- Anyone who believes that exponenetial growth can go forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist. - Kenneth Boulding (c. 1980) ...
- “Much attention is paid to new energy technologies, with good reason. But it also is important to know that most of today’s liquid fuels come from fields that have been producing for decades. More than 95 percent of the crude oil produced today was discovered before the year 2000. About 75 percent was discovered before 1980.” (Note: From ExxonMobil’s 2012 Outlook for Energy report.) ...
- “If the inevitability of peak oil is ignored and the event overtakes us unprepared, the unintended consequences could easily spiral into a sequence of ever-worsening conditions that would create not just twilight in Saudi Arabia, but twilight also for the lifestyles we all now enjoy.” (Note: This quote is from Simmons’ book “Twilight in the Desert.” Matthew Simmons passed away August 8, 2010.) ...
- It took us 125 years to use the first trillion barrels of oil. We'll use the next trillion in 30. Chevron Advert "Will you join us" ...
- Energy will be one of the defining issues of this century. One thing is clear : the era of easy oil is over. What we do next will determine how well we meet the energy needs of the entire world in this century and beyond.” July 2005 David J O’Reilly, Chairman & CEO, Chevron Corporation ...
- "I think OPEC is about maxed out. when people talk about spare capacity in OPEC, I don't see it. I just don't see it coming through and I'm not sure it's there. And it's not just that they're greedy, but they're really producing what they can produce. John Hofmeister, former President of Shell Oil interviewed on CNBC, February 2012 ...
- "The real problem is that we use too much oil. It's that simple and that difficult. If we truly want to reduce our vulnerability to high prices, the best way to do so is to reduce consumption." — Richard Heinberg, author of Peak Everything ...
- "Technology is great, but it can't find what's not there. In the last five years, we consumed 27 billion barrels of oil a year, but the oil industry discovered only three billion barrels a year. So only one barrel was replaced for every nine we used!" — L.B. Magoon report for U.S. Geological Survey, as quoted in E Magazine ...
- "In my humble opinion, we should now have reached peak oil. So it is high time to close this critical chapter in the history of international oil industry and bid the mighty peak farewell." — Ali Samsam Bakhtiari, Vice President of the National Iranian Oil Company ...
- "We've run out of good projects. This is not a money issue... If these oil companies had fantastic projects, they'd be out there developing new fields." — Matthew Simmons, author of Twilight in the Desert ...
- "We are not good at recognizing distant threats even if their probability is 100%. Society ignoring [peak oil] is like the people of Pompeii ignoring the rumblings below Vesuvius." — James Schlesinger, former US Energy Secretary ...
- "I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that." — Thomas Edison, 1931 ...
- "As we head to war with Iraq, President Bush wants to make one thing clear: This war is not about oil. It's about gasoline." — Jay Leno ...
- "My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I drive a Mercedes, my son drives a Land Rover, his son will drive a Land Rover, but his son will ride a camel." — attributed to Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emir of Dubai ...
Solar water heating FAQ
Solar Payback, the good, the bad and the ugly
A few weeks ago, we were talking with a client of ours about the reasons people install a solar systems (PV or water heating). He was telling us about a house being built in the Okanagan which the architect had specified a 1 KW solar PV system to be installed on the house as it was being built.
There was nothing unusual about installing a solar PV system but the question was asked in this case, why did we think this person wanted a Solar system on this particular house.
The house in question just happened to be a huge custom home costing approximately $10 million to build. The comment was made that the clock radios in the bedrooms alone in this house probably use more electricity than a 1 KW PV will produce. This might be a slight exaggeration but its not far off as we will try to explain further down this post.
Most likley in this case, the home owner is not concerned with "payback" on the system. Maybe it was a case of "why not, it looks cool".
Read more: Solar PaybackSolar School Items
This article describes a home built by someone in Big Bar Lake in BC. Approx 200 kms NW from Kamloops. The home owner planned right from the start to try and heat the house with solar water Heating.
When trying to incorporate any renewable energy project into a building, it makes more sense to make sure the home is as well insulated and efficient as possible in the first place as this will minimise the non renewable energy you need to replace. This article describes the system and the house to help other people who are wanting to install solar water heating in the home. Remember that this system will also apply to commercial buildings aswell.
Solar School Items
Solar School Items
All solar collectors, evacuated tubes, flat plate collectors and un-glazed pool heaters have different efficiencies. This is why no one can say Evacuated tubes are always better than flat plate collectors. It depends on their application.
Calculating collector efficiency is complicated and not easy to do without a computer and not all collectors reports will show a graph like the one below.
Read more: Solar collector efficiencySolar School Items
Are you looking at buying "CSA approved solar collectors". This article explains what is now in place in Canada with regard to Solar Water Heating.
Solar School Items
In this email we will cover these topics.
- If you are looking to install a solar water heating system you are most likely wanting to know how the grants work and what you need to get them.
- Explaining what the new F379 is and what it does for you. This will give you some valuable information about what to install and what not to install on your solar water heating system.
The old incentive scheme ended for solar water heating ended March 31st 2011. It was replaced shortly afterwards with a new scheme but it had some radical changes to the program.
Read more: Grants for solar systemsSolar School Items
