Book Review - Quick Solutions

May 17th, 2008 | Tags:
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This is me finally getting around to the book review I promised back in the Upcoming Book Review post of April 13th, 2008. So, the three books (originally just two, but this is my blog, so I’m going with 3 now) are:


The first one I read was Smart Power by William Kemp; at just over 400 pages, it covers all the essentials for understanding renewable energy, how to intelligently look at your needs and ways to make better decisions. In the book, he lays out the common terms and ideas that any person requires to look at this topic in our lives today. That all being said, it lacks any real measure for providing the reader a clear and quantifiable method to analyze energy usage (whether looking at the computer you currently have, how you used energy or fuel at home and with your vehicle of choice); this one problem lead me to increasingly look for a book that would provide a simpler way to look at my own energy and carbon footprint, allowing me to quickly determine what and were to focus my efforts. I looked at numerous books, both from mainstream publishers and from eclectic ones; went to the Toronto Public Library, sadly most of the books were out-of-date enough to be less than relevant.

After looking around, including reading many online reviews, I came across The Home Energy Diet by Paul Scheckel; skimming through it in the bookstore, I came to realize it provided what was lacking in William Kemp’s book. Paul’s book was what I had been looking for by that point (I bought the book in late 2007; William Kemp’s I had bought in 2006) for almost 2 years. With it, I was able to work on slashing my energy usage (both electricity and heating) around the house; I was helped in this also by the fact that I had moved from Toronto Hydro as my electricity provider, to BullFrogPower. BullFrogPower provides a very handy function on their website, a per-meter-period or per-month daily average electricity consumption chart; this was great, as it shows since moving into the new house (June 2006), our bill has dropped from a monthly high of 16.2Kwh (December 06) to a low of 8.5Kwh (February-April 08). It also showed how much (with a little help from a spreadsheet) we had used with Toronto Hydro (June 06 to April 07) and also with BullfrogPower (May 07 to April 08); which was a daily average of 15.05Kwh versus 11.80Kwh, or a about a 21.5% decrease in daily usage). Did Paul Scheckel’s book do this, no; but it did provide the formulae needed to figure things out (like is it better to use a natural gas water heater or electric one). In the end, the book provides a way to look at whatever appliance you have (or house, car, etc.) that uses some form of energy (ie. natural gas, electricity) and shows you how to both measure and compare different forms of energy usage for the same item (for example, your heating system, if you’re looking at replacing it, will getting a high-efficiency furnace be better than say getting a mid-efficiency furnace and taking the extra money (you would have paid for the high-efficiency) and air-sealing and insulating your house).

The last book on the list is George Monbiot’s Heat; this is a good read on the topic of climate change, what things have to be looked at by the average person (and just as importantly governments and corporations) to help stem the impending shock that most of the modern world is coming to experience now and in the coming decades. Discussion ranges from is air travel bad (and why it is), to cars and mass transit; energy production, lifestyle changes and social changes as well. George might not be a scientist by training; but he has analyzed the issues and written the book, so that whether you think Climate Change and Global Warming are valid or not, you are engaged with the issue and provoked to think on ways to improve our chances.

I recommend all three books; though if you are on a tight budget, I would get The Home Energy Diet by Paul Scheckel, as it will provide ways to not only save you money in both the long and short-term; but also help you determine how to choose your next purchase wisely.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you though.

Cheers,

BlackMacX

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