Energy is something we are accustomed to, just look to the nearest wall and you will probably see the quizzical faces of an electrical outlet staring back at you. the question is how comfortable should we really be with having near unlimited power for almost nothing. I say we should be very comfortable with this because it is absolutely natural. We got here using massive quantities of low cost energy from the sun. So we should embrace the use of this resource and if we act in the next 4 billion years its free. if we can effectively limit our energy usage from power plants we can all reduce our emissions and make the world a cleaner place and I want to see if that is doable.
My goal over the next week is to only use the amount of energy that a photovoltaic cell or solar panel of my dimensions could generate. I am about 5 foot 8 and about 2 feet wide so a solar panel of my dimensions would be 1632 inches square and if the average solar panel can produce 70 milliwatts per square inch, than a panel that is my size would produce 114,240 milliwatts an hour or around 114 watts. I will only be allowed to use this amount of energy if I spend time outside in the sun or at least near a window. I will be monitoring the weather each day and evaluating how much sunlight I will be able to absorb and convert to electricity. I will also be trying to estimate the level of electricity in all of my daily activities. Everything from the lights in my room to the food I eat to the temperature of my water has an electrical cost and If I want to live by this goal I need to be able to calculate that cost.
For my time to reflect on my on the experiment I will take a thirty minute bike ride near campus. This will give time to think about how my new lifestyle impacts differ from my old in addition to giving me some additional electricity that I will be allowed to use. My hope is that by understanding how much energy I need each day I can begin to see which uses of electricity are most wasteful and unneeded for a happy and healthy life. Energy costs are the only thing I am limited by if I can afford the extra electricity maybe I will treat myself to a ride in an elevator or charging my computer but if not I will have to make do without. It will be interesting to see what becomes the most difficult resources to have missing from my life and if I find any good alternatives or enjoyable aspects of limiting my access to endless power. If I can have people take away one thing from reading this blog it is to better understand your own energy consumption and potential wastes. If you see one area where you cut your consumption a sustainable future is that much closer.
Hey Daniel!
ReplyDeleteI really like the way your introduction you start with the quizzical faces of electrical outlets, it is rather humorous, which is fun. Then you transition into then real "meat" of your project with out waiting dragging your intro out. I enjoyed reading about your idea for your project because it was very original. You obviously spent a lot of time figuring out the logistics of your project ( also you did a lot of math- good for you!)