Washing dirty laundry is a family task, the saying goes. And ideally after midnight, says the minister. Two instructions that many people will find increasingly difficult to follow as environmental issues require Quebecers to adopt more responsible consumption.
55 years ago this month, former Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Elliott Trudeau, when he was Minister of Justice, said for a completely different reason that “the state has nothing to do in the bedrooms of the nation. What about other parts?
It starts in the bathroom. It will continue in the kitchen, in the laundry room and then in the garage…
Because after “energy sobriety” will come sobriety period. The shower should be shortened or taken at a time other than during peak energy time. Soap and shampoo must not contain any chemical agent harmful to watercourses. We also recommend, by the way, to buy products contained in plastic-free packaging.
You have to stop mowing your lawn. No, it is definitely better to eliminate any lawn in your yard. Electrified, the mower is at least more affordable than a car…
Consumers who already balk at the thought of changing their behavior must be suffering from terrible migraines these days. And they are very likely to demand from the State efforts at least equivalent to theirs. Anyone who wants to impose new restrictions on Quebec consumers on the duration of their showers, on the hours of use of their household appliances or on the size of their vehicle will have to wash whiter than white.
whiter than white
A government that asks its citizens to reduce their personal consumption will very soon hear many criticisms that will remind it that many companies consume superfluously and on occasion shameless energy that is sometimes sold to them below cost. These have the means to pay to improve, which is not the case for households with tighter incomes, who do not have the leisure to choose at what time of day or night they must clock in work.
The government could revise its own behavior in this regard. Think of all those permanently lit highway lights. Let us quote all these trucks of the road network whose engine idles without any real reason, during hours, while waiting for the opening or the closing of a building site.
In recent weeks, more light has been shed on the relative failure of Hydro-Québec’s Hilo program. The adoption of connected devices for the home sold almost at cost by Hydro-Québec and partner manufacturers is far from having reached targets that would allow us to speak of success.
However, what we hear from Hydro-Québec customers registered with Hilo is much more positive than negative. The experience usually leads to a drop in their electricity bill. It is not staggering, this saving, but it testifies to two things: first, contrary to what many fear, it is possible for the average Quebec family to reduce its electricity consumption without penalizing its comfort.
Then, Hydro-Québec may have wanted to do too much by creating with Hilo a reseller of gadgets for connected homes. In this market, there are more buyers concerned that their gadgets are compatible with the platforms of tech giants like Amazon, Apple or Google than with that of Hydro-Québec.
And even there, commercial success remains very slim. Amazon was a pioneer in the connected home thanks to its Alexa digital assistant. Alexa is celebrating its 10th anniversary these days, but Amazon is not in the mood for the celebration: the Seattle company has lost at least US$10 billion since the launch of Alexa.
The famous peak
Hydro-Quebec has repeated it several times in recent months: its objective is to reduce consumption mainly during peak periods. The accepted expression is “peak clipping”, to make the daily current consumption curve as flat as possible.
The electricity demand of Quebec households is very high and it comes mainly from two places: heating and water heaters. With Hilo, Hydro-Québec hoped above all to develop new behaviors among the public, such as heating their homes earlier in the morning so as not to do so during lunchtime, which is busier.
No doubt it would be possible for the government to help by offering substantial aid to improve the insulation of buildings and their plumbing.
But regardless, the formula that will motivate the overwhelming majority of people to sustainably change their behavior has yet to be found. Because heating is just the tip of the iceberg. Transportation is another emergency. Then it will be plastic. Then it will be something else.
In the world of energy sobriety, we do not yet know what is the optimal time to wash our dirty laundry. What we do know is that the citizen will only be concerned if he has the assurance that he is not acting alone. Companies and the State owe him at least that.