Calculating the real cost of living... (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Calculating the real cost of living...

12:09pm Wednesday 27th May 2009 in

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A cracking book has just been published, written by a very clever physics professor at Cambridge. It not only clarifies many facts about energy and climate change but it is written in a chatty and understandable manner, and he simplifies the figures. It’s available to read online at withouthotair.com Sustainable Energy – Without Hot Air, by David Mackay, aims to make sure we have enough energy for future use when we run out of fossil fuels, that it’s source is secure and that emissions are reduced to slow down climate change. His conclusions are informative and challenging.

In 2000, six billion people produced 34 billion tonnes of CO2 – nearly six tonnes each. The UK share was 11 tonnes each, and it would be double if our imports were counted. To stop the temperature rising three degC by 2100, we need to produce just one tonne each.

All his energy figures are in kilowatt hours per day – that is the energy used to keep a 40 watt light bulb on for a day. (40 x 24 = approx 1,000), and one kWh/day is about the work you would get from one human servant.

l A typical car uses 40 kWh/day, and an intercontinental flight once a year is 30kWh/day, that is slightly more than leaving a one kW electric fire on continuously for a year.

l A hot bath uses five, a kettle uses one, a tumbler drier, two, and the heating of a house uses 24 kWh/day.

l All the gadgets – from phone chargers to vacuum cleaners – come to five kWh/day, with the shock being a laser printer on standby at 17.

l Food is interesting with vegetables, dairy and pet food at two each, whereas meat is eight.

l Newspapers and packaging add another 48 kWh/day.

l The final total of energy needed by each one of us is 195 kWh/day.

He goes on to show that the total possible from renewable sources is 180 kWh/day though as this involves 75 per cent of the land growing fuel crops and five percent covered with solar panels the figure will be much lower particularly as we are very good at saying no to renewable energy and nuclear schemes. We must start saying yes.

He concludes that we should aim to electrify all transport and domestic heating, particularly using ground and air heating systems, with the energy coming from our own renewables, desert solar power, nuclear schemes and, if they work, carbon captured coal power stations.