The world today is facing an enormous problem. We live on a finite planet with limited resources. In the early 1900’s there were 1 Billion people living on our planet. Now, only 100 years later there are 8 Billion people. It’s a simple calculation; more and more people having to share declining number of resources.
The different types of energy resources that have been used for the past 150 years have made people around the world dependent on declining and increasingly harder to obtain resources. As a result, prices keep increasing.
A yet even greater problem is the fact that people around the world, including decision makers and politicians, are suffering from “energy illiteracy”. The decisions and policies passed in one energy sector simply cannot be measured in another, and it is therefore impossible to predict what the long term effects are going to be. This is not a sustainable development.
The good news is that there is a different way. The technologies and resources already exist to solve most of the energy related problems we face today.
Part of Sundaya’s mission is to create an Energy Education Program. As we humans rely on energy every single day, energy education would greatly benefit us in our everyday lives, and is very important in shaping out future.
The objective of the education is to eradicate energy illiteracy. When people become truly energy literate they will also see that energy is actually in abundance – as long as we use the right source of energy!
The energy crisis can be easily overcome, but only if people familiarize themselves with the basic facts about energy. Energy education is the first step in the energy solution of the future.
Why do people understand length and mass but not energy?
People understand how to measure length and mass because we are faced with length and mass measurements on daily basis. From the day we were born our length and weight is recorded, and we quickly learn to quantify and analyze these units. Over time all the lengths and masses start building up an extensive database in our minds, allowing us to compare different measurements from different subjects.
Each time you hear a new length or mass, your mind automatically scans for a measurement with which to create a comparison. As such you are able to determine if a number you heard high or low, possible or impossible, big or small, or anywhere in between. In other words you are able to assign a value to the number you heard which means you understand its comparison. You are length and mass literate.
But why are most people energy illiterate?
Currently, when people talk about energy, they seldom use the correct unit of measurement for that specific type of energy. This is why people cannot compare electrical energy to other forms of energy derived from fuel, such as from oil, gas, coal etc. These are all energy types that easily can be measured in Joules.
First of all we would like to state that it absolutely no shame in being energy illiterate, especially if you are not involved in the subject on daily basis. In fact there are even many so called “energy experts” who are in fact energy illiterate, based on our definition of not being able to compare one form of energy to another form of energy.
For example oil experts who know everything about oil, and their caloric burning values, in most cases have no clue how oil compares in energy values to for example electricity. The same is true for an electrical engineer, who may know everything about electricity, but has no clue about how much energy there is in a loaf of bread in a barrel of oil.
The biggest cause for energy illiteracy is the fact that every energy industry accounts for their own energy in their own energy units:
• The oil industry counts in barrels
• The coal industry counts in cubic meters
• The gas industry count in cubic feet
• The fuel distribution industry counts in liters
• The electricity industry counts in Watts
• The solar Industry counts in Solar-Watt-Peaks
• The wind industry counts in Wind-Watts-Peaks
• The food industry counts in Calories (with a capital C)
There are close to a 100 different energy units used throughout the whole energy industry, which is why it is impossible for anyone to become truly energy literate. Not because we can’t or are unwilling to, but because nobody is able to build up enough reference points to accurately distinguish between the numbers to make sense of it all. Without our in-mind databases we simply have no reference to compare any new number to and thus we cannot judge the impact of the measurement.
How can we combat energy illiteracy?
In our view combating energy illiteracy could be very simple. If all forms of energy and energy consumption would be measured, labeled, priced and sold in one single unit of measurement then it would be very easy to compare one number with another. The best single measurement for energy would be Joule.
Example: A lamp consumes 10 kiloJoule per hour and a battery stores 50 kiloJoule: How many hours can the lamp run on the battery? 50 kiloJoule / 10 kiloJoule per hour = 5 hours
Although combating energy illiteracy could be easy, it is a huge task to get all players in the energy world on board to start measuring and labeling their products in a single measurement.
This is where you can make a difference!
By starting to think and actively measure your own energy consumption in Joules you are gradually building up your own database which to refer to. Next time someone asks you how to calculate the energy consumption of a car you will know how to answer; in Joules!
Here is a useful list of energy numbers to start building your database.
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