We recently wrote about an event called the Learning Curve. We organised this event in conjunction with Mitsubishi Electric and invited the pupils of one our clients, Reed School, to learn about Renewable Energy. As a company who knows their commitment to the environment and understands the consequences of not being energy efficient we thought that perhaps we ourselves would learn very little from this experience but we were wrong!

JCW's Robyn & Dan can't agree on the answer!

Energy Usage

Does a Wii Nintendo use more or less kw when in use than a Playstation 3?

This may seem a strange question and you may wonder what difference to the environment this little bit of trivia may make but when we started looking at the numbers and then multiplying it by the number of consoles in use across the world, this one subject can make a world of difference to the amount of energy we consume. Read on for the answer!

Non Renewable Energy Sources

Reed School brought 26 of their pupils (which is actually two thirds of the whole school!) to the Mitsubishi Electric (MEUK) offices in Hatfield together with a number of their teachers. The pupils were all very well behaved and excitedly took their seats as our host Jennifer Maskrey expertly engaged them into the subject of Renewable Energy.

We first of all looked at the main sources of energy at the moment being oil, gas and coal and the problems we may have in the future with these sources. It is hard to imagine that these will all run out eventually but not only that, they are continually polluting the air and of course, are costly. As much as companies such as JCW look at ways of making the equipment we supply and install more energy efficient and sell the virtues of regular maintenance, we also need to look at new ways of providing energy to our customers.

Renewable Energy Sources

We then looked at the three sources for renewable energy being sun, water and wind, all of which are supplied by nature, can be harvested by man, do not cause pollution and will not run out.

We were asked the question 'if it wasn't for solar energy why would we not have landed on the moon?'

Did you know that every hour, enough sunlight reaches the surface of the earth to power the whole world's population for a whole year?

We are all guilty of taking things for granted and the many uses of solar energy are not often a topic of conversation. But without it, there would be no satellites, no way for us to travel in space, no satellite television, no mobile phones, our lives would not be as we know it!

We learnt about how eco-heating works through experimenting with the changing states of ice to water and monitoring the transfer of heat and the changing temperatures. Also how heat pumps can collect heat from the air, ground and water. Mitsubishi Electric are revolutionising the way this technology can deliver effective, low carbon, hot water with their award winning Ecodan systems. These systems can provide a simple, renewable solution that can rival the traditional heating systems.

Saving Energy

The Wormery — home made compost with the wormery

We learnt about how we use electricity in our households and looked at ways we can reduce the amount of energy we consume. Making very simple changes to our household routine, such as turning lights off when not in use and turning appliances off at the mains rather than leaving them on standby can make such a difference to our energy consumption.

We talked about reducing waste and using less water. We also looked at food waste recycling and visited the on site wormery. This was met with great delight from the children who got to see the little invertebrate animals munching away at our left over apple cores making the next lot of compost for the fruit trees.

The children made full use of their workbooks, making notes and carefully placing stickers, filling in charts and checking their understanding. To complete their lesson Jennifer happily gave them some homework - with a difference! This work was to be taken home to check their families understanding of the subject and look at ways that each and everyone of them could make small changes to help reduce their energy consumption.

What the Children Thought

A couple of days later we caught up with Reed School to see what they thought of the day and if it had helped raise awareness. The Headteacher, Jackie Harvey responded with:

"What a fantastic visit we had last Friday. We are already seeing the impact of their raised awareness of energy conservation in school. We had an art afternoon yesterday and all of the children made posters on the subject using a range of media. They will also make a relevant wall display in school as we move into 'Switch Off Fortnight' next week.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved for such a treat. The children, and adults, learned a lot. The sessions were pitched appropriately and the mix of presentation and activity was a perfect balance. Thank you all."

How Can We All Make a Difference?

So, going back to the original question, does a Wii use more or less energy when in use than a Playstation 3?

A PS3 uses 125kw when in use, a Wii uses far less, just 20kw. Nintendo, like Mitsubishi Electric are thinking about the energy we use and manufacturing products which reduce the amount, significantly, when we look at world wide sales.

This one fact may not mean much to all of us but perhaps it is time we really started to think about the little things. We do need to be more energy conscious, first of all to help the non renewable energy sources last longer and where possible, start considering the renewable energy using alternatives, sooner rather than later.

If you would like to know more about how JCW can help your business be more energy efficient through regular maintenance or new equipment installations then contact us now.

Related Article: Would you like to know 10 ways of reducing your energy bills in public spaces? Then download our FREE eBook by clicking here.