Essay of the Winner of the Contest, Anastasiia Koriahina
To strengthen the energy security of Ukraine, to the standard definition of the concept of energy security, which includes confidence in the availability, availability, and ability to stably receive energy of the appropriate quality every day and under extraordinary circumstances, in my opinion, it is worth adding diversification of energy carriers, energy efficiency, and conscious energy consumption. Energy security protects the state, citizens, and the economy from energy shortages. It is one of the most essential elements of national security and an integral component of Europe’s energy security.
Separately, I will focus on energy efficiency as one of the aspects of the efficiency of resource use, which means the ratio between the benefit received and the energy used. What energy-efficient measures can you integrate into your life? Let’s take one example – these are our homes. They are mostly not energy efficient enough, which leads to energy losses due to excessive energy consumption by old appliances such as refrigerators, hair dryers, etc. What I can do, am doing today, and plan to do in the future:
- install LED lamps
- buy household appliances with the “A+++” mark (the highest class of energy efficiency)
- when building your own home, consider energy-efficient building rules, such as orienting large windows to the south side to increase insolation and passive heating and installing solar panels on the roof and underfloor heating in the house.
Conscious consumption helps to form the habit of consuming less energy. Now, I practice conscious consumption every day to reduce the load on the Ukrainian power system, which has suffered significant damage due to Russian attacks. I boil water in a gas kettle, not an electric one, I dry my hair naturally, I do not leave the chargers plugged into the network, I wash the dishes and do the laundry with a whole load of the dishwasher and washing machine, respectively. Did you know that timely cleaning of a filled bag for collecting dust in a vacuum cleaner, because it is one-third filled, increases energy consumption by 40%? There is something to think about.
Next, I would like to single out RES separately – energy from renewable sources (wind, water, geothermal, solar energy, and energy from biomass). To strengthen energy security, we can use solar panels and wind energy more actively to generate electricity. Installing solar panels can meet my electricity needs and, under favorable conditions, allow me to sell energy to the government.
In conclusion, I consider sharing my knowledge with my peers to increase their awareness. Altogether, this will contribute to the strengthening of Ukraine’s energy security.