This is not one of the super fact posts. It is just a post related to an interest of mine that is informational. I volunteer for an organization called Citizens Climate Lobby, or CCL. CCL is a bipartisan organization that works with both Democrats and Republicans to create the political will for climate solutions. During the month of August CCL is promoting what is called electrification. Clean energy is taking the world with storm, but energy / electric power is not the only source of carbon emissions / greenhouse gases.
Take for example, transportation. Most cars still use gasoline and to move towards a fossil fuel free future we must move towards using transportation that uses less fossil fuels such as EV cars. We need to electrify transportation. Another aspect of electrification is replacing gas stoves with induction stoves, installing solar panels, as well as lowering the energy use of your house.
EV Cars
At least here in Texas it is quite common to believe that EV cars do not reduce emissions. After all EV cars use electricity from the dirty grid, right? Often this is said to environmentalists and people who care about fossil fuels emissions as if they don’t understand that the electricity for EV cars typically comes from the dirty grid. However, they do know that. In fact, they know a little bit more. EV cars are much more efficient than Internal Combustion Engine cars , or ICE, and therefore the emissions caused by EVs via the electrical grid, even a coal powered grid, is significantly less per mile. In fact, replacing gasoline-powered cars with EVs saves energy, regardless of the energy source used to recharge the EVs. For an ICE 16-25% of the original energy goes to the wheels whereas for an EV 87-91% of the original energy goes to the wheels.
On the other hand, it takes more energy to manufacture an EV battery for an EV car than it does to produce a combustion engine. So, the production of an electric vehicle does emit more carbon than a petrol car. However, the lower emissions resulting from driving an EV means that an electric car quickly pays back its debt, so to speak. It is typically paid back within two years.
According to Hannah Richie at Our World in Data the statistics show that switching from an average ICE to an equally sized EV will save 1.2 tons of carbon emissions per person and year. That is a lot considering that the average carbon footprint per year is 4 tons worldwide and 14.4 tons per year for an American. Hannah Richie at Our World in Data also states that other environmental damages related to EVs such as mining for minerals are less than mining and extraction for fossil fuel cars, and she claims that the price of lithium-ion batteries has fallen by 98% over the last three decades.
EVs are becoming increasingly common. According to Our World in Data in 2022, 88% of all cars sold in Norway were EVs and 54% of all cars in Sweden were EVs. The United States is lagging a bit at 7.5% but there is a tax credit $7,000.00 for new EVs and a $4,000.00 tax credit for buying used EVs. I should add that we have not yet bought an EV because after I took early retirement, I did not need a car. We just share my wife’s hybrid, which we hardly ever drive.
Induction Stoves
We bought an electric stove, an induction stove, a couple of years ago when our previous stove stopped working. They come with an $840.00 rebate. I’ve read that professional chefs prefer gas stoves. However, our induction stove provides everything we need for our cooking needs and my beer brewing needs and it is easier to clean. If you are a professional chef you may want to be able switch the high heat on and off quicker, but we are not professional chefs even though the food we cook is delicious.
Another downside of an induction stove is that if the power goes out you can’t cook, but that has not been a problem for us. Considering that we get our electricity from a power company, Green Mountain Energy, that utilizes renewable energy, wind and solar, you can claim that our stove is 100% fossil fuel free.
Heat Pumps
Air source heat pumps, which are the most common type of heat pumps, are a great, energy efficient choice for heating your home and water and as well as being low maintenance, they can help to cut your heating costs and lower your carbon footprint. An air source heat pump absorbs heat from the air outside a building and releases it inside. It uses the same vapor-compression refrigeration process and much the same equipment as an air conditioner, but in the opposite direction.
Air-to-air heat pumps provide hot or cold air directly to rooms. Heat pumps are the main way to phase furnaces but are also typically more efficient than other types of heaters and air conditioners and thus they reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is an up to $8,000.00 upfront discount for heat pumps and a 30% tax credit up to $2,000.00. I should say we do not have a heat pump.
Rooftop solar
Another great thing that we have been thinking about but do not have yet is rooftop solar. Rooftop solar power system, or rooftop photo voltaic systems, consist of electricity-generating solar panels mounted on the rooftop of a residential or commercial building or structure. Residential rooftop solar power systems typically feature a capacity of about 5–20 kilowatts.
The average American household uses 1.2 kilowatts on average. Most rooftop solar systems are connected to the grid and can feed the extra power into the grid for compensation. I should add this is not entirely without difficulty. There are also hybrid systems which include any combination of wind turbines, diesel generators, and batteries for electricity on demand. There is a 30% tax credit for rooftop solar.
Miscellaneous Energy Savings
Saving energy is not exactly the same thing as electrification but it is a related topic. If you electrify your home and also reduce your energy needs, you are reducing emissions.
A few years ago, we changed the insulation in our house to reduce our energy needs and our electric bill. It made a difference. We also did weatherstripping, installed three pane windows and high security doors, that were well-insulated and reduced heat-loss. We received significant tax credits for doing this. I don’t remember how much, but it was several thousand dollars. I can add that you get a $150 tax credit for a home energy audit.
What do you think about electrification and energy savings?
Do you have additional ideas for electrification and energy savings?
To see the Super Facts click here
Newstrade
Great post! All build up to a huge reduction in emissions. We all think that the great changes must come from governments but have a lot of power individually, if we all do our bit…
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Thank you so much for your kind words Animalcouriers. You are right, we as consumers can do a lot. I think we still need government to take action on a lot of things we can’t control, such as energy sources for the energy grid, etc., but we can do a lot.
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Thank you, Thomas, for raising awareness on such an important topic. Reverting climate change is in the hands of each and every one of us. *Light and blessings to you, my friend*
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Thank you so much for your kind commenting Susana. Like you say, reverting climate change is in the hands of each and every one of us. Light and blessings to you too, my friend.
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Thanks, Thomas. One other fun EV fact is that they have so many fewer moving parts, 20 v 200+ – they’re really just giant eggbeaters — and I think there will be some carbon savings there as well.
The short-run downside is that it makes EVs a huge issue for employment, I would guess, as we won’t need nearly as many mechanics — no brakes, fewer oil changes, no mufflers, etc.
Best, Ben
Bennett Voylesbennettvoyles.de Tel. +49 151 62967276 Winterfeldtstr. 39 10781 Berlin, Germany
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Yes that is an interesting fact. In the near future I will make a post only about EVs that’s going to be more in depth and citing the statistics, etc., and I will include your point. I might as well mention that I loved your book “Onward, Backward! -or- A Ramble to Santiago”.
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That’s the thing I don’t get with EV engines. If we’re using just as much energy for them why are we doing it? I like solutions that reduce emissions.
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The EVs do use less energy and they reduce emissions. I did not explain it well, but in the near future I will make another post only about EVs and I will add more references and statistics and explain this better. However, what is going on is that EVs are much more efficient. Assume the ICE and the EV car both need 1KW to the wheels for a certain distance. Let say the ICE car looses 80% of the energy input (typical), then it needs 5KW to drive the 1KW distance (1/0.2) If the EV loses 11% then it needs 1.12KW to drive the 1KW distance (1/0.89). 1.12KW < 5KW. In addition the 5KW comes from gasoline and the 1.12KW comes from the grid, which in many cases (but not all) is cleaner than gasoline. But I will explain this better in the future.
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I figured that but heard making them causes more energy. Not sure if that’s accurate though.
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Yes I’ve heard the same thing, but it is misinformation. They use significantly less energy. That’s one reason I am planning to make a superfact post about EVs. There is so much misinformation about them that people believe but we know what the facts are. I will post about it in I think about one month from now.
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That’s awesome! I haven’t read much about it though I’d love to have all the facts.
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Thank you Sara. A fellow engineer with some expertise on the topic just gave me some very useful statistics and research on the topic that I will include.
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I really hope we’re able to make these changes worldwide, it would help so much with the environment. In Kenya, we’re legally expected to have rooftop solar panels.
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Yes you are right, it would be great. It is quite interesting that you are legally expected to have rooftop solar panels. Here in Texas it is unfortunately often the opposite that you aren’t allowed to. A friend of mine, Larry, was able to get the city of Tyler to allow solar panels by organizing a protest. They were outlawed because the city viewed them as an ugly eye sore.
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That’s so sad, I don’t think they look bad at all.
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Yes the politicians in Texas don’t like renewables. Fossil fuels is a very important part of the economy here. But things are changing as they realize there’s a lot of money to made from renewables as well.
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I see, well hopefully they’ll see the upside for renewables and yes you can make quite a profit from that too.
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It is changing in Texas but slowly. A third of the electrical power in Texas comes from wind and solar but the politicians are afraid of the renewables and the oil and gas companies are complaining that the renewables are stealing their business, and they have a lot of power here. The world is decarbomizing and we don’t want Texas to be the last ones with an industry that no one wants anymore. It seems like it is beginning to sink in, with CCL’s help (my volunteer organization). Texas has a lot opportunities for wind power and solar power as well minerals for EVs, which are all under utilized.
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I really hope it sinks in and Texas is able to take capitalise on that since wind and solar power are both great alternatives. I do understand them being wary though, I think many governments are since oil and gas companies hold a lot of power.
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The interesting part is that the big oil and gas companies are often reasonable and have even partially supported CCL. They want to promote their products of course, but they also want to look good in the public eye and many of them are investing in renewables as well to make more money. But the smaller oil and gas companies here in Texas, especially those represented by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, are quite aggressive and they hold a lot of sway over politicians here in Texas. They are at war with renewables and want to stop renewables. On one occasion CCL and the Texas Public Policy Foundation had a conference with lobbying in Washington DC at the same time and at the same hotel. That got ugly because some of the Texas Public Policy Foundation members went after the CCL volunteers and it was pretty close to becoming violent. I was not there that time.
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Oh wow, that’s really aggressive. It’s nice to know that the bigger companies are more reasonable though. Very unprofessional of the Texas Public Policy Foundation members to go after the CCL volunteers like that.
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Yes I agree. They are difficult people.
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wonderful post – & you are extra wonderful to speak so candidly of your own experience. I’m among the few I know who hasn’t installed a/c at home & I only rarely use a/c in my car. what do people have against opening windows? my utterly unscientific theory is that we live so hermetically sealed off from the outdoors that we don’t allow ourselves to get used to weather. surely putting up with some seasonal highs & lows must be good for our immune systems? as a minisule example from my own experience, the firsts night of this summer that temps reached 80 degrees, I thought I would never get to sleep & was completely miserable. the next night was 80 too, yet that night I wasn’t nearly as bothered. at this point in the season, 80 doesn’t seem high at all…
as for electricity instead of gas, all that makes sense. what scares me, though, is if there’s a mad rush to replace everything — then what do we do with all the old stuff?
btw, a few months ago when I visited the Netherlands, I was amazed at how prevalent Teslas were among all income levels – turns out the country offers great rebates. also, I was amazed that pollution ratings there are consistently much higher than here in LA, due to their dairy/cattle industry
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Thank you for your kind words and interesting information da-AL. I have a feeling it is probably not a good idea to rush to replace everything, but I don’t think people are. We replaced our stove because the old one was old, kaputt and dangeorus. So why not electify? Yes the cattle industry can be very dirty, depending a bit how it is conducted. Modern industrial cattle farming is both environmentally dirty and cruel. However, not eating beef or eating less beef really helps. There was a law passed recently in the US, the Growing Climnate Solutions Act that helped farmers and forestry owners to use sustainable practices. It was a baby step forward but even our Texas senator Ted Cruz voted for it.
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Amazing share of great ideas for our planet. The only thing that I know about electric cars is that the people I know who have them are limited to where and how far they drive because of a serious lack of charging stations available. Obviously nobody is prepared enough yet to accommodate. I should think hybrids are much better. 🙂
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Yes you are right. That is why we have a hybrid ourselves. And Hybrids are much more environmentally friendly than regular ICE as well. However, in some countries in Europe the lack of charging stations is much less of a problem. It will take some time before there are enough charging stations here in US/Canada. Also charging still takes too long as well. But I read somewhere that it is only a matter of time before those issues are solved.
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Time – the operative word. In the meantime, people struggle with stations. I know that many in Canada aren’t ready for EV yet. There are plenty of hybrids on the road though. 🙂
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Yes you are right
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