How We Use Energy
Mar 5th, 2008 by solarbill
We hardly ever do any “work”. (In Physics work is defined as the increase in “potential energy” of an
object.) By this definition, if you were to ride your bicycle to Ventura and back to Ojai you would not have done any “work”. The energy potential of you and your bicycle would not have changed, therefore no “work” was done. This is not quite true as you would probably have warmed the bike up a bit increasing its potential energy. If you had brought a watermelon back with you, you would have done work. This is because the watermelon is now about 800 feet higher than it was in Ventura. You have increased its “potential energy”.
Almost all the effort you put into getting the bike to move has been dissipated in heat from friction. You could say you have done work in that you warmed the air in Ventura County some. Probably not measurably. The same concept holds true if you drove your car.
The point here is that, by in large, the energy we consume ends up as heat in the environment.
As an ecologically-minded person my intent is to create a cycle of energy usage that puts as little energy into the environment as possible. Another way to say this is that I want to recycle energy.
In order to use energy one needs to find a difference in potential. The sun shining on something warms it more than the surrounding environment, creating a “potential energy”. The wind making something move does this as well. So does the difference in temperature between the ocean and the air, or the movement of the waves or tides.
There are many ways to collect usable energy. Many of them can be done in a way that does not harm the environment. Our biggest personal uses of energy are:
- Transportation, usually driving a car
- Home heating and cooling
- Water heating
- Water pumping for pools
- Refrigeration
- Home lighting
- Home appliances
Typically in the above order. Using less energy is often the easiest way to decrease our energy footprint.
I challenge you to reduce your energy footprint on the planet.
How can you become more energy efficient? Are you running a freezer you rarely use? Do you or yours leave lights on unnecessarily? Do you leave your car idling? Do you plan your trips to be efficient? Have you installed energy efficient devices? Have you taken advantage of natural solar energy. These are a few questions you might ask yourself. I’m sure there are many others you can come up with as well.