Global energy costs are skyrocketing in countries across the world. In most countries the cost of electricity supplied by the grid has increased twofold or more! This is of course not great for consumers who ideally want the lowest price possible. So why is this happening? And what can you do to bring down the electricity costs for your home, school or business? First we will address the former question: Why is this happening? As with a lot of things, it comes down to a case of economics. Supply of electricity across the world has decreased, with electricity providers struggling to efficiently run power plants. A cold winter across Europe has meant that more supplies have been used up when heating homes, leading to a reduced supply of natural gas, an important fuel in today’s economy. Couple this with lower natural gas export quantities for large providers of the substance such as Russia to Europe under political tensions and you can see how prices are increasing!
What is happening at the moment?!
Global demand for electricity is not only staying level, it is growing, quite rapidly. Particularly with a hot summer across Asia, increasing the use of air conditioning across the continent, a very energy hungry process. As supply is decreasing and demand is increasing there is a misbalance between consumers and producers. Hence the cost of electricity rises in response. As the demand outstrips supply by a high degree it is possible for the prices to increase so much. In some cases such as Denmark this can reach energy prices of up to 200%+ of the electricity prices in 2022!
You may think: what is my government doing about this? And that would be an excellent question! Many governments apply an energy price cap on household electricity bills to ensure the less well off are protected from fluctuations in the energy market and rising energy prices. Effectively this means the price of electricity for the consumer cannot exceed a certain amount with the government covering the difference in power. An example of a system like this is in place in Great Britain. The system involves ensuring the cost of electricity does not affect consumers too much. Unfortunately again for consumers in the UK, this price cap is increasing by 54% come April, leading to higher living costs for the region.
If you are interested in this example there is a very useful article on the BBC website! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58090533
How can you avoid these costs?
So the second question and, I should think, the more important one. How can you bring down electricity prices for your home? What are some of the most effective ways to avoid this price hike in electricity prices? What can you do?! Having at home power generation helps to disconnect your house and electricity bills from fluctuations in the overall energy markets. By having a personal power generation system you can generate the electricity you need without having to rely on natural gas supplies on the other side of the world!
Obviously it is going to be a little tricky to build a functioning natural gas power plant in your back garden, and that would do nothing for rising gas prices! Of course renewable energy is the way to go when constructing small scale power generation systems. The compact nature of renewable energy devices and their scalability down to this size makes them an excellent choice for power generation that can fit in your garden, on your roof or outside your driveway!
Have a look at these examples of home energy systems!
