This a a great question… and with prices at 4 and 5 yr lows there is the temptation stop paying attention again. I've been in this business since 1977 and have followed oil prices and the "energy independence" and "renewable sources of energy" markets and rhetoric since that time.
I really thought that oil would have increased in price much faster than it did over the last 30 years and our energy habits would have changed more dramatically. Our dependence on foreign oil that led to gas lines in the late 70's and early 80's created huge interest but only temporary changes in many cases. As the market stabilized prices only gradually crept up and a lot of the progress that we could have made individually faded away.
There is something different this time though. We had the shock of a rapid price increase like last time but we never did experience the shortages and that's a good thing. However, global supply and demand were not such a big factor before.
Supply and demand has never been closer and it is inevitable that oil prices (and correspondingly gas and electric) will rise as the world economy recovers. We've got a little breather right now but if you want to avoid sticker shock in a year or two this is the perfect time to make some energy saving improvements. Because retail activity is slower than normal right now you can find great bargains in energy efficiency upgrades.
Regards
- Ed Wolfe
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Tags: Energy Efficiency
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