There is no better time to emphasize on the importance of energy efficiency than now considering the reality facing the world in terms of dwindling economy.

Even electronics makers are shifting to energy efficient products by updating or even radically changing designs to focus more on energy efficiency.

Why would someone be wasting say 900W of electricity every single hour when 75W of electicity is enough to achieve the same purpose? Why pay 12 times what you should be paying to PHCN simply because you do not want to take energy efficiency serious?

Why would PHCN and the relevant agencies in the power sector not take the issue of energy efficiency serious considering the fact that they cannot even march the demand for electricity today.

Take a look at your electronics and other home appliances in your homes and offices and see whether you can reduce your energy bills today and forever.

From electric incandescent bulbs that are energy inefficient to TVs, CRT based computer monitors, refrigerators to ACs that are unnecessarily power hungry the story is the same, we have energy efficient alternatives to these products and there is no reason why we cannot embrace them.

Even if the government refuses to do anything we should be able to crash our energy bills and divert the excess funds into other productive ventures.

Some of the many advantages of energy efficient products are reduced energy bills, smaller inverter backup systems for those that use them, smaller capacity generators for those that still depend on generators for backup power.

I have deliberately left out the issue of global warming and the part reduced carbon dioxide emissions play in reducing it because we have more than enough politics going on in that area so I will leave that to the environmentalists to defend or promote. Right now I want us to see the immediate benefits of embracing energy efficiency since we are most likely going to get involved in ventures that easily show whether we can make more money or lose more money based on our choices.

It is a win win situation, in fact there is no downside to it and as such should be the newest song in our mouths today.

As for the government, the current price of crude oil is enough to make it clear that the power to decide what people would pay for our oil does not lie with the government and it is very possible that one day the demand for crude oil will be so low that some states cannot even survive on the proceeds from crude oil sales.

Maybe the time is now for the government to promote or initiate alternative energy projects that could even be exported to other countries.

We have more than enough natural and human resources that could be taken advantage of to provide steady power supply to all Nigerians and even have enough to export to other countries.

With solar energy getting cheaper, wind turbines getting smaller, cars running on electricity forward thinking investors and governments should understand that the world is seriously moving towards alternative energy and energy efficiency.

You can reduce your energy requirements today or you can increase it, the choice is ultimately yours.

hyperballer1@yahoo.com. I've sent you an email. I hope you'd be able to reply.

naijacutee:

I agree with you, Afam. Energy efficiency is a serious issue, however even more serious is the issue of acquiring energy in the first place. Igbo people say "Ekpere niile bere n'Amen" (All prayers end in Amen). I'm sure many Nigerians would give anything to have constant, uninterrupted electricity regardless of what source it comes from - clean or dirty. It is only when basic electric demands are met, that people can then decide "Since the light is always on, lets switch off the computer, instead of leaving it on standby to save bills". . . If the light suddenly comes on after 2/3 days, ones first instinct would be "lets charge this, that and the other. . "

Hello,

Thanks for your comments.

The interesting thing about energy generation and usage is that there is this delicate link that is so vital. Unless we are producing excess electricity the energy that is usually wasted could be used by others. Put differently, PHCN would be able to serve more people if they can recover a lot of energy that is usually being wasted by Nigerians, it doesn't matter if these Nigerians are paying for the energy, what matters is that the energy comes from a pool and managing this pool is very important if we want to see reasonable steady power supply.

A strong policy towards stopping the importation of energy inefficient products into the country will go a long way.

With energy efficient products alone the energy need of Nigerians and Nigeria could drop from say 11,000MW to say 3,000MW and you will agree with me that it is easier, cheaper and more likely to generate 3,000MW than it is to generate 11,000MW.

.

Phony200:


@Afam,
I tire for you o. The numbers listed on your website as contact, i called and one rude man picked up. When the call disconnected, i had learnt nothing. Then i email the addresses on your site and post here that i have, no reply. I go like buy inverter for christmas. My email is still on this thread. In case you have extra time between your numerous activities and clients, you can email. Thank you.
P.s hyperballer1@yahoo.com or 08032956339. Either way, hope i hear from you. [color=#990000][/color]

One rude man? What did the rude man tell you? What did you ask for? Clarify so that others will understand you.

I remember picking a call from someone that asked me to tell him the cost of inverter, backup and installation cost and I told the person that the cost of inverters is on the website, the cost of batteries on the same website.

You cannot get a quote for a backup solution when the service provider does not know the loads you want to power (this determines the inverter capacity), the backup time required (this determines the battery bank) and the type of wiring system in the person's house or office.

So, if you were the person that made that call it may be that you were asking the wrong questions and when you were advised on what to do you felt the person was being rude. Trust me when I say this; time is money and I will not spend my time repeating what has been made available on the website, that is the whole essence of having a website.

I cannot handle 1000 calls in a day but the website can effectively handle 1000000 visitors in a day.

I was not asking the wrong question. I told you i wanted your opinion for an inverter system capable of carrying a regular 3 bedroom flat, normal light bulbs, fans, television and a couple of small electronics. If i saw it on your site, will I be wasting my precious time and credit to call you? I asked the questions, you kept referring to your website. I told you i was currently on the website and didn't see the information i was looking for. I'm not arguing with you on who's right or not. I just want a bleeding inverter system! For the sake of not sounding like a troublemaker, i'll go back to the site and help myself. If i don't see what perfectly describes my situation, i'll not waste your precious time and mine any longer.

A 2 bedroom flat could run appliances that are more in number compared to a 5 bedroom bungalow depending on what the person is using.

So, things like regular 3 bedroom flat and a couple of electronics don't help in inverter backup systems as every single load must be accounted for since that is what will be used to determine the inverter capacity required and the number of batteries needed to provide any autonomy needed.

So, without a list of appliances and their power ratings known any service provider telling you anything about an inverter capacity or number of batteries needed is doing guess work and this unnecessary guess work has caused a lot of problems for Nigerians.

NB: It is good that you have given your reason for calling the person that answered your call rude - asking you to visit the website where all these things have been made available. Good luck to you.