Impact of the Energy on the Environment and Society - Assignment Example

HOME ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY AUDIT DURING THE PERIOD OF ONE MONTH ENDING 3rd FEBRUARY, 2009 SUBMITTED BY Reg. No. /Enrolment No. University (University Emblem) Under the Supervision Of Faculty Name DEPARTMENT University Year of course Acknowledgments This Home Audit Report is the outcome of my sole effort with the advice and help of many. First I am indebted to the Almighty for the endless help and enthusiasm extended to me completing the work in time. I am also grateful to my Professor (Name here) for his/her valuable supervision and advice for producing a quality work. Next, I am thankful to each and every friend of mine for the help and enthusiasm they extended to me for completing the work without much difficulty. I am also thankful to the University (Name of the university) for the help and learning environment extended to me for studying and preparing a dissertation on finance. Finally, I would like to thank my parents for the warm influence and love which has been a source of inspiration for me for the successful completion of the work. CONTENTS Sl.No. Title Page No. 1.0 Executive Summary 5 2.0 Aims of the Home Audit 6 3.0 A Review of the Audit Plan 7 4.0 The Site Description 8 5.0 The Baseline Audit Plan 8 5.1 Documentation to be accessed 8 5.2 Methodologies (and justification) to be used in obtaining information 9 5.2.1 Electrical Appliances 9 5.2.2 Water Resources 9 5.2.3 Waste 9 5.3 The Aspects and its Impacts 10 Table No.1 Aspects and Impacts of Home Appliance 11 5.4 Methodologies (and justification) to be used in attaching significance to (i.e. prioritising) impacts 11 5.4.1 Significance filtering 12 Table No.2 Significance Matrix 12 5.4.2 Significance Matrix- Explanation 12 5.5 Time period 13 6.0 Baseline Audit Results 13 7.0 Suggestions 14 7.1 Electricity 14 7.2 Gas 14 7.3 Water 15 7.4 Waste 15 8.0 Summary 15 8.1 Time Line for Future Action 15 8.2 Improved Environmental Performance 15 8.2.1 Set of indicators 15 Table No.3 Set of Indicators 16 8.4 Limitations of the Audit 16 References 17-18 Appendices 19-22 1.0 Executive Summary Home environment and energy management assumes great importance in modern society as it ensures clean and hygienic surroundings and risk free environment. The environment in which people live is prone to serious epidemic diseases that can cause deadly threats to human kind. The efficient management of home surroundings protects home and its inhabitants from pollutants which contribute to the outbreak of serious illnesses to the people and make damages to homes. Similarly, energy management at home is also essential as it ensures savings of energy and money. The need for energy management is seriously felt in the present day world because of high cost and shortage of energy. Management of energy saves the money and resources not only of individual doing it, but that of the whole society and country as well. Thus, from macroeconomic point of view, energy management is indispensable for a country to sustain and develop in a situation where resource shortage is a serious issue. The two main energies used at home today are gas and electricity. It is indisputable that these two sources of energy are highly essential in human life and are dangerous at the same time. This calls for an efficient management of energies and the emissions that come out of the usage of gas and electricity. The usage of electricity emits carbon dioxide and it is likely to have adverse impact on human lives. A recent report documents that "in the UK, carbon dioxide emissions fell by 5 per cent between 1990 and 2005 despite a 43 per cent increase in GDP" (The Challenges 2006, p. 2). Turing to the impact of consumption of gas energy at home, the environment is affected by Benzene, one of the pollutants of the present day world. It is found that in the UK, 90 of the environmental pollution occur as a result of benzene (Air Pollutants 2006, Table 2, p. 34). It is also estimated that "Carbon dioxide contributed 85 per cent of the potential global warming effect of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases in 2004 in the UK" (Greenhouse gases 2006, p. 36). This report is the documentation of an environmental and energy audit undertaken at a home situated in West Midlands in the U K. The report contains the data pertaining to the survey conducted initially and the home audit undertaken thereafter. The initial research to gather data on energy consumption and its impact on environment was performed during the period between November 2008 and December 2008, and then home audit was taken place between 2nd January, 2009 and 3rd February, 2009. The house where the present audit has been undertaken is a detached stone built property, with two adults and 2 children having 2 and 1 years old. The property has 3 bedrooms, 1 lounge, 1 kitchen and a bathroom. The main aim of the present audit is to assess the energy usage of a home and its impact upon its surroundings. For this purpose data were gathered from the home and subsequently an audit was undertaken to verify that whether the data pertains to the usage of gas and electricity is relevant to the home and what impact does it make on environment. Moreover, the water usage at home and the recycling undertaken as part of energy savings come under the purview of the audit. 2.0 Aims of the Home Audit The main aim of the present audit is to assess the energy usage of a home and its impact upon its surroundings. As already mentioned, the environment in which a home is situated is getting affected by the emissions as a result of the usage of gas and electricity at the home. For this purpose data were gathered from the home and subsequently an audit was undertaken to verify that whether the data pertains to the usage of gas and electricity is relevant to the home and what impact does it make on environment. The audit also spells out some of the methods by which audit of this kind can be undertaken and what are the measures by which the impact of energy emission on environment can be assessed. The audit also tries to make a sense to energy users that how energy emissions can be reduced that are likely to have less impact upon environment. Furthermore, it seeks to find out the ways by which the energy usage can be reduced and thereby money can be saved. In the present home audit, the consumption of gas and electricity energy at the home is measured and compared with the average in the country to assess to what extent the home uses gas and electricity more or less than the average. It also throws light on the likely impact of the home's consumption of both energies on its environment. Ultimately, the audit aims to bring forth various benefits such as increased attention to consumption of scarce electricity and gas; low wastage; usage of eco-friendly methods of energy usage; indeed, monetary savings. 3.0 A Review of the Audit Plan This home audit was taken place during the period between 2nd January, 2009 and 3rd February, 2009 after the collection of data on energy consumption and its impact on environment. The initial research for data was performed during the period between November, 2008 and December, 2009 to support the audit to be undertaken later on. The audit is carried out in a home situated in West Midlands in the U K. The house where the present audit has been undertaken is a detached stone built property, with two adults and 2 children having 2 and 1 years old. The property has 3 bedrooms, 1 lounge, 1 kitchen and a bathroom. In addition to the light points inside the various rooms in the home, there is heat energy system inside the home orated by electricity. Electricity is used for lighting inside and outside the home, television, computer, heat energy system, and water heating. 4.0 The Site Description The audit is carried out in a home situated in West Midlands in the U K. The house where the present audit has been undertaken is a detached stone built property, with two adults and 2 children having 2 and 1 years old. The property has 3 bedrooms, 1 lounge, 1 kitchen and a bathroom. 5. The Baseline Audit Plan The home audit is carried out with the help of various data collected prior to the audit. The data were collected in respect of the electricity and gas consumption. Also, data were collected concerning the recycling of the resources and water usage. The way in which baseline audit is undertaken is discussed below: 5.1 Documentation to be accessed In order to understand the consumption rate, it is necessary to use the bills that are issued as a document proving the quantity of energy usage. Electricity bill, gas bill and water bill etc. are useful documents for the purpose. To measure the reliability of appliances such as fridge and cooker, the users' manual issued by the manufacturer is used and the information there from is compared with the average usage of similar homes in the same locality. All missing documents are accessed through the websites of manufactures of appliances. 5.2 Methodologies (and justification) to be used in obtaining information The following paragraphs discuss how the consumption rate of electricity, water and gas resources is computed and used for home audit: 5.2.1 Electrical Appliances When an electronic appliance is used, the number of units it consumes is noted down and the number of hours, on an average, that the appliance is used per day is calculated to ascertain the number of units of electricity it consumes. Accordingly, the daily consumption of electricity of all electronic appliances is computed and thereby the consumption during the period of audit is calculated. Then, the calculated consumption units are compared with expected rate of consumption, which is the average consumption rate by similar homes in the same locality. 5.2.2 Water Resources Similar to the computation of electricity consumption, water consumption is compared with the expected consumption. The consumption of water is expressed in litters per day and the same during the period of audit is calculated then. The purposes for water is used include: toilet flushing (No. Of times per day); showers (No of times per day); Cooking purposes (No. of times per day); Hand washing and tooth cleaning (No. Of times per day); The method for measuring water usage had to be used due to no water meter/ bill being available; this leads to the water usage identified to be an estimate. 5.2.3 Waste The unrecyclable waste was weighed and removed weekly. Two different recyclable media were glass and paper. These were also weighed and removed weekly. 5.3 The Aspects and its Impacts An aspect for the purpose of this audit means and includes the electronic appliance and equipment that can have interaction with the environment. The impact, in this context, refers to the likely effect (change, adverse or beneficial) on the environment the various appliances at the home have. The main aspects used in the home include lights of various sizes and types, gas stoves, cooker, and central heating system etc. The impacts of home appliances on environment are of two types; direct and indirect impact. The direct impact is the effect which the appliance is likely to make on the environment such as emission of dangerous pollutants, namely Carbon dioxide and benzene. These pollutants create direct and serious impacts on environment and human life. Below in Table 1 the aspects and impacts of the home audited are shown. Table No. 1 Aspects and Impacts of Home Appliance Aspect Direct and Indirect Impact on Environment Electrical equipments such as lights and other audio and video appliances Burning of fossils fuels which leads to the release of carbon dioxide (as a by-product) into the atmosphere, which leads to global warming Burning of fossil fuels, leading to loss of resources Central Heating System with gas Emission of Benzene that create hazards to human health Cooking Gas Emission of Benzene that create hazards to human health The unnecessary use of electricity and gas Wastage of scarce resources, money in addition to the above threats The high use of drinking water for showers and cleaning The use of a finite resource Flushing chemicals down the toilet and sink such as bleach and kitchen cleaning chemicals Contamination of ground water, also further energy is required to purify sewage The overuse of landfill sites to remove unwanted, unrecyclable waste New landfill sites may be needed, can also lead to land contamination Incineration of unwanted waste Damage to air quality 5.4 Methodologies (and justification) to be used in attaching significance to (i.e. prioritising) impacts After having identified the aspects and its impacts on the home environment, they are evaluated using a significance filter to determine its significance level to prove its acceptance as a criterion for further decision with regard to the usage of appliances. At this juncture, significance filtering is used to enable prioritising the environmental concerns 5.4.1 Significance filtering To decide upon whether there is any significance on the impact of the various aspects on home environment, a significance matrix is drawn. The significance Matrix exhibits the impact and its significance of aspects individually. The various parameters used in the table to fix the significance level include matrix of scale, severity, duration of the impact along with if the impact is irreversible are given scores. The maximum score that can be assigned to each category is 20. However, the score is given on purely subjective basis, which may have personal bias. The decision criterion is that higher the score, higher will be the impact of the aspect on the home environment. The matrix is arranged in such a manner that the total score of each aspect can be calculated and on the basis of which prioritisation (significance) can be given. After this, the risk is then analysed, this leads to the conclusion of how often the impact may occur, certain (C), low (L), medium (M) and high (H) this also helps with prioritisation of the environmental impacts. Given below is the significance matrix that exhibits all the above mentioned aspects: Table No. 2 Significance Matrix Impact Scale Severity Duration Irreversible Total Risk Use of electricity leads to the burning of fossil fuels, which leads to loss of resources 8 12 10 6 36 L Burning of fossil fuels leads to global warming 16 6 10 16 48 H Central Heating System with gas 4 6 12 2 24 M Cooking Gas 6 2 10 16 34 L The unnecessary use of electricity and gas 8 10 6 8 32 H Water contamination due to leakage from sinks, washing machine, toilet and shower 5 6 5 6 22 M Air pollution due to incineration of unrecyclable waste 8 5 3 8 24 H Over use of landfill sites due to unrecyclable waste 4 6 1 5 16 M Use of Water, loss of natural resource 5 8 5 8 26 H 5.4.2 Significance Matrix- Explanation Scale: Refers to how many people are affected/ how much of the environment will be affected by the impact, whether small or considerably more extensive. Larger the score, larger will be the number of people/environment is affected. Severity: how intense the impact is, the higher the severity score the higher its impact Duration: the longer the impact is in place, the higher the duration, leading to higher impact Irreversible: where at all possible irreversible impacts need to be prevented from occurring 5.5 Time period The audit was taken place during the period between 2nd January, 2009 and 3rd February, 2009after the collection of data on energy consumption and its impact on environment. The initial research for data was performed during the period between November, 2008 and December, 2008 to support the audit to be undertaken later on. 6.0 Baseline Audit Results The audit comes out with the following results: Power consumption in the kitchen is one unit more than the average Power consumption in the first bed room is excess by one unit Power consumption in the second bed room is less than by one unit what is expected. Power consumption in the third bed room is excess by three units Central heating system consumes excess power by 4 units Cooking gas consumption is more than what is required by an average house Water consumption is excess by 7 liters It is, therefore, necessary to prioritize the activities of the plan to economically utilize the energy and thereby saves money and environment. The activities are prioritized according to the level of risk involved in each case. The first is the direct risk to human health. The second is the risk to the natural environment. 7.0 Suggestions The present audit is concluded with the following recommendations that can lessen the impact of energy used at the home on its environment. The basic principle behind economical and less hazardous energy usage is that 'never use energy when it is not necessary'. Mostly, energy usage can be reduced by paying extra care and attention. The approach to decreasing energy use in the home centres upon three primary factors. The first is the physical structure of the home itself, the second is the energy efficiency of the appliances and other devices used in the home, and the third is the behaviour of the residents. As regards the first factor is concerned, environmental audit cannot contribute anything. The selection of home appliances that consume less electricity is highly important as majority of the excess energy comes out of the inefficiency of appliances and equipments. The attitude of the inhabitants of the home towards the careful energy usage of energy determines how necessarily energy is used and money is saved. 7.1 Electricity Objective: - To lessen the electricity consumption and thereby save money and resources Reduce the usage by 8%, which accounts for 2.48 units 7.2 Gas Objective: - To reduce the consumption of gas and save money Reduce the usage by 3 %, which accounts for 0.15 litres 7.3 Water Objective: - To reduce the consumption of water and save money Reduce the usage by 2.5%, which accounts for 0.825 litres 7.4 Waste Objective: - To reduce the waste and save money Reduce waste by 2.5%, which accounts for 1 kg 8.0 Summary 8.1 Time Line for Future Action A time line for future action to further improve the performance has been suggested. It is recommended that this time line should be followed strictly so that energy usage can be reduced and objectives fixed can be achieved. A Gantt chart has been prepared in this regard and the same has been given in the appendix (Appendix 4). 8.2 Improved Environmental Performance 8.2.1 Set of indicators On an analysis of the data that have been gathered to review the home energy usage, the following indicators have been recommended Table No.3 Set of Indicators Energy Target Present Consumption Reduction Improvement Electricity Reduce by 8% 31 units 2.48 units 28.52 units Gas Reduce by 3% 0.50 liters 0.15 liters 0.485Liters Water Reduce by 2.5% 33 liters 0.825 liters 32.175 liters Waste (unrecyclable) Reduce by 2.5% 40 kg 1 kg 39 kg 8.3 Limitations of the Audit Bills are the primary documents to be checked to know about the consumption rate. But bill were not properly maintained in the home The average consumption rate of power and gas was calculated on the basis of the past data in the same locality. So there are chances of personal bias The factors and their weights in the significance matrix are subjective The target fixed in the indicators table was also subjective References Air Pollutants, 2006, Table 2, Table 2 Principal air pollutants caused by energy consumption in 1990 and 2004, "Energy- its impact on the environment and society", Department of Industry, www.dti.gov.uk, viewed 11March, 2009, from, Catalano Cosmo, 2008, "Nationwide Environmental Audit Proposed in UK-Government". Viewed 10 March, 2009, from Electricity Monitors, Homeenergysavings.co.uk. Online, viewed 12 March, 2009, from "Electricity consumption data at regional and local authority level", Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Viewed 12 March, 2009, from Greenhouse gases, 2006, "Energy- its impact on the environment and society", Department of Industry, www.dti.gov.uk, viewed 12 March, 2009, from, Pearson Rebecca, 2008, "Emergency Savings Day fails to reduce Britain's electricity consumption", Country life- online, viewed 10 March, 2009, from The Challenges, 2006, "Energy- its impact on the environment and society", Department of Industry, www.dti.gov.uk, viewed 11 March, 2009, from, Shield Peter, 2007, "Electricity consumption growing in spite of efficiency drive says EU report 20.07.07". Home and Garden, natural choices.co.uk, viewed 11March, 2009, from Warren Andrew, 2008, "Home Energy Consumption has been reduced, but what are the reasons" Telegraph.co.uk. viewed 12 March, 2009, from West Rone, 2007, "Stand by for some home truths about power consumption". Guardian.co.uk. viewed 10 March, 2009, from, Appendices 1. Comparison of power usage of the home with similar homes in the same locality Power Consumption (in units) No of power points Daily Consumption Average Consumption Deficit Excess Kitchen 3 6 5 0 1 Lounge 1 2 3 0 1 Bedroom 1 3 3 2 0 1 Bedroom2 3 2 3 1 0 Bedroom3 5 5 2 0 3 Bathroom 2 1 1 0 0 Central Heating System 8 12 8 0 4 2. Comparison of Gas Consumption of the home with similar homes in the same locality (in liters) Daily consumption Average Consumption Deficit Excess Gas for Cooking 0.50 0.35 0 0.15 3. Comparison of Water Consumption at the home with similar homes in the same locality Water Consumption (in liters) No of water points Daily Consumption Average Consumption Deficit Excess Kitchen 2 6 5 0 1 Lounge 1 2 3 0 1 Bathroom 4 25 20 0 5 4. Time Line for Future Action Date start 04/02/09 Improvements A M J J A S O N D 9-Apr F M A M Electrical (S) change to energy saving light bulbs shorter usage of hair straighteners laptop turned off when not in use TV turned off when not in use passive solar gain to help warm room placing tin foil behind heater drop temperature of washing machine cycle to 300C use microwave instead of oven (M) attach thermostat to heater Separate switch for fan in bathroom (L) Insulate cavity walls Water (S) shorter shower time do not leave shower on for as long before using turn tap off whilst brushing teeth only use washing machine when have full load (M) install 'eco-flush' system in toilet (L) Improve water heating system Waste (S) recycle plastics, tin, clothes and newspapers reused plastics that cannot be recycled collect loose vegetables/fruit when shopping prevent unwanted packaging being used Read More