Mangetout Moment - Conclusion

Week 8

Finally, I have reached the 8th week of my mission. It didn't take that long to do experiment. Let's recap:

1. I am required to do some innovation that is sustainable 
2. I was inspired by my action of trying to find interesting TV shows
3. My plan is to reduce electricity consumption by doing the 3 goals i.e switch on the television when I really needed to, use my laptop with its battery supplying the energy and reduce the usage of fan and lamp. 

So what have I achieved throughout these weeks? 

Hmmm I can say that I fail to be consistent in practising these actions in reducing the consumption of electricity. There were times when I did the good practices but somehow I forgot to be alert with my actions, leading to electricity wastage. It was not easy to be consistent in doing something new. You always need to be alert when you should do the right and wrong things. This is almost like you need to set an alarm in your brain that can instantly tell you that what actually you are doing now is the right thing to do or not. In my case, I always not remember to use laptop with its battery. This action is actually against my goal! To make things worse, I have to use fan at other time which is when drying clothes. As circumstances at this house not allowing me to dry my clothes under the sun, I have to dry them using fan to avoid bad smell coming from them. So what I did was contradict to my action of not using fan during sleep. In other words, I did not achieve what I supposed to achieve. 

Try harder next time

My overall comment for the assignment is that it is very interesting and unique. Unlike conventional way of doing assignment (written assignment or slide presentation), we are asked to innovate via practising. This in turn makes us contribute a little bit to our environment. I believe it can also initiate us to do more because it can be our guideline for the future if we want to do the similar thing. We already know what are the challenges and how to tackle them. It's okay to fail at this moment and do things steps by steps as long as we are willing to improve ourselves and continue doing the good deeds.  

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azam.AB

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How Shall You Use Your Laptop Efficiently

Week 6 & 7

Other than the 3 goals I'm focusing on, there is another practice that I forget to include in my wish list. And guess what it is? 

SWITCH OFF LAPTOP

My favourite pastime is watching dramas through laptop. There are times when I was sleepy while watching the shows. Without realising, I dozed off in front of the laptop. (I'm not sure whether the storyline for that particular episode is mundane OR I'm so tired OR combination of these) 😆

Even though the laptop eventually changed into standby mode, it actually still consumed electricity. A good practice (shown in the picture) is by switching off the laptop. 

Other than this method, there are also other practices that can contribute to electricity savings. Spending a large portion of time in low-power mode can also saves energy. Besides, it helps equipment run cooler and last longer. Unplugging electronics, or using a power strip can also be done to avoid "vampire" loads. Many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off. These vampire loads occur in most appliances that use electricity, such as DVD players, TVs, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances. In addition, we should also unplug battery chargers when the batteries are fully charged or the chargers are not in use. Many computers available today come with a sleep mode or power management feature. ENERGY STAR® estimates that using these features will save us up to $30 (~RM120) each year on our electricity bills (https://energy.gov/energysaver/energyefficient-computers-home-office-equipment-and-electronics). 

The next time I watch drama and feel like dozing off, I should turn off my laptop 😉

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azam.AB

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Fever & electricity

Week 4 & 5

On the fourth and fifth week, I was not feeling well due to fever. This in turn made me be able to achieve my goal to reduce the dependency on fan, particularly. Whether it be at day or night, most of the time, I didn’t switch on the fan as I need to sweat as much as possible to reduce my elevated body temperature. I was sick for almost seven days, so I can say that I was consistently be ‘in action’ throughout my unpleasant days. I’m sure that helps a lot in reducing the consumption of electricity 👍

According to my estimation, the cost for using an electric fan with 25W for 10 hours is RM0.0272. If this amount is multiplied by 7, it will be RM0.1094. That's how much have I saved for that duration. Imagine how much we can save in a year if we reduce the use of electric fan alone . 

Moreover, as my laptop have been repaired, I can already change the way of using it, which is not using the power outlet for supplying the electricity. As for the other goal, I was consistent in only watching the selected shows and not trying to find other TV shows to watch to. 

"It's not about perfect. It's about effort. When you bring that effort every single day, that's where transformation happens. That's how change occurs."

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azam.AB

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Electricity, environment & sustainability

Week 3

According to Tenaga Nasional Berhad in their Annual Report 2014, power generation in Peninsular Malaysia in 2014 came from natural gas (53.8%), coal (35.3%), hydropower (10.3%), distillates (0.6%) and medium fuel oil (MFO) (0.04%). Those two sources mentioned earlier are non-renewable. Nijhuis (2014) reported that coal still provides about 40% of the world’s electricity and nearly the same amount of global carbon emissions. Coal is inefficient, with a low mass-to-energy ratio, and creates enormous pollution. Thus, coal is neither sustainable at the global scale because of its contribution to anthropogenic climate change, nor at the local scale because it is a threat to public health and ecological condition. This is due to the effect of combustion of the two sources which is the release of greenhouse gases and pollutants that lead to global warming and health problems. Besides affecting the environment, loss of these sources (since they are non-renewable) may impair development because our dependency on them is still high. 

To overcome these problems, UN under its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 7, target to enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology by 2030. Most growth in renewable energy has been focused on the electricity sector. As a result, the share of renewable energy in power generation rose from 19.6 per cent in 2010 to 22.3 per cent in 2014. 

Our country also participates in ensuring the efficient use of electrical energy. In an effort to encourage economic development and market that is competitive in sustainable environment, Energy Commission (EC) monitors electricity intensity to
measure the rate of electricity consumption in producing a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) unit.
Various initiatives have been taken by EC to encourage the efficient use of electricity by all citizen regardless of age or geographical location. One of the initiatives is EE Tour. This campaign aims to increase the awareness of efficient energy practice among the consumers. It involves exhibition, seminars and talks. Throughout this tour, EC was able to interact with people from various backgrounds, allowing the share of knowledge and tips between them  regarding energy efficiency. Up to  the end of 2016, 27 programs of EE Tour and seminars have been organised throughout Malaysia (Energy Commission Annual Report 2016). 

Rider University has developed a list of five criteria for evaluating any energy source, including non-renewable sources:

1. Availability - Is the energy source available and for how long? Fifteen years is considered to be near, fifteen to fifty years is intermediate, and over fifty years is considered to be long.
2. Energy yield - How much of other energy is needed to produce the energy? Rider University uses a net energy ratio this is summed up as "Energy produced divided by energy expended during production." The higher the ratio, the better the energy yield.
3. Cost - How much does the energy cost to develop and manufacturer? For example, needed high-technology to produce nuclear energy may be a detriment to its use.
4. Environment - How does the energy affect the environment? Further, does extracting, transporting, and using the source outweigh the effects on the environment? Using coal as an energy source comes into play in these criteria.
5. Renewable - Is the energy source a candidate for a renewable energy? Is it sustainable? Rider University experts say, "Why develop it if you're just going to run out of it?" Oil, for example, falls into these criteria.

These are what authorities do to tackle the issue of electricity from non-renewable sources. But what about us? 

Through this course, I was asked to do an innovation related to sustainability. Hence, what am I doing now is trying to contribute myself to sustainability by reducing the consumption of electricity. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXjs66819i0

Here is a video that talks about source of electricity and what can we do to reduce electricity waste. 

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azam.AB

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Energy Action Month

Week 2

"October is Energy Action Month, so it's the perfect time to get serious about energy savings. Not only is the weather perfect for taking on home improvement projects, but the timing is just right given that colder weather is coming soon. Taking steps now will mean greater comfort and savings by the time pumpkin spice gives way to peppermint." 

I just realised that my mission happened to be done starting from this month (October)! I agree with the statement above that I should be serious about energy savings (specifically, electricity) and the timing is perfect since this is the time when Northeast Monsoon happens (thus, the weather is a bit colder due to rain). 

So far, what I have achieved to do are reducing the usage of fan and watching television only at ‘right’ time. As mentioned in the previous post, it is indeed true that I do not have to depend on fan at certain times. For instance, at some nights, the weather is not really hot which allows me to sleep without switching on the fan. At some other nights when I use fan during sleeping, I instantly switch it off after waking up as I already feel cold. I believe my action can help to reduce electricity consumption even for a little bit. In addition, I achieve to reduce electricity usage by only watching those shows that I have intended to watch. 

However, I did not realise that I use laptop with electricity supplied by the power outlet. Imagine that I have been using my laptop to do work for 5 hours without the battery supplying the power. Such a waste! 😱 This makes me realise that I should have been more careful so that I will be able to achieve all my goals in reducing the wastage of electricity. 

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azam.AB

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1st Mission in New Semester

Week 1

My mangetout moment started when I was searching for any interesting TV shows. Most of the time, I failed to find any interesting shows to watch. This made me realise that I just wasted electrical energy. Even though it used just a little energy, repeating the same action over and over could lead to waste of energy. Several other actions that I did such as not switching off the electricity once the charging of mobile phone or laptop have completed and using electrical appliances when they are not needed also contributed to waste of electrical energy. Therefore, I pledge myself not to use electrical appliances however I wish. Electricity shall be used only when it is really needed and will be used wisely from now on for the better future.

My plan in achieving this goal is firstly, to only switch on the television when I really needed to. For example, I only watch my favourite TV shows which include several cartoon shows and a reality show.  Other than these TV shows, I shall not switch on the television. In other words, I have already determined which interesting shows I would like to watch. Secondly, I will use my laptop with its battery supplying the energy, instead of using it without the battery (electricity is 100% supplied by power outlet). Last but not least, I will reduce the usage of fan and lamp in my room. I realise that I really do not have to depend on fan especially when the weather is quite cold humid due to rain. The usage of lamp will be reduced by not switching it on when I do work solely using laptop at home.

To be honest I am quite excited to do this self-experiment. I have never done any experiment towards myself. Moreover, it involves changing of habit, so I think it can be quite challenging. 

Hmmmm

But somehow that’s what I shall do…..CHALLENGE MYSELF FOR BETTER FUTURE.

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azam.AB

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