Renewable energy

The debate on climate change and global warming has become mainstream. Increasingly there is concern about not just the running down of fossil fuels, but also the political issues created by energy demand.

Societies today rely on sources of external energy for the manufacture of goods and the delivery of services. This energy allows us to live in diverse climatic settings, in large populations, and often in controlled environments. The level of dependence on those sources varies according to the climate, level of comfort, and general needs of a community.

Energy is expensive to acquire yet easy to waste, and using it for electricity and fuel takes its toll on the planet. To date, the greatest sources of energy have been fossil fuels, of which the three most commonly used are: coal, petroleum and natural gas. Unfortunately, the combustion of fossil fuels releases pollution into the atmosphere and fossil fuels are non-renewable so their availability will decline.

Conversely, comfort can also be achieved with lower energy consumption through the use of energy efficient approaches. Well planned energy use, therefore, balances human comfort with reasonable energy consumption levels by developing and implementing effective ways to create and utilise energy.