A guide to driving your car more sustainably and save money

On average travel represents a staggering 56% of our primary (personal) footprint in Ireland.  Car ownership is rapidly increasing throughout the EU reaching an estimated 252 million in 2015/6.  This is equivalent of 600 million tonnes of CO2 e being emitted by European drivers each year, which is only a small portion of the 1.8 billion cars worldwide.

Manufacture’s fuel efficiency data and fuel types are discussed explaining the difference between real and lab based emission values. Comparison with other transport modes are made using carpooling as an example of how drivers can make car usage more efficient than public transport where it is limited or not available.  The booklet explains practical ways in which we can all drive more sustainably as well as exploring the problem of emissions arising from the  manufacture and disposal of vehicle which is currently ignored in our footprint analysis.  Buying a car is discussed and studies have shown that you don’t need to buy a new electric vehicle (EV) or hybrid to drive with minimum impact.  Emissions from EVs are compared to standard fuels indicating that the selection of the most appropriate vehicle type can save you a lot of money over the lifetime of the vehicle, and that EVs and Hybrids are not always a good choice for drivers with selection dependent on length and frequency of journey, whether urban or rural, or used for commuting.

Driving sustainably results in drivers reducing their fuel consumption by 10-50% saving without actually driving less distance of using the car less frequently.  This represents significant financial savings as well as reducing emissions, pollution and increasing driver safety.

This means that an easily achieved 10% reduction in fuel consumption which all drivers can achieve, without reducing the frequency or distance driven, would save 10 million tonnes of CO₂e within the EU each year, equivalent to 7.9 million tonnes in the UK or 0.42 million tonnes of CO₂e in Ireland where car ownership is around 2,000,000.  So for every 10% reduction in fuel usage each car would on average be saving 0.234 or 0.213 tonnes of CO₂e per annum in the UK and Ireland respectively from their primary footprint.  With a 20-30% reduction possible for the average driver then driving sustainably can make a significant different to greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change as well as making our air cleaner and driving safer.

Driving Sustainably:  A guide to reducing your carbon footprint is written by Nick Gray and is the first guide to reducing your carbon footprint in the Tigroney Sustainable Planet Series published by Tigroney Press. Available as a free e-book (ISBN 978-1-912290-20-8) download at: http://hdl.handle.net/2262/85300 or https://bit.ly/2QrWnFe

Germany achieves new energy generation from renewable levels

Germany is making enormous strides in developing its use of renewables for energy generation which reached 23.4% in 2014,and being one of the few countries to have a geothermal power station.  For a full breakdown and analysis visit

Nick Gray 

@Nickgraytcd

Ireland's Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2012

Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions rose by 1% in 2012 to 57.92 million tonnes, reversing a six year downward trend.  This was primarily due to a 5.9%  increase in emissions from power generation using coal and peat, and a 3% increase from the agricultural sector due to increased livestock numbers.  Industrial and commercial emissions rose by 1.8% overall, although the cement industry alone showed a 18% increase in emissions as the economy begins to recover. Transport, residential and waste emissions all fell by 3.5, 5.9 and 2.7% respectively. The reduction in residential emissions is thought to be due to the mild winter while the reduction in waste emissions is due to a 11.7% reduction in methane emissions from landfill sites.

EPA emissions by category 1990-2012. Image.

The EPA has blamed low carbon prices for the increased use of peat and coal for electricity generation and has  called for the decoupling of carbon emissions from economic growth.

For a full news briefing: Link

Explore the full Report: Ireland's Greenhouse GasInventory 1990-2012

Nick Gray

The Self-Powered House

 With sustainability becoming the latest buzzword to infiltrate itself into our workplace, education system and media, isn’t it about time we took a serious look at in our homes? The increasing emphasis on our need to provide a cleaner, more green future for our children has lead to advancements in technology that have made renewable energy sources readily available for household installment.

Despite the technology being available and an apparent thirst for more sustainable solutions towards energy, we only see these techniques employed on the governmental scale and rarely on the individual household scale. Why is this? Is it cost, practicality, maintenance or some other reason?

Micro Wind Turbines

Wind turbines are generators that are installed on the top of a mast that harness energy from prevailing winds. As expected as wind speeds increase the amount of energy generated also increases. This mans that appropriate wind speeds are required for this renewable energy technique. The lowest wind speeds needed to generate energy is a reliable 3m/s (6.7mph) wind with the maximum wind speed being 15m/s (33mph).

Any energy created by the wind turbine will be consumed initially by the household property. If the household is unable to consume all of the energy then the excess energy created will be spilled back into the grid. The household will then be paid for each kWh exported to the grid.

Costs

The price for your excess energy can vary but currently in Ireland the rate is 19c/kWh for the first 3000 units and then 9c/kWh thereafter. There is currently no tax relief for wind turbines but a scheme maybe introduced soon.

The cost for the smallest 1kw tower is €5,334 rising to €22,643 for the much larger and productive 5kw tower. There is also cheaper DIY and special offers to be found on wind turbines. It is of course important to remember that once the unit is installed the energy is free.

More information on costs can be found at: http://www.windturbines.ie

Maintenance

The working life of the best quality wind turbines is 20 with annual maintenance check-ups. However, due to the nature of the generation damage can occur after the first strong storm.

The average time needed for an investment in an average size turbine is between 10-12 years, there are however, many factor affecting this such as maintenance, damage, power production and demand.

Solar Panels

Another common and accessible alternative to wind turbines is solar panels. Traditional household solar panels will be attached to the residents south-facing roof. There are A 6m² solar panel can produce the energy equivalent of a 3kW immersion heater running for 2.5 hours each day, even in Irelands overcast climate. Solar panels work off radiation emitted from the sun and so can still generate power despite overcast skies. This allows Irelands climate to be as productive as Paris and 70% of the Mediterranean coast.

The two main types of solar panel instillation are those of photovoltaic panels and active solar water heaters. The solar water heaters reduce energy bills and carbon footprints along with producing a constant supply of hot water. The photovoltaic panels are like the wind turbines and provide a source of electricity directly to the house and connected to the grid for spill over. The payment for the spill over energy is the same as mentioned above.  

Costs

The costs of solar panels vary from product to product due to size, quality, power generation and lifespan. At the lower end of the scale a 20 tube water heating system would currently cost €3,300 and photovoltaic systems starting from €3,910.

There are currently government schemes in place to assist with the instillation of solar panels in Ireland calculated at €250 per m² installed up to a maximum of €1800.

More information can be found at: www.eirgreen.com

Looking Forward

These two renewable energy schemes on scratch the surface of systems available at the household level today. Hopefully with increased awareness of these systems and continued government grants we will see a marked increase in the uptake of systems such as these.

Charlie Blakemore

Friendly microbes powering our lives: One bacterium at a time!

Bacteria: disease, illness and infection. These are the first words that come to mind when we think of our microorganism friends. Would you ever think of planetary space exploration, energy fuel cells or Greenhouse gas capture systems? These are knew avenues of cutting edge research that both industry and academic institutes are researching.  As a Microbiologist, these intrinsically diverse, complex and remarkable adaptable organisms fascinate me. From Volcanoes to ice, stratospheric clouds to oceanic depth, bacteria are found basically on all corners of the globe. We see them as pathogens, yet without them we could not survive. The smallest living organisms on Earth could become key to addressing some of the world’s biggest energy challenges.

Bacteria Power: Nature’s “badass” in world of energy production

Source

Bacteria by nature are ferocious consumers of raw materials. But unlike us, they consume the waste we produce. The first law of thermodynamics states that energy is neither created or destroyed but is converted from one form to another. So, it’s obvious to use bacteria to produce our energy from waste? Sounds too good to be true I know, slightly science fiction. But in reality the process is already happening. Microbial fuel cells (MFC) are gathering recognition as viable means of producing electricity. Unlike conventional fuel cells that rely on hydrogen gas as a fuel source, the microbial fuel cell can handle a variety of water-based organic fuels such as sewage waste. By capturing the ions that bacterium leave behind when they eat, and then running the ions through a resistor to convert them to electricity, we can in essence generate our own power supply from simply biology. Researchers Biodesign Institute in Arizona, USA, are using these organisms a viable means to make electricity. "There is a lot of biomass out there that we look at simply as energy stored in the wrong place," said Bruce Rittmann, director of the center. "We can take this waste, keeping it in its normal liquid form, but allowing the bacteria to convert the energy value to our society's most useful form, electricity. They get food while we get electricity."

These simply yet novel ideas haven’t gone unnoticed by the “Big Industries”. Energy companies and Brewing Multinationals are at the forefront of MFC research. In May 2007, the University of Queensland, Australia, completed its prototype MFC, as a cooperative effort with Foster's Brewing. The prototype converts brewery wastewater into carbon dioxide, clean water, and electricity, which is estimated to produce 2 kilowatts of power. While it is a negligible amount of power, the production of clean water is of utmost importance to Australia, for which drought is a constant threat. Large-scale models are being developed with the hope of generating more energy capacity.

Bacteria powered personal devices: Science fiction or fact?

Great and all as this sounds, is there any chance that someday a bacteria will be used as an energy source in our iPhones? In 2012, a paper published in the prestigious  Nature Nanotechnology showed a MFC, manipulated with a bacteriophage (Virus that is harmless to humans but infects bacteria) produced up to 6 nanoamps of current and 400 millivolts of potential, which is about a quarter of a AAA battery's voltage. That's also enough to be used to operate a small liquid-crystal display. In their Nature paper, the scientists write that harmless virus-based piezoelectric materials potentially "offer a simple and environmentally friendly approach to piezoelectric energy generation."

  

Ultimate Sustainable Organisms

Microbial fuel cells are all natural. Energy generation and conservation are prevalent in all our lives. So are microbes, so why not combine the two and invest in a new means of sustainable energy production. Though, as a commercial entity it is years away from replacing conventional lithium batteries and fossil fuels. But as a model, they operate at natural temperatures using simple naturally occurring microorganisms to convert waste into energy. It's the ultimate sustainable energy system.

Karen Ward

Adjusting to a 'Greener Lifestyle'

I never realized how different two countries and cultures could be until I moved from America to Ireland. The food is healthier, the stores are unfamiliar, the street signs are in different locations, and the lifestyle is much more environmentally friendly. In America, I can enjoy a hot, long shower whenever I please, I can keep the air heater on in my house as often as I like, and I can drive my car wherever I want without considering the impact on the environment. It only took about 30 minutes of life in Ireland for me to realize: I cannot live like an American anymore.

Upon my arrival at my apartment in Ireland, the landlord immediately explained the electricity system to me. I was handed six electricity cards- these cards are equipped with 20 Euros worth of electricity credits each. The cards are plugged one at a time into an electricity box located directly next to the front door. This box calculates how much electricity you use and it reduces the amount of Euros on the card simultaneously. In America, this pay as you go system is completely unheard of. In order to adjust to this new lifestyle, I only keep my room heater on for approximately 60 minutes a day, I only charge my electronics when they are incredibly low on battery, I always unplug all appliances when they are not in use, and I rely on sunlight to illuminate my room more often than the light switch. As a result, I find myself wearing warmer clothes, spending more time in public places, and cooking my food as quickly as possible.

The hardest adjustment I think any American has to overcome when moving to Ireland is the use of the immersion heater. Electric Ireland defines an immersion heater as, “a convenient way to heat water as they allow you to heat as much or as little water as you need”. The immersion heater simply has two switches: on/off and sink/bath. In order to take a hot shower, you must turn the heater to on and bath and then wait an entire hour before you can get into the shower. Once in the shower, you must wash your hair and body fairly quickly before the hot water turns cold. After your shower is complete, it is important to remember to turn the immersion heater off or else your electricity cards will be additionally charged. I certainly miss being able to wake up in the morning and instantly enjoy a long, hot shower, but I developed a huge appreciation for how conscious the Irish are of their electricity use.

According to the Central Intelligence Agency, the United States of America generates a total of 3.75 trillion kilowatt-hours annually and Ireland generates 26.1 billion kilowatt-hours annually (2). Dividing both of these numbers by the total population of each country concludes that the average American uses 11,948 kilowatt-hours annually and the average Irish citizen uses only 5,527 annually. This difference is extraordinary. Living in Ireland has certainly made me more conscious of my personal energy consumption and water use. Although it was difficult to adjust at first, I now realize that the Irish do it better. When I return to America in May, I plan to continue living the Irish “greener” lifestyle as much as possible.

Jenna Snyder

100% Solar Sustainable Living



Solar panels powering the remote island of Tokelau



I recently embarked on a journey that led me to indulge in long haul flights and regrettably a bigger carbon footprint. Ironically, as I was sitting on the plane, contemplating the impact I was having on the environment, I found something quite compelling in the inflight magazine. Amidst the glossy pages of models and actors brandishing the latest perfumes and clothing, I came across a section explaining how the airline was contributing to different environmental projects and organisations. Amidst the two page spread dedicated to sustainable efforts, there was one article in particular that caught my attention. “The world’s first solar powered territory” it read. Intrigued by the idea of this sustainable haven, I read through the article and later went on to investigate the project a little more through my fervent Google searches.

The remote islands of Tokelau are found in the South Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and Hawaii. The islands are comprised of three atolls Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo and are part of New Zealand territory. Recently, in November 2012, the installation of major solar panels in Tokelau was completed. These solar panels have been shown to provide enough solar energy to meet the electricity needs of the islands. It seems that previous to the introduction of solar power to generate electricity for the islands, imported diesel was the primary source of fuel having heavy costs on the environment as well as on the pockets of the local population. For the 1500 islander inhabitants, the move from expensive fossil fuels to solar energy has freed up a lot of money that can now be used for social welfare and other necessary expenses contributing to the wellbeing of the population. The fact that this very real and substantial method of sustainable living has been successfully implemented in these islands is quite an uplifting story, in particular, for me who has recently been exposed to the very real and harrowing consequences of environmental neglect. However I also had to ask the question; what impact do these small islands have on the rest of the world? Will other countries follow suit in the renewable energy efforts? Well, encouragingly, I found that Samoa, Tuvalu and the Cook Islands are planning to follow in the footsteps of Tokelau by 2020 by also getting all electricity from renewable energy sources. From there, my curiosities lead me to review some of the other global efforts for renewable energy projects. It seems that the blueprint and the intentions are in place for a lot of the bigger nations, but the financial cost of developing the projects overshadow the very apparent long-term benefits. However these South Pacific Islands are the pioneers and advocates for true sustainable living and hopefully the rest of the world is closely watching.

Joy Kennedy

Energy Use: Both Now and in the Future

The process by which energy is produced and the way in which it is consumed has become increasingly important in the recent past. The world has become increasingly more globalised and this has brought with it improvements in technology and an increase in scientific knowledge, among other things. These improvements have resulted in the production of new ways of both producing and consuming energy. It is evident that many goals must be met in the future in order to maintain a sustainable way of producing and consuming energy. Three of the most important goals are to ensure that future energy supplies are clean, to ensure that the supply of energy is secure and to ensure that energy use is carried out more efficiently.

The problems that currently exist in the energy sector must be addressed and solved so that energy can be consumed and produced as a sustainable commodity. The harmful effects that certain types of energy use can have on the environment and the diminishing sources of clean, cheap and reliable energy are two of the main problems that face the energy sector today. People around the world have only just begun to realise these problems. For years, the consumption of energy through fossil fuel use has taken place without any thought given to the impact that this has on the environment. This needs to change. Looking to the future, I am hopeful that continued improvements in technology and further increases in scientific knowledge will help us to tackle the serious problems that currently exist in the energy sector.

Simon Grennan