Save energy

When I was in Japan last week, I learned about their energy saving movement. Their offices are encouraged to set the thermostat at 28 degrees Centigrade. The outside temperate is above 30 degrees.

The male employees are encouraged to wear short sleeve shirts, called "Cool Biz". They do not wear tie and jacket.

The Japan Ministry of the Environment calculated that the annual saving in energy per household from 1 degree of efficiency (from cooling and heating) is 84.6 kilowatt.

The offices in Singapore are quite wasteful in the use of energy. Many offices are cooled down to as low as 22 degrees. The employees have to wear jackets to keep warm. Knowledgeable people tells me that 25 to 26 degrees is the right temperate.

The cost of 1 kilowatt hour is $0.20. If offices and households in Singapore can be more energy saving by 2 degrees, the annual saving could be (just a rough guess), 2 million household X 2 degrees X 84.6 kilowatt X $0.20 = $34 million. (I hope that the experts can verify my figure).

It is not only just saving of $34 million. We have to do our part to prevent global warming and climate change.