Why are energy saving items so expensive, to recoup any savings takes almost 20 years so what's the point?

Question

ie: solar panels, hybrid cars, major appliances, probably even a "green" lightbulb though I haven't done the math on lightbulbs yet.

Answer 1

The point is you get to act all smug and condescending.

Answer 2

Because the "new technology" of the energy efficient tech is expensive due to research and development costs and startup production. Additionally there may be high demand for the new devices that can not be met yet with the production also pushing up the price. As the more of the efficient devices are sold the research costs are paid for and mass production of the items becomes established.

Many new technologies may not be cost effective in their initial production or take a long time to pay off the costs. But once they become established the price can fall very fast. Often the "older" less efficient technologies are totally erased.

By buying energy saving items "early" in the development cycle, you may not save money, but you are supporting development of products that eventually will save a lot of money and energy.

I was initially dubious about the lightbulbs, but it looks like the savings come after only about 500 hours of use, and that is not that long. A few years ago the prices were several times higher for the bulbs and the payback was minor if ever.

The compact lights can be justified by the price alone now, not even counting the environmental savings.

Hopefully in the future the same will be said about hybrid cars and solar panels. But it will rarely be the case with a brand new idea that it can be cost effective compared to established tech right from the start.

Answer 3

Pretty simple for mine. and a point not considered by the answerers above (all good points too!).

As far as I can tell, the main reason that "green" technology is more expensive is that they're designed with a long life in mind. Take the light bulb. The incandescent ones don't last very long so you have to buy lots of them. The flourescent ones can last up to 1000 times longer, so of course you're going to pay for that!

Solar panels...well, the initial expense might be considered high, BUT you're completely off the main power grid. Forever. It's not just the initial cost that needs to be looked at - it's also the HUGE savings of greenhouse gases that a solar house makes! Plus, the norm is to combine it with a whole swag of other green technologies like passive solar heating and efficient water devices, so rather than looking at these things in a single way, you need to look at them holistically and factor in all the non-economic benefits as well. Without them the planet would be a lot worse off, even if they are only being taken up by "hippies".

The other thing is that the petrochemical, motor vehicle manufacturers and "bad" energy sectors probably collude to keep green tech from being able to compete! They're on a good wicket and they aren't about to allow this long life span technology to overtake them.

Finally, it seems a little strange to me that the biggest companies involved in these industries are the self-same ones that produce all the nasties - Honda and Mercedes are at the forefront of hybrid vehicle tech and - in Australia - BP (petrochemical multinational) are considered the leaders in Solar stuff. hmmmm....maybe they have the "answer" but they're squeezing every last scrap of money they can outta the old before they introduce the new?

Love and Light,

Jarrah

Answer 4

The people pushing the Green technologies hope that you are not good at economics. While I will buy something that uses less power if all things are equal, I will not pay through the nose for something that gives minimal returns.

In the case of hybrid cars, it may be worse than minimal returns once batteries start dieing and electric motors start to wear out. The repair costs could be huge, so if you were the type to keep a car 10 years you may be forced to trade in every few years. Now calculate the energy and other environmental costs that go into making a car and you may not have saved anything at all for your money!

Answer 5

Compact fluorescent bulbs are pretty cheap now, so they pay for themselves in savings after a year or two I think. Modern appliances like refrigerators and air conditioners are much more efficient than the ones of 30 years ago, and they don't really cost any more at all. Any new technology starts out expensive and then gets cheaper as more and more people use it. Next up, LED light bulbs, which are still too expensive for your house but already available at reasonable prices in flashlights. The extra cost is well worth it, and small anyway for the amount of light needed in a flashlight, because you get more light AND longer battery life.

Answer 6

I don't know who "they" is, but you're way off. At current prices (and the cost of solar is declining) it takes 3-4 years to pay for itself (I've heard lower, but I'm being conservative).
The light bulbs take about a year--or less. Depends on how much you use one.

Hybrid cars aren't much good economy-wise. For automotive savings the best bet is a high-gas mileage car--they can save a couple thousand a year, more or less (depending on how much the oil companies are ripping us off for at the moment). But for real savings w/o CO2 emmissions, we will have to wait a while--electric cares are the best bet, whhen they hit the market in large enough volume to bring the price down a bit.

Major appliences: Economy-wise, it makes sense to wait until your ready to replace them (unless you have something that's a real energy hog)--then go for high efficiency. Then, you're jsust getting a better deal for money you'd spend anyway. There are a few exceptions--varying depending on where you are and particular circumstances. For the most part, up front investeent in this context makes more sense in terms of insulating, sealing windows, and other measures that will get the most out of HVAC systems.

Answer 7

when only one is bought the cost is X amount of dollars but just like at a supermarket there are always 2 for 1 sales the logic behind the higher price is that the cost of production makes selling one less economical then selling two. (mainly because the cost climbs very little for the second one) So the more they sell the cheaper they will get. (except where Greed is factored in) In that case prices will drop for a while only to climb again rapidly as the popularity rises. Gotta make a buck and Damn those environmentalists...(Yeah I have your buck right here... It just bought a new bike for me. Corporate America how do ya like me now.) Last but not least... Things that are good for you are not always easy to do... Shell out the money to the right places and let your voice be heard in you dollar.