Evolution of Energy Consumption

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Historically it has often been difficult to reinforce the driver for alternate energy sources when the price of oil is at a low. If fuel is cheap, where is the impetus to move to alternate sources. Whilst this may have been an argument in the past, it is no longer acceptable to the majority of the world’s population, who are better educated than ever before on the implications of the relentless extraction and burning of this reserve. Quite simply we need to evolve, and in doing so broaden our understanding of energy, its acquisition, and how to best to unlock its potential.

Over the past decade we have seen the beginnings of a greater understanding in the implications of our demand for energy, and despite a lot of negativity we see and hear in the media, you only need to look at the technology world to see the steps being taken to become more aware of, and reduce our energy consumption.

Companies like KYAB Sweden are looking to use technology to educate home owners on their energy consumption through measurement and visualisation. Their Saber solution provides an easy way to understand and improve property energy consumption, with expectations that an average home owner could save up to 20% on their energy bills through participation. We have seen many mainstream UK energy companies introduce their own energy saving systems, or align with third party manufacturers. British Gas has Hive, ScottishPower has Connect, and others Like Npower have employed Nest.In this shift we are seeing responsible action from the energy companies to help educate and inform the general public on their consumption habits and need for change. Through technological innovations we are witnessing a change in how we control our usage, and therefore consumption of existing fuels. The reduction in use of fossil fuels is a good start, but more needs to be done to tap into renewable sources.

Disruptive companies are working to develop practical and widely available solutions and products that utilise alternate power sources, or utilise existing sources in a different way. We have seen hybrid electric vehicles developed over the past 20 years by many of the large automotive companies, with each generation developing better and more efficient models through technological innovation. Better motors, regenerative braking, and improvements in battery capabilities, have all seen these cars increase in their popularity and availability.

We are now witnessing the next evolution of the automotive sector with all-electric cars being developed by major car builders, kick-started perhaps by Tesla and their determination to remove oil as a source of vehicular power. The automotive sector is witnessing an acceleration in development of these vehicles, and new manufactures are entering the electric car market each year.

Focussing once again on energy sources, of those alternatives commonly discussed, solar is the obvious choice, and available in abundance to the inhabitants of the planet. We are seeing an increase in solar farms constructed across the world, occupying vacant fields no longer used for farming. These solar farms are unobtrusive, and do not impact the vista in the same way that wind turbines do. They also offer a higher ROI due to advanced photovoltaic technology that can collect energy whether from direct sunlight on a hot day, or ambient light on a cloudy day. (The efficiency on a cloudy day is obviously lower than a clear sky).

At the launch of the Tesla Power Wall in May 2015, Elon Musk made a simple but impactful statement about future energy production that says it all.  “We have this handy fusion reactor in the sky called the sun. You don’t have to do anything; it just works”.

In the Tesla Power Wall, we see a fusion of innovative concepts as solar cells primarily used to collect energy for heating our homes, or pushing electricity back into the grid, melds with technology developed by the automotive sector in the form of high output Lithium battery cells. What we then have is a way of storing 6.4 kWh of energy collected from sunlight during the day, to power our homes at night. Whilst this has been experimented with before, Tesla have developed a consumable solution more readily accessible to the average home owner, where several modules can be daisy chained to increase capacity.

With an increase in awareness of solar energy accessibility, further suppliers are entering the market, driving down the price of the technology, and allowing for an increasing number of homes to be fitted with solar cells. Some UK homebuilders are starting to offer solar installations as an option on new-build properties. Perhaps this is a key sign that the industry is starting to take its responsibility seriously in contributing towards a cleaner society.

As a final thought, one area that does need focussed innovation is the photovoltaic cell technology itself, which is still relatively inefficient in capturing and converting energy into electricity. The average efficiency rate achieved from PV cells based on standard scoring is between 16-20%. Some lab teams have managed to squeeze 30-40% efficiency out of hybrid test cells, and a more efficient cell construction is used for space (25%), but presently these are not available for consumer based solar panels.

With the focus very firmly on renewable energy and solar power, breakthroughs will be made in PV cell technology, and once this is achieved, we will finally all be able to harness the power of the reactor in the sky.