By John Taylor
First I want to thank Chip Rennie with Emerson Global for
his new words but since he hasn’t registered them as a trademark I will borrow.
Let’s define them. “Gazintas” means what goes in and “Gazoutas” just means what
goes out. Now Chip uses these terms when he is discussing his company’s
product. Emerson Controls sells devices that monitor energy use and consumption
for industry. In fact 30% of the cost of production is directly tied to energy
costs. Businesses know that they can’t easily control the cost of raw materials
or labor costs. However by measuring what goes into making their energy and how
much power comes out, they are able to control as much as 30% of their costs.
That is you want your gazintas to equal your gazoutas.
So why aren’t we as energy consumers doing that? Do you know what your monthly cost of energy
really is? While everyone is painfully
aware of gasoline prices, do we control our driving in order to maximize the
output of our engines? Well that goes for electricity costs as well. How much is a kilowatt hour in the area where
we live? Do we adjust the climate in our home and or is the thermostat always
on max? Have you ever calculated what it costs you if you keep your exterior
illumination going all night long?
Just as industry takes a realistic look at the energy
consumed in plants and factories so should Americans who work there or buy
their products look at the large amounts of energy that we waste as consumers.
Look, business has maintenance personnel, engineers, analysts and vendors to
help with this problem. And business knows it can save lots of money if it
invests a little time and energy in this type of project. We own energy
consuming items just like big businesses. We all have a car or a house or
something that drains the money from our wallet. Why not be proactive and see
if it’s not possible to save 10, 20 or even 30% of our income by reducing our
energy costs. Because one fact is a certainty; the prices of fuel, gas and
electricity will continue to rise.
Here are some simple steps to take. First you will need to
get everyone in your family to become involved in this project. Come up with a
set temperature that everyone in the household can agree on and then leave the
thermostat alone. Better yet install an inexpensive automated thermostat that
can adjust for day or night or when the family is not home. Be sure to close your doors and windows when
the A/C or heat is on. Those units are a big draw on your electric bill.
Watch your electric meter as a family. Let everyone see what
it takes to slow down that revolving cash wheel. Provide incentives for
achieving positive results, such as a pizza party or a trip to the movies. Make sure everyone knows that every dollar
saved on energy can be spent elsewhere. There are hundreds of simple things
that we all know can reduce our energy consumption. Tire pressure, conservative
driving, food preparation, water consumption, the list goes on and on. But
consider the phase that Chip used, the gazintas need to equal the gazoutas. If
you want to control what’s going out (your hard earned cash) then control
what’s coming in (expensive energy).
John Taylor is president of Nova Data Testing, whose main business is
insuring that the power generation facilities we all need are safe and
efficient through nondestructive testing and inspection. Visit his website at
http://novadatatesting.com
