Written by Andre Huie

Carol Smith of Open Windows Consultants

St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): The OECS is conducting a campaign on energy conservation across the sub-region. Carol Smith from Open Windows Consultants arrived in St. Kitts and Nevis this week to meet with stakeholders in the private sector and government to advise on energy conservation. Ms. Smith said the consultation will look at three sectors: domestic (household), commercial and transportation.

While unable to say how much money is lost across the sub-region due to energy wastage, Ms. Smith noted that countries could cut 10 percent of their energy costs. She provided some tips for domestic energy conservation including unplugging phone chargers when not hooked up to the cell phone and purchasing energy efficient appliances. “If you are going to buy a TV, don’t buy necessarily a plasma which uses more electricity as a LED or LCD. It’s fine to buy these appliances, just make sure the one you are buying is energy efficient,” Smith said.

Meanwhile, Ms. Smith points out that the high cost to energy consumption in the transportation field, could be far less, if motorists pay more attention to maintenance issues. “Transport is really, really, really an area where we lose so much money again both from a commercial and domestic point of view,” Smith said. “If a vehicle is not working efficiently or a piece of equipment is not working efficiently, its obviously going to use more fuel,” she said. For fueling, she suggested filling the tank at the cooler time of the day to avoid evaporation in the gas tank. The Public Education and Awareness Programme on Energy Efficiency is part of the ongoing work being undertaken by the Caribbean Development Bank funded Sustainable Energy Technical Assistance (SETA).

Source:   http://www.winnfm.com/