18 0 Terrace Review: — Wednesday, October 16, 1991 a7 contributed B.C. Hydro’s highly successful Power Smart Night will be held across Canada this year. The date of the event is Thursday, October 17. It will principally involve a nationwide call to switch off un- necessary lights at 8 p.m. in each time zone. Power Smart Night is an oppor- tunity for people to commence action on energy efficiency and bring it into their daily lives," commented Rob Kikkert, B.C. Hydro’s regional marketing man- ager for the Northern Region. Hydro is undertaking a number of local initiatives and particularly anxious to get children involved. "They’re the future generation of decision makers who’ll be shaping our society’s future in the not-too- distant future," explains Kikkert. Power Smart Inc. president and CEO Arthur Geikie explains that one of Power Smart’s main thrusts is to encourage public demand for electrical product manufacturers, to produce more energy-efficient products. He adds, "Awareness of this event last year was 76 percent of the B.C. population with around 50 percent actual participation." Power Smart was launched in B.C. by Hydro in March 1989. It has a $600 million budget and aims, by the year 2010, to be providing annual energy savings of 5,600 million kilowatt hours, enough power to 560,000 new B.C. homes. On October 17, commence action. At 8 p.m. tum off your lights! "Energy conservation, Children, get involved! B.C. Hydro’s Rob Kikkert says Power Smart Night is a really hands-on opportunity for children to show their parents how supportive they are of energy efficiency and conservation. He says Power Smart Night is a fun thing for them to participate in. “We’re not asking anyone to be plunged into darkness. everyone to turn off unnecessary lights and we all know what they are", adds Kikkert. He says the reason participation by children is so ‘important is that B.C. Hydro wants them to make wise energy choices instinctively. He adds that adults make intellectual decisions about energy choices, but if children are imbued with the right energy ethic at a very. young age, then society, as a whole, will one day be ‘|. reflecting a ‘new energy ethic, too it should be remembered, reflects a concern for the environment. Power Smart is environment friendly," concludes Kikkert. - All we’re asking is for T See It. by Stephanie Wiebe |The Way I Score yourself on POWER SMART ‘The following test was designed ‘by experts to determine your Power Smart energy awareness level. The questions below are — educational and accurate, but for best results, take this test ina dark room. Give yourself five points for reading this far, and then five points for each correct answer: 1. Which of the following house- hold necessities demonstrates the most efficient use of energy? a) An automatic dishwasher. b) A deluxe vacuum cleaner with snow blower attachments. c) A full-time professional housecleaner. The correct answer is "c". Any- one who has ever washed dishes — or vacuumed knows this. Those readers selecting "a" or "b" are spoiled imbeciles. 2. It’s Power Smart night, and your spouse/parent/pariner has turned into an energy-sucking sofa spud -- that is, reclining on A little effort the couch with remote control in hand, television on, radio blaring, every lamp in the room blazing, and an electric back scratcher buzzing at high speed. Do you: a) quickly sneak downstairs to sabotage the fuse box? b) stand between the remote control and the set, bellowing through a megaphone to explain the virtues of saving energy? c) roll your eyes, walk away and vent your frustrations af the bowling alley? Although answer "a" would be immediately most satisfying, it is childish, and therefore beneath you. Answer "b" directly addresses the inappropriate beha- viour, and might seem correct, albeit irritating, but since your spouse/parent/partner does have a weapon in hand (i.e., back- scratcher), this is not recorm- mended. The correct answer is "c"", energy efficient —considering the least amount of sparks will fly. to conserve puts $$$ in your pocket. contributed by Shell Busey, B.C. Hydro consultant Half your home energy dollar goes ‘towards heating your home. Insulating the walls and attic is the most effective way of keeping the heat in. Call a reliable contractor to find out if your home is proper- ly insulated. Depending on the level of insulation, it could save you up to a quarter of your energy bill, You can reduce your heating bill by 20 to 30 percent by sealing the gaps and cracks in your house. Try the hand, feather or tissue test. In cold weather, run your hand over the inside of the exterior walls and around windows, doors, electrical outlets and baseboards to find cold air entering your home. A tissue or feather attached to a toothpick will achieve the same result. If they flutter, you’ve found an air leak. Seal them from the inside. October [7th at 8:00 pm sharp - Weather stripping will reduce air leakage around doors and win- . dows, as will caulking where door and window frames meet the house. If you have a garage attached to your home, insulate the garage door. It will keep both the home and garage warmer. Set your thermostat at 20C (68F) and tum it down to 18C (65F) at night. For every degree above 20C, your heating costs rise by five percent. : The second largest energy user in your home is water heating — about 20 percent of your energy bill. Set the thermostat between 54C and 60C (130F and 140F). Installing a blanket for your elec- tric hot water heater, energy effi- cient showerheads, a faucet aerator and water pipe insulation can save you up to $80 a year on your electrical bill. 3. Define a gigahertz, a nanofarad and a megohm: a) a large rental car, a skin disease and a meditation mantra. b) scientific words meaning "doggy doo". c) awkward electrical terms: that normal people don’t have to understand. The professional research team designing this test could not com- prehend dictionary definitions of these words, but during an "after hours" coffee room vote, answer "a" was selected as most likely correct. 4. You're at the office when the power goes out. The computer is down, the photocopier is dead, and even the coffee machine has fizzled to lukewarm. Through the glass partition, you see that your Supervisor has dozed off at his "desk, Do you: a) Continue to work industri- ously with pencil, paper and carbons, despite the inconven- ience of archaic tools and the fact that your lazy boss will never know. 6) Wake up your supervisor and whine, while flicking the light " switch on and off. c) Press your face against the glass and move it around, creating grotesque images until the power retums and wakes your boss. The correct answer is "c". The power won't be off for long, and how many opportunities like this do you get? Scoring Yourself: (0 to 5 points) "Power Dumb" - Energy savings do not effect you much -- you're always in the dark, (10-20 points) "Semi-bright" - The lights are on, but nobody’s home. Go back and take the test again. No cheating this time. (25 points) "Near Genius" - Just like in the cartoons, there’s a light bulb over your head. Turn it off, you’re wasting energy. Oe athe Si ae alia iF oH dd Re AR