Gemcell Australia

After decades of debate, the verdict on global warming has finally been delivered and it's not good news. In response, energy management, a growing market sector that has long been a sleeping giant looks set for revival. Proposed future legislation could drive demand for energy saving solutions to unprecedented heights and when it does, contractors who make the decision to specialise in energy management could be riding the crest of a boom.

Most people in Australia are aware that weather patterns are changing to a greater or lesser degree. The changes vary depending on where you live but overall, weather changes seem to occur more often, and appear more erratic and unpredictable, than in the past. Some blame El Niño, a warm current that enters the eastern Pacific Ocean every three to seven years. With it come weather extremes including monsoons, storms, floods, drought and generally unusual weather conditions around the world. And there is little doubt that El Niño influences weather change in Australia. El Niño tends to reduce our rainfall, and when it happens to coincide with a pre-existing severe and protracted drought, the effect on Australia's meager water resources can be catastrophic.

But many of the world's leading scientists are more concerned with the pattern of change they observe in the earth's climate, change that most authorities now acknowledge is caused by the world's steadily increasing output of greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions are the by-product of the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, fuel oil, gas and petrol. The reason why these emissions are so environmentally destructive is that the emissions are rich in CO2 (carbon dioxide). But CO2 is a colourless, odourless gas that has been a component of the earth's atmosphere for aeons. Carbon dioxide is not itself a source of heat. So why has it been identified as the culprit for global warming

Why is global warming happening?

The science of global warming is a complicated subject for laymen, but the basic principles can be explained in quite simple terms. Greenhouse gases have the ability to trap heat in the earth's atmosphere. When greenhouse gases increase in proportion to other gases in the atmosphere, they increase the atmosphere's ability to act like the glass in a greenhouse, letting the sun's heat in and then trapping it, causing the atmosphere and in turn, the earth's surface, to become warmer. Water vapour is a most effective greenhouse gas, which is why, on an overcast night, the temperature can stay uncomfortably warm.

Carbon dioxide is not the most powerful greenhouse gas, but it is the most dangerous. Once CO2 has entered the earth's atmosphere it remains there for anything from 50 to 200 years, and very little can be done to remove it. In The Weather Makers, internationally acclaimed scientist and conservationist Tim Flannery's authoritative book on global warming, the author explains why an increased level of CO2 is so damaging to the environment: "…scientists discovered that rather than being the sole agent responsible for climate change, CO2 acts as a trigger for that potent greenhouse gas, water vapour. It does this by heating the atmosphere just a little, allowing it to take up and retain more moisture, which then warms the atmosphere further. So a positive feedback loop is created, forcing our planet's temperature to ever-higher levels."

Why is global warming so bad?

The temperature of the earth's surface has remained relatively stable at around 14 degrees centigrade for thousands of years. This has helped to keep weather patterns fairly consistent and it is for the same reason that the many plant and animal life forms on earth have been able to thrive. But scientists now understand just how critical it is for the survival of life on earth, that the earth's temperature stays at that level. And that is why they are so concerned that the earth's temperature is gradually increasing. For you and I the temperature increase has been so small and so gradual up to now that we do not really notice it happening. Those of us old enough notice that summers seem hotter and winters that once brought frosts do so no longer, and seem to be milder than they were twenty or thirty years ago. But life goes on.

Scientists however, can see the bigger picture. They can see the polar ice caps that have remained intact for centuries melting, and can measure the rate they are melting. They are observing that climate change is causing species of animals to die out - the golden toad, which disappeared from Costa Rica late in the 1980s is the first example of many they fear will follow. They are observing the thermal expansion of the oceans resulting in rising sea levels, they are observing the receding snow cover in the Snowy Mountains and they are observing that coral on our own Great Barrier Reef is beginning to disintegrate.

They understand that this has been caused by a miniscule temperature rise of just a fraction of one degree over the last century, and given that the environment sustains life by maintaining a very delicate temperature balance, and that the balance is being undeniably upset, we can understand why the alarm bells are sounding. Faced with irrefutable scientific evidence, we can no longer deny that if we continue to pump CO2 into the atmosphere at the rate we are now or even worse - at a greater rate, the upward curve on the earth's temperature chart gets steeper, with potentially catastrophic consequences, from here on in.

What is being done to fight global warming?

Most governments understand the urgency to curb the world's appetite for the products of the combustion of fossil fuels. They know that the power stations that burn anything up to 500 tonnes of coal per hour and provide the bulk of the electricity that powers the world's homes, offices and factories are the most prolific polluters when it comes to CO2 emissions. And they are working on it as a matter of urgency. Nevertheless, at a time when the last thing the planet needs is more greenhouse gas emissions, commercial enterprises are planning the construction of new coal-fuelled power stations in a number of countries.

Australia too could find it difficult in the short term to source a sufficiently economical alternative to coal for power generation, and although the Prime Minister is in favour of nuclear power stations, they will be built well into the future if they are ever built at all. Regardless of which direction government policy takes us, economic reality dictates that the existing, inefficient coal-fuelled power stations will continue to pump CO2 into the atmosphere for at best, some years to come. And such is the world's increasing appetite for electricity, the CO2 reductions necessary to reach emission reduction targets will be difficult to achieve without reducing the power consumption of hundreds of millions of people the world over.

The Kyoto Protocol. What it is, and what it means.

The Kyoto Protocol is an agreement made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Countries that ratify this protocol commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases, or engage in emissions trading if they maintain or increase emissions of these gases. The Kyoto Protocol now covers more than 160 countries globally and over 55% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. (source Wikipedia.org)

What are Australian governments doing about global warming?

The Australian Government Department of Industry Tourism and Resources (DITR) began Mandatory Corporate Energy Reporting on July 1, 2006. This is a program designed to encourage large energy-using businesses to improve energy efficiency. The Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO) program is currently targeted at about 250 of Australia's largest corporations (source Energetics' Newsletter July 2006). If you consider that this EEO program could be just the tip of the iceberg, this and similar programs could apply in future to most energy usage groups in Australia, possibly even private homes.

State and Territory Governments in Australia are looking at a number of initiatives, including the establishment of a national emissions trading scheme (NETS). A well-designed NETS could provide a user-friendly system to help carry the Australian economy more smoothly into an emissions-constrained future, and potentially link Australia to the carbon markets of the world.

However Australia's government has made no commitment to establishing an emissions trading scheme at this stage. Further details of Australia's position on emissions trading can be found on the website of the Australian Greenhouse Office at www.greenhouse.gov.au/emissionstrading.

Emmissions trading, the new currency for the new energy conscious age.

Trading in carbon emissions is one of the ways countries can meet their obligations to reduce carbon emissions under the terms of the Kyoto Protocol. Carbon emissions trading involves the trading of permits to emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, calculated in tonnes of carbon dioxide or its equivalent. Under the terms of the scheme, countries that do not meet their greenhouse gas emission targets can buy carbon credits from countries that have met theirs. Carbon dollars is the proposed currency for carbon emissions trading.

Carbon trading works something like this: A country (or group of countries) caps its carbon emissions at a certain level (this is known as cap and trade) and then issues permits to firms and industries that grant the firm the right to emit a stated amount of carbon dioxide over a time period. Firms are then free to trade these credits in a free market. Firms whose emissions exceed the amount of credits they possess will be heavily penalised.

The idea behind carbon trading is that firms that can reduce their emissions at a low cost will do so and then sell their credits on to firms that are unable to easily reduce emissions. A shortage of credits will drive up the price of credits and make it more profitable for firms to engage in carbon reduction. In this way the desired carbon reductions are met at the lowest cost possible to society. (source Wikipedia.org)

What can you, me and every Australian do to fight climate change?

If we have any chance to turn global warming around and put the planet back on track for sustainability and survival, scientific calculations conclude that we (the human race) must reduce our carbon dioxide emissions by around 70 percent by the year 2050. So it would seem that the problems we face and the actions we need take to ensure survival of future generations are fairly clear cut.

We burn fossil fuel every time we drive a motor vehicle, turn on a light or operate an electrical appliance. Air conditioners consume more electricity (and therefore cause more CO2 emissions) than any other appliance and from a global warming perspective are particularly bad. So we must find ways to use less electricity and in turn, burn less fossil fuel.

More and more electricity consumers are looking for ways to reduce their energy bills. In part, its because they realise that it's a guilt-edged investment, but the aforementioned "green" legislation, incorporating energy efficiency targets, must inevitably flow on to every other electricity user group. And as a result, reductions in CO2 emissions will justify the means.

The small things can make a BIG difference.

Every individual has the power to make a dent in global warming by simply not switching on anything electrical that doesn't need to be on, switching it off again as soon as we are finished, and minimising our use of big appliances - especially air conditioners. Other measures, such as turning TVs, stereo systems (and other appliances that have a standby mode) off at the switch can make significant power savings, as can replacing old, inefficient appliances such as fridges with new, energy efficient ones.

In addition, buying our electricity from suppliers that offer green power, instead of just renewing the same old supply contract can help save huge amounts of CO2 from finding its way into the atmosphere. Information is available that can help you make a choice by comparing power suppliers and what they have to offer. One helpful source of information can be found at www.electricitywatch.org.

How you can be part of the solution to global warming by making it your business.

If global warming has an upside, it could lie in the potential business opportunities that it could offer to electrical contractors, electrical engineers and related professionals. Energy management will soon become a high priority for consumers, especially large corporations that need to meet energy reduction targets. But in the future, even households will be looking more and more to save energy costs. Contractors with the knowledge and the qualifications can profit from the surge in demand for their services that must inevitably follow.

Meet a contractor who specialises in energy management.

An electrical contractor already servicing the demand for energy management solutions, Les Slade is the senior partner in B&L Electrics. Based at Kirrawee in Sydney's Sutherland Shire, Les and his son Daniel, an electrical engineer, have recently discovered the steadily rising market in designing, installing, upgrading and maintaining energy management systems for large high-rise buildings. I asked Les about how he and Daniel got into energy management, and how they were finding it.

"An increasing amount of our business these days is setting up water metering, gas metering and electrical metering that all monitors back to a central system," said Les. "By analysing the data that comes back, we can then make recommendations for conserving energy, and using energy more efficiently whether it be water or lighting or gas," Les explained.

"The energy management sector of our business is growing steadily," said Les. " It's becoming fairly large as people are become more and more aware of it. When we first began to look at this area about two years ago, people were aware of global warming but really did not want to know about it. Now as time goes on it's just like a snowball. It just keeps growing and growing and growing," said Les.

"We can see that the business we are getting into is massively expanding, and we can only imagine where it's going to be in the next two years. Once the government begins to legislate to set energy targets and if trading in carbon dollars and carbon credits kicks in, the demand for energy management will explode," Les explained.

Yet Les also pointed out that energy management is an area that can become very technical, and contractors who do not want to get involved in the technical side of things could be left behind. "They really need to come up to speed with it," Les advised. Les has all his electronics certificates, is qualified in programming CBus and C-Touch and keeps up to date with developments. And along with son Daniel, an electrical engineer, the two of them have the technical expertise and hands-on skill that the energy management sector demands.

Les identified lighting in high-rise office buildings as one area where dramatic savings can be made instantly and relatively economically. "Many commercial buildings are lit up day and night, irrespective of whether or not the building is occupied," said Les. "By introducing an energy management program in conjunction with energy controllers, movement detectors and C-Bus controls, companies can make huge savings in their energy bills."

Case Study: Defence Department Building, Sydney

As a case in point, Les and Daniel recently completed an energy management project on a 25 level building for the Defence Department in Sydney. Although the department's outlay on that job was just over $300,000, B&L Electrics has performed an energy saving upgrade that will save their client $92,500 per year off their lighting bill, so the work will pay for itself in 3 years. And from that time onward the department will save that amount (or more) every year.

Energy Performance Contracts – the way of the future?

There is no longer doubt that many more Australian business, industrial and government organisations will be forced to upgrade old and inefficient energy systems in the near future. But given the understanding that few commercial enterprises, government or private, have the funds readily available to pay for the upgrades, how will the work be financed? One answer could be EPCs, or Energy Performance Contracting.

Energy Performance Contracting is an innovative form of contracting that was developed in order to overcome the risk and capital cost that are most often the stumbling blocks to delivering cost-effective energy efficiency. Although primarily designed in the USA, Energy Performance Contracting is now beginning to gain momentum in Australia, and although case studies indicate that government utilities have been the major customers up until now, EPCs are certain to gain increasing acceptance from commercial customers in the private sector.

Information obtained from the NSW Department of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability (DEUS) includes a dedicated web page on EPCs, including confirmation that $40 million is currently available through the NSW Treasury Loan Fund for water and energy efficiency projects accessed via EPC or, for smaller projects under $500,000, through the Government Energy and Water Efficiency Investment Program (GEEIP).

Because the savings are guaranteed, they can be used to pay off the capital cost with very little risk to the agency, even over longer payback periods of five, six or even ten years. An Energy Performance Contract can cover a single site or technology (such as lighting) or multiple sites and multiple technologies – all funded by future savings.

EPC Projects that have received NSW Treasury Loan funding include:

• Midwest Area Health Service - $2.1 million EPC covering five hospitals and a linen service, included replacing coal or oil-fired systems with high-efficiency gas-fired boilers, installing direct digital control of heating systems and lighting upgrades. Annual savings $522,700 with a simple payback of 5 years. This equates to a saving in CO2 emissions of 2,756 tonnes p.a.
• Attorney General's Department - $804,970 lighting and airconditioning upgrade project at five courthouses. EPC guaranteed annual savings of $103,395. This equates to a saving in CO2 emissions of 1,194 tonnes p.a. (source www.deus.nsw.gov.au/energy). A further link on the DEUS website accesses many more case studies. Further information on EPCs and global warming in general can be obtained from the Australian Greenhouse Office, Department of the Environment and Heritage in Canberra, ACT.

Some energy-saving products and ideas.

If you want to make the most of energy savings a 'big picture' system appraisal is necessary. Yet individually or collectively, there are many clever and innovative products on the market that yield worthwhile energy savings. Efficient energy management runs the gamut of products such as energyefficient lamps, time switches, photo-electric switches, dimmers, time delay switches and movement sensors as well as home automation systems and green power options.

Energy Controllers

Designed for installation into fluorescent lighting circuits, the Clipsal Energy Controller offers an energy saving of up to 30% of the power used by fluorescent lights, with minimal impact on light levels.

Time Switches and Time Delays

By removing the margin for human error they help prevent energy being wasted by ensuring lights are not left on in areas that are unoccupied. The HPM XL770T light switch with built-in timer offers multiple switching options and can be combined with motion detectors.

The Legrand AlphaRex time switch contains a host of versatile features that aid ease of programming including a Holiday Program, Pulse Function, Random Mode, Hour Counter and Data Key.

Motion detectors

A wide range covers most applications including domestic and commercial, interior or exterior. For example, Clipsal 753 series Infrascan 360 degree motion sensor is ideal for interiors, fits like a downlight flush into ceilings and offers a 360 degree detection range over 14 metres. For exterior applications, Infrascan outdoor motion sensor is weatherproof, can be fitted in exposed locations.

Photoelectric switches

Also called sunset switches, photoelectric switches like Clipsal's 56 series or HPM's model PE170R weatherproof light sensitive switch can turn lights on at dusk, off at dawn or can be programmed. These are often incorporated into sensors.

Dimmers

Save energy when full brightness of lamps is not required.

Energy efficiency upgrades

Many new products operate with greater efficiency than older products. Legrand's LED Slide Connect G2 EXIT sign is a case in point. Offering the ability to plug straight into the old series base module, G2 offers substantial energy savings over the old series.

Clipsal Lean & Green Domestic
Clipsal Lean & Green Commercial/Industrial

Comprehensive guides to energy efficient products and energy efficient practices published by Clipsal. Both booklets include detailed information on what products to use and the savings that can be expected. Greenhouse gas reduction figures included.

For more details or information on how you can obtain a copy of these booklets, inquire at your Gemcell electrical wholesaler.

Earth Hour – Sydney asked to turn off the lights for global warming

On March 31st this year at 7.30pm, the lights of Sydney will be extinguished for 1 hour. Well, at least that is the plan if World Wildlife Fund (WWF Australia) is successful in the first objective of a campaign to reduce Sydney's greenhouse gas emissions by 5 percent by March 31st, 2008. Information on the WWF website www.wwf.org.au/news reveals that the campaign, launched with the support of The City Of Sydney and the NSW Government is hoping to persuade households, businesses, utilities, government bodies etc to turn off the lights for one hour. The electricity saved along with the greenhouse gas emissions will be measured and the impact on global warming calculated.