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Fair Penalized for saving energy?
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When I read that the utility company wants to charge me more because they projected more profit and because we all saved energy they didn't make as much, I started thinking, Why should I try to save energy if it will only cost me more? What would you recommend?
A. Get with the program! Go for quality of life, spend to save, and enjoy health and simplicity. Your logic makes little sense. After 30-plus years in the building trade, I remember, and hopefully learned from, the many changes in energy "thinking." Stressfully we waited in lines for hours to get gas, and I wondered, as I studied energy-efficient building design, why my university closed the library early in winter to cut costs and save energy, but kept the voluminous gym open.
Then SUVs hit the road with a vengeance, homes grew larger, with more glass, and the "me" generation consumed. All this time, architects tried to convince clients to be energy-wise, orienting roofs for future solar panels that were then too expensive, adding more insulation, and using efficient windows to hold heat and gather more light. I guess I never forgot what I was taught by the angry motorists, the environmental design professors, the closed library, and the SUVs I still can't see around in traffic. Conserving energy improves our quality of life. It saves money, cuts down the pumping of manmade fumes into the air that the planet needs to survive, and makes living simpler and healthier.
I once got a strange look from a politician for asking a question at a dinner because he introduced himself as a "conservative" and went on to scoff at acid rain, global warming, and pollution controls that were "stifling our American way of life." I asked him, "As a conserve-ative, what then are you trying to conserve?" Our way of life is based on quality of life, not just the income we accumulate. And if we're not saving money because the utilities raise our rates for conserving, that's not a good reason to avoid conserving. The utilities have been asked to reduce their request, anyway, but, again, it contradicts the typical scenario I'm presented by clients, who are almost always asking to keep things simple.
As we cocoon in our homes, using low-maintenance materials, buying ever-more elaborate entertainment systems, state-of-the art appliances, and beds that adjust at the touch of a button, it's obvious we want to simplify our personal lives by staying at home, even though it's a complicated process to achieve that. Conserve, and ignore the illogical utilities. They, too, have to get with the program. Good luck!
A. Get with the program! Go for quality of life, spend to save, and enjoy health and simplicity. Your logic makes little sense. After 30-plus years in the building trade, I remember, and hopefully learned from, the many changes in energy "thinking." Stressfully we waited in lines for hours to get gas, and I wondered, as I studied energy-efficient building design, why my university closed the library early in winter to cut costs and save energy, but kept the voluminous gym open.
Then SUVs hit the road with a vengeance, homes grew larger, with more glass, and the "me" generation consumed. All this time, architects tried to convince clients to be energy-wise, orienting roofs for future solar panels that were then too expensive, adding more insulation, and using efficient windows to hold heat and gather more light. I guess I never forgot what I was taught by the angry motorists, the environmental design professors, the closed library, and the SUVs I still can't see around in traffic. Conserving energy improves our quality of life. It saves money, cuts down the pumping of manmade fumes into the air that the planet needs to survive, and makes living simpler and healthier.
I once got a strange look from a politician for asking a question at a dinner because he introduced himself as a "conservative" and went on to scoff at acid rain, global warming, and pollution controls that were "stifling our American way of life." I asked him, "As a conserve-ative, what then are you trying to conserve?" Our way of life is based on quality of life, not just the income we accumulate. And if we're not saving money because the utilities raise our rates for conserving, that's not a good reason to avoid conserving. The utilities have been asked to reduce their request, anyway, but, again, it contradicts the typical scenario I'm presented by clients, who are almost always asking to keep things simple.
As we cocoon in our homes, using low-maintenance materials, buying ever-more elaborate entertainment systems, state-of-the art appliances, and beds that adjust at the touch of a button, it's obvious we want to simplify our personal lives by staying at home, even though it's a complicated process to achieve that. Conserve, and ignore the illogical utilities. They, too, have to get with the program. Good luck!
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