It is important to save energy and focus upon energy resources and alternatives that can help us in reducing the carbon footprints (Alley 205-210). We shall first of all analyze the costs that incurs in utilizing the various electrical appliances on a daily basis. We shall further, provide details on how much amount of CO2 is released in the atmosphere, through these energy appliances. And, finally, we will provide recommendations to save energy in the future.
Looking into the dorm room provided in a given website source, there are in all 16 items. These include overhead lights, alarm clock, desktop lamp, TV, MP3 stereo, Iron, Toaster, Vacuum, Air Conditioning, Oscillating Fan, Laptop, Gaming Console (Xbox), Cell phone and Charger, Coffee Pot, Microwave, and Refrigerator. Some of the daily used items will include Alarm clock, which will consume 5.55 Watts. The desktop lamp, which consumes 58 Watts. TV will consume 84 Watts, Laptop will consume 180 Watts, Cell phone and Charger will consume 5.5 Watts, Iron will consume 1100 Watts, Desktop Lamp will consume 58 Watts, and Microwave will consume 800 Watts. Even, Osculating Fan consumes 72 Watts. The refrigerator will consume 600 Watts.
We might turn the Air Condition on for some time, which will consume around 7040 Watts. But, some of the items such as vacuum, gaming console, coffee pot, MP3 stereo, and Toaster will not be consumed on a daily basis. Now, let us consider the consumption times for each of these items, and accordingly determine the costs associated with it.
It is found that, for consuming alarm 24 hours a day, will cost $0.445. Similarly, for using desktop lamp for four hours, laptop for six hours, TV for six hours and gaming console for two hours, it costs, $0.776, $3.615, $1.687, and $1.238 respectively. On a similar note, keeping the Air Conditioning System on for 24 hours a day with 80◦C, it costs around $7.439. Playing MP3 Stereo for 24 hours, using the Cellphone and Charger for 1.5 hours, and using Iron for 0.25 hours will costs $0.321, $0.027, and $0.92 respectively. Finally, using refrigerator for 24 hours will be costing around $48.211. Using Microwave, Coffee Pot for 0.5 hours each, Toaster for 0.05 hours, and Vacuum for 0.1 hours will be costing $1.339, $1.004, $0.167, and $0.251 respectively. Keeping Fan on for 10 hours a day will cost $2.41. Thus, the total amount turns out to be around $63.98 per day, which seems to be more. Thus, the most expensive items were laptop, Air Conditioning, Refrigerator and Microwave. These were the items that turned out to be expensive to run.
The prediction was accurate since the figures obtained were reliable and even the usage occurred on the basis of my needs. Finally, the other energy items that are energy intensive and costly to operate include water geyser and dishwasher. These items have been my daily needs and hence, I cannot ignore them from my daily usage. However, they consume a lot of energy and are even turning out to be costly to operate in my household. I thereby, need to find out alternative solutions so as to replace my current electrical appliances with them.
Now, let us consider, The Nature Conservancy’s carbon footprint calculator, in order to measure my impact on our climate. It will estimate how many tons of CO2 and other greenhouse gases I am exposing through the usage of electrical appliances and other utilities, to our atmosphere. For simplicity purpose, I will be calculating only for myself. Consider I am living in Arizona, with single family game attached. It has one bedroom. As a result, I am emitting around 20 tons of CO2 eq/year. There are certain steps taken by me to heal and cool my home efficiently from the saving the energy perspective. I have installed efficient lightning in some lights. I sometimes use the Energy Star appliances and electronic appliances. However, I always unplug the equipment that is not in use. Finally, I have taken steps to reduce energy used for hot water, as I prefer cold water. Thus, the total greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced to 18 tons of CO2 eq/year. In order to offset my carbon footprint, I need to donate $240. The U.S. national average is 20.40 metric tons for the total carbon output (Mohammadfam et al. 31-47). However, it is surprisingly to note that, the world average for carbon footprint is only 4 metric tons. Thus, I am nearly exposing 16 tons more. Thus, I need to take steps to reduce my carbon footprint, in order to save the energy for the future.
In order to reduce the carbon footprint, I would implement the following ways:
- Save energy by switching off electrical appliances when not needed
- Try to cook more on the gas-stove instead of preparing the food in Microwave
- Travel through either bicycle or energy-efficient vehicles
- Opt for energy saving electrical appliances
- Reduce carbon emissions from the vehicles
- Increase green plantation on a daily basis
- Motivate the family members to opt for similar strategies (Harte 223-236)
- Do not waste the energy every now and then
- Minimize the energy consumption as much as possible
- Finally, opt for the green energy initiatives to save energy for the future
It is thus, indeed very much important to save energy, reduce CO2 emissions, and protect our world from polluting the environment (Alley 205-210). I will implement these strategies so as to achieve the desired energy saving goals in my life.
Reference
Alley, R.B. “Abrupt Climate Change.” Science 299 (2003): 205-210.
Mohammadfam, I., G.N., Saraji, A., Kianfar, and S., Mahmoudi. “Developing the health, safety and environment excellence instrument.” Iranian Journal of Environmental Health Science & Engineering 10.7 (2013): 31-47.
Harte, J. “Human Population as a Dynamic Factor in Environmental Degradation.” Population Environment 28 (2007): 223-236.
