It’s that time of year again when autumn arrives and people in the south are looking forward to turning down their A/C and lowering their electric bills. Meanwhile, people in the northeast are dreading the cost of fuel oil as the cooler temps come in and their heating bills go up. The change in the seasons turns our thoughts to saving money.
The government believes that you save on electricity through Daylight Savings Time. And many consumers believe that to save money on fuel, you need to buy a new hybrid vehicle. Conventional wisdom says that hybrids and Daylight Savings Time make the world a better place by saving energy, but does either of them deserve that consideration? According to several critics of these ideas, the answer is maybe not.
On November 6th, 2011, you’ll wake up to an extra hour of Sunday thanks to the end of Daylight Savings time. According to the Energy Act of 2005, we turn our clocks ahead to reduce energy consumption. Yet according to many recent studies, we really aren’t saving energy. True, we save energy by using less lamplight during the hours at the end of the day, but we then spend it during the darker hours of the early morning. Also, that extended summer afternoon hour is hotter, and so we use more air-conditioning; the number one least energy-efficient appliance in any home.
What then is the solution? According to Daylight Savings activists, we should instead move to two time zones and stop turning clocks, backward or forward. They suggest that if Daylight Savings is actually producing a savings, why not use it year round? If not, then why do it at all?
Ok, you turn back your clock, spend another hour with the Sunday paper, then hop into your Prius to pick up some coffee. Helping the environment? Not right away. According to a report in Wired magazine, it takes 113 million BTU’s of energy to produce a Toyota Prius (a big portion of this energy goes to producing the Prius battery back). Because there are 113,000 BTUs in a gallon of gasoline, this means that before you even drive it off the lot, your Prius has consumed the equivalent of 1,000 gallons of gasoline. Hold on to that Prius, because the environment doesn’t start to break even until you’ve driven it 46,000 miles or so.
What should you do instead of buying a Toyota Prius? According to many experts, your best bet is a fuel-efficient used car. A 10-year-old Toyota Tercel has already paid its carbon debt, and still runs at great fuel efficiency.
The moral of the story? Saving money and saving the environment are two noble goals, but look beyond the hype. The solutions are not always what they appear to be.
Author Jason Lancaster enjoys being a contrarian while writing for Olathe Toyota Parts, your source for replacement OEM Toyota parts.
Welcome to the site. This is Hopkin Joseph. A 53 year old electrical planner from .
