparents, sweating their summers away in their dark homes, windows shaded against the scorching sunlight.

The cool of the night would come and they would open the windows again, allowing the breezes to chase away some of the cloying dankness as they tried to sleep in 80-degree heat.

You yourself may remember the days when every home did not have central air conditioning, before you had to walk into the Walmart on a steamy summer day to be assaulted by skin numbing frostiness.

I dread the warm season in the office because I have to dress for the summer outside but yet I am forced to shiver inside. I know people who run heaters under their desks because of the Artic air conditioner blast.

The first modern air conditioner was invented in 1902 by Willis Haviland Carrier, an engineer who began experimenting with the laws of humidity control to solve an application problem at a printing plant in Brooklyn, New York. In 2000, air conditioning/ refrigeration was named among the 10 greatest mechanical engineering achievements of the 20th century, according to a survey of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers members.

Truly, I prefer life with air conditioners as compared to without them, and as the climate continues to warm, they will be more needed. The double-edged sword would be the stress on the energy grid ¬ especially if you figure in the heaters you use because you are cold because of the air conditioning – and the resulting greenhouse gases created by the need to power all these modern conveniences.

“From California to Texas to Indiana, electric-grid operators are warning that power-generating capacity is struggling to keep up with demand, a gap that could lead to rolling blackouts during heat waves or other peak periods as soon as this year,” says a May 8 article in the Wall Street Journal. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, which oversees a large regional grid spanning much of the Midwest, said late last month that capacity shortages may force it to take emergency measures to meet summer demand and flagged the risk of outages.

Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, adopted an energy conservation and greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategy. It also provides information for individual students and professors to help the overall stability of the power source.

“Your behavior to conserve energy is also a key component to success and in some older buildings, the only way to implement demand response,” says information provided on the university’s web site. Many of us live and work in older buildings where high-efficiency, energy-saving appliances are not in use.

These are some tips from Harvard:

• Turn off all unnecessary electronic devices.

• When gone for an hour or more, turn off computers, monitors, copiers and printers whenever possible.

• If you have a laptop, work from battery power.

• Turn off all non-essential lights and use energy-efficient task lighting in place of overhead lighting.

• Raise the thermostat in your area by a few degrees, where applicable.

• Close the window shades and blinds.

• Use stairs instead of elevators if you are able.

• Plan high-energy use meetings or events in the mornings.

• Turn off laboratory equipment when not being used.

Not everyone is using lab equipment and laptops. But most of us have appliances plugged into the wall. How many of us are running heaters in over-air-conditioned offices?

Here is a solution for the heater-in-the-summer problem. Keep a sweater and a blanket in the office. I find it depressing to be bundled up in a cold cubicle in July but it would probably be worse if the power went out and we went back to what the building was like without electricity.

NIPSCO offers a free home energy assessment, and it can even be conducted virtually. Call 800-721-7385 to set up an appointment.

NIPSCO also has an incentive program for businesses wishing to become more energy-efficient. Through June 1, a 20% bonus is being offered for those installing replacement lighting.

Agricultural, large commercial, governmental, industrial, institutional and non-profit customers can earn incentives for making electric and natural gas energy efficiency improvements. NIPSCO’s program rewards customers when they replace costly, less efficient systems with high-efficiency equipment on a one-for-one basis. Projects can include lighting, space heating systems and controls, steam trap repair, replacement and boiler burner controls.

New incentives have been added this year featuring energy-efficient technology for agricultural projects including lighting, fans and dairy.

Not every business or home is the same, and they certainly are not the same as they were when your grandparents were young. We all have a role to play in keeping things great.

One World is a weekly column delving into the responsible use of our resources. Ideas and suggestions are welcomed at editor@hurdmedia.com.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *