Energy — How much is needed? How close is the energy source?
— from the end user's perspective

The amount of energy consumed by human beings over the past 200 years exceeds the total amount that is estimated to have been consumed throughout human history. Moreover, most of that consumption took place during the latter half of the 20th century.

Automobiles won't operate without fuel, and the countless electrical devices that we depend on daily won't work without the necessary power supply. Modern life is run on the basis of a continuous availability of fossil fuel-derived energy. When the power supply is cut, the normal functioning of industrialized society ceases completely.

Human population growth has essentially reached its limit in terms of energy consumption. As long as industrialized countries continue to increase their consumption of energy, and as long as developing countries follow in the same track, the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere will rise accordingly. Should that trend be maintained indefinitely, the damage to the global environment would be irreversible.

Energy Consumption and Global Warming

*Globally averaged temperature changes relative to the years 1961-1990 (i.e., 1961-1990=0º)

During the past 40 years, the so-called advanced industrialized nations have been the source of more than 90% of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. If these countries were truly advanced, they would take meaningful measures to protect the environment.

Governments have taken some steps to encourage energy conservation. However, societies have become so accustomed to the convenience of lifestyles supported by tremendously high levels of energy consumption that cutting back on that consumption represents an enormous challenge in a very practical sense.

Meeting the challenge through the use of solar energy

Environmental responsibility — or reducing the burden our activities place on the environment — does not have to be equated with unreasonable sacrifice or a return to pre-modern lifestyles. One way to limit our impact on the environment is to use the sun's energy to best advantage. This approach seems self-evident, but the use of the sun's rays as an energy source poses some obvious problems. From the end user's point of view, the sun, unlike electricity, is not a steady, continuous energy source. Climate and weather conditions are intervening factors in solar energy supply. To what extent, then, is solar energy a viable answer to the needs of the end user? Is it truly practical in terms of meeting daily requirements?

Studies have shown that approximately 70% of daily energy requirements in a typical household represent a low level of energy consumption.

A temperature of around 68Fº (20Cº) is widely considered acceptable for a home interior. Cooling a home comfortably during the warmer months means, in most areas, bringing the indoor temperature 9Fº (5Cº) lower than the outdoor temperature. For a home's hot water supply, water temperatures of at least 104Fº (40Cº) are the norm.

Although computers and home appliances consume considerable amounts of electricity, it is possible to avoid high levels of energy consumption when heating and cooling a home and providing it with a steady supply of hot water. Nevertheless, energy consumption is remarkably high in a large percentage of households, in some cases equivalent to 20 or more times the amount necessary to maintain an indoor temperature of 68Fº (20Cº).

High energy consumption is an inherent characteristic of the information age.

Moreover, energy consumption will only increase with the further development and more widespread application of information technology in modern life. This trend underscores the need to counterbalance it with a more judicious use of energy wherever and whenever possible. A good place to start is at home, by selecting an energy-supply system that reduces overall consumption yet satisfactorily meets the needs of individual households.

Satisfying a household's total energy requirements exclusively with the use of solar energy can be difficult to achieve, in view of the demands of contemporary lifestyles. It can also be costly, depending on the country and the status of state-subsidized energy conservation support measures. This isn't the only option available, however. A more practical and realistic alternative is to use solar energy to meet those household needs which do not represent high levels of energy consumption. Such needs can, as previously mentioned, amount to as much as 70% of total energy requirements in the home.

One basic advantage of adopting solar energy use in the home is its on-the-spot accessibility. Consider, for example, the complex logistics of conventional energy delivery, in addition to the ever rising rates of energy consumption in industrialized societies. Nuclear energy aside, fossil fuel-derived energy delivery requires multiple intermediary processes — extraction, refining, storage, transport, power generation and transmission — which themselves require energy for their execution. Most alarming is their environmental impact. Air pollution, global warming, and inadequate disposal of hazardous waste, not to mention the repercussions on public health, are just some of the results of these activities.

The OM Solar system, in contrast, uses the sun as its principal energy source. Sunlight delivers, on average, an energy quotient of 1.0 kilowatt per square meter of surface area, whether that be the ground below us or the roof above our heads. It's an energy source that is readily available just about anywhere, close at hand to virtually any end user.

The sun's heat accumulates on the earth's surface during the daylight hours. As ambient outdoor temperatures drop after the sun sets (or in very cloudy or inclement weather), the accumulated heat radiates upward into the cooler night sky. This phenomenon of thermal transfer is what maintains the heat balance for the entire globe. The OM Solar system is based on these natural principles and has analogously transferred the earth's heat-balancing functions to the human habitat. The system is non-polluting and works in tandem with local climate and weather conditions — in other words, in partnership with nature.

The Logistics of Home Energy Supply

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The illustration on this page shows the overall process of home energy delivery broken down into its constituent phases, many of which involve a conversion of one form of energy into another for purposes of delivery and use. For example, power plant-generated energy has to be converted into electricity for delivery to households. Similarly, nuclear or thermal power plant-generated heat energy has to be converted into electricity and then reconverted back to heat energy in order to heat homes. Unlike the supply of fossil fuel-based energy, the home energy supply provided by the OM Solar system does not have to undergo physical transformation. Its source is the sun, whose heat it collects and uses directly. Most energy requirements in the home represent low levels of energy consumption, and the sun is an ideal and virtually unlimited source for such purposes.

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