Media Release 23/09/02
From Clive Blanchard, Director, COOLMAX PTY LTD
Phone 08 8354 1062
THE POWER CRISIS - SURGE IN AIR CONDITIONING DEMAND DRIVES UP SOUTH AUSTRALIA'S ELECTRICITY PRICES
Electricity prices are expected to rise 20-30% from January 1st when individual householders are forced to sign contracts with AGL or another electricity retailer. The main reason is not so much deregulation, but more to do with the growth in energy use, in particular air conditioner use. This growth is requiring the continuous building of 'peaking' power stations which tend to be used for as little as 4% of the year. This dramatically pushes up the cost of electricity.
A number of new small power stations have come on line, but the peak electricity demand will again set a new record this summer. This is in spite of the efforts of the Australian Greenhouse Office and other agencies.
Most of the talk has been about increasing the supply. A better option is to reduce the growth in electricity use by air conditioners. On a hot day, at least 46% of South Australia's electricity use goes to air conditioners and refrigerators. If there were no air conditioners there would be no talk of price increases and the risk of blackouts would be minimal. From 1990 to 2000 there has been a 50% growth in air conditioner energy use. Most of this increase in demand has been due to refrigerated air conditioners. Clive Blanchard from COOLMAX PTY LTD says that there are less power hungry solutions than refrigerated air conditioning. Mr Blanchard has recently published a paper showing that evaporative coolers typically use 80% less energy than refrigerated coolers. It is possible to cool a typical family/dining room effectively with a maximum power use equivalent to that of only about two light bulbs. This compares with the power use of 20 light bulbs for an equivalent refrigerated air conditioner. People need not feel guilty about using one of these evaporative coolers, when they are being asked to turn off unnecessary appliances. Many organisations are working on strategies to switch power off during peak demand periods. A far better method of reducing demand is to install equipment that inherently uses dramatically less energy. This will also save the householder money.
For more information visit www.coolmax.com.au or contact Clive Blanchard at COOLMAX PTY LTD, 78 West St TORRENSVILLE SA 5031 or phone 1300 729 573 (or in Adelaide 8354 1062).
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