A Penny Saved

Ben Franklin once said a penny saved is a penny earned. It also applies to our current energy situation. A kWh saved is a kWh generated. In fact a kWh saved probably reduces more CO2 emission and is generally better for the planet than using renewable energy to make energy.

The problem is that saving is not sexy. At a recent solar conference a speaker was talking about a PV system he installed at his house and how he also installed a high efficiency pool pump. It turns out that he saved just as much energy with his pool pump as he made with his PV system but for a fraction of the cost. Everyone laughed, yet few left the room determined to focus on energy efficiency. Yet this is the low hanging fruit, and the fact that we don't diligently pursue efficiency instead of subsidies for grid-tied PV systems says something fundamental about our reasoning or possibly our motives. Are we really interested in using our resources wisely? Have we lost the ability to reason or calculate?

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