- BC Hydro’s long-term forecast
shows that in two decades, our province will require as much as 45 per
cent more electricity in the next 20 years.
- The first and best choice to
fill this “electricity gap” and to lessen our impact on the environment is
conservation. In doing so, we can
achieve the B.C. Energy Plan objectives of becoming electricity
self-sufficient by 2016 and meeting half of our province’s future
electricity needs through conservation by 2020.
- With Team Power Smart, BC Hydro
is taking the lead to encouraging all British Columbians to conserve more,
by calling upon well-known British Columbians to become leaders in energy
efficiency and conservation. Each
of them lives or has roots in B.C., and has a passion for energy efficiency.
- This diverse group of
individuals will be profiled throughout their conservation journey,
sharing their experiences, challenges and successes as they become
personal leaders in energy efficiency and conservation. To support them, BC Hydro’s Power Smart
team will help identify, investigate and implement an individual energy
efficiency and conservation game plan.
Power
Smart Team Leaders will:
- With the help of a personal
energy coach, make changes to reduce their energy footprint
- Conduct a personal baseline
of current energy use;
- Prepare a personal energy
“Game Plan” based on their lifestyle and what changes they can and are
willing to make;
- Participate in initiatives
such as an in-home audit, opportunity identification and sampling energy conservation
innovation technologies; and
- Share their conservation
success stories and challenges with British Columbians.
BC Hydro invites British Columbians to set a
conservation goal and join Team Power Smart. You can join by visiting www.bchydro.com/teampowersmart.
Ten Power Smart “plays” to
help you make your conservation goal
A little teamwork
goes a long way: Following a few simple tips to reduce consumption and
improve energy efficiency can make a huge difference in achieving energy
conservation and reducing our impact on the environment:
- Turn off all the lights when you leave a room. If every household in B.C. turned off
one light bulb for four hours a day for one year, it would save enough
electricity to power all the homes in Mission for an entire year.
- Turn off your TV, DVD player and stereo when you are not using
them. If every household in
B.C. turned off their televisions, DVD players and stereos for two hours
per day, it would save $23.5 million. The energy savings could provide
electricity to all the homes in Kamloops for an entire year.
- Turn off your computer and printer, when not in use. If all the families in B.C. that
usually leave their computer and monitor running 24 hours a day, turned
them off when they are not in use, energy saved each year could power
every arena in the NHL for 62 seasons.
- Unplug cell phone, camera, and other battery chargers when
charging is complete. Many
electronic devices continue to use power even when you are not operating
them. The amount of energy consumed by electronics in a year when they
were not in use could power Whistler Blackcomb resort for 43 years.
- Install compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). If every household in B.C. changed
their five most-used incandescent light bulbs to CFLs, the amount of
electricity saved would be enough to light 235,000 households for an
entire year.
- Turn down your thermostat 1°C or consider
installing a programmable thermostat. If every household in B.C. with
electric space heating turned down their heat by 1°C for eight hours a day, it would save
enough electricity to power Science World for over 75 years.
- Wash your clothes with
cold water. If all the families in B.C.
switched to cold water washing, the province would save $87 million.
That’s enough electricity to wash over 130 million loads of clothes in a
front loading clothes washer.
- Turn off your car when idling for more than 10 seconds. By avoiding idling for five minutes a
day, motorists of Vancouver could, each day, collectively avoid wasting
26,000 litres of fuel – enough to make 81 trips in a hybrid vehicle along
the entire length of the TransCanada Highway, from Victoria, B.C. to St.
John’s, Newfoundland.
- Buy ENERGY STAR® symbol when choosing electronic appliances. Electronics that are ENERGY STAR®
labeled use as much as 50 per cent less energy as comparable models, while
providing the same performance. If all families in B.C. were to use a 10
per cent more efficient refrigerator, it would save enough electricity
each year to microwave over 2 billion bags of popcorn.
- Turn off the water when brushing your teeth. If every person in B.C. reduced the
time they let the tap running while brushing their teeth, shaving, or
washing their face by three minutes per day, they would save enough water
to fill 23,000 Olympic sized swimming pools.
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