Using Spy Plane to Identify Homes that are Wasting Energy

1. Stacyj
   September 15th, 2007 at 3:10 pm

   Holy crap. Even with as noble an end as environmentalism I just can’t see any POSSIBLE way that these means are justified. Actually it’s even a bit scarier -because- it’s being attached to something so important and socially positive, I’d imagine it’ll be incredibly easy for supporters of the idea to jump down the throats of opponents with a ridiculous, “What, don’t you care about global warming and the environment??” claim. Privacy is pretty danged important, too, and to think that saving one requires sacrificing the other is short-sighed and vile.

   Man. I love the UK, it hurts to see all of this Big Brother stuff going on there (not that it’s not going on elsewhere, but dang it, I really LIKE the UK).

2. Sarah531
   September 15th, 2007 at 3:21 pm

   Wah.

3. Carl Huber
   September 15th, 2007 at 4:26 pm

   How much energy does the spy plane waste?

   / didn’t read the article

4. Paul
   September 15th, 2007 at 7:09 pm

   Come on, you thermal venters, take a cue from the well-insulated pot growers! Seal them windows and put aluminum foil on all reflective wall and ceiling surfaces!

5. gastronaut
   September 15th, 2007 at 8:04 pm

   Pot farms, esp. large ones, actually heat the foundation of the house, which is pretty hard to hide from infrared. This story is just a cover for looking for pot houses–i mean if they were actually looking for over-heaters, so to speak, they’d be calling on every ancient person who thinks 80F is chilly.

6. Chris
   September 16th, 2007 at 12:21 am

   Kewl. Global warming is incrasing tornadoes and storms strength and occurence. We’ll be able to add up some claims on houses warming when we’ll sue the heat emitting industries on that matter.
   It’s going to warm up my lawyer.

7. BikerRay
   September 16th, 2007 at 5:35 am

   gastronaut: Agree it’s likely used for pot growers. Here (in Canada) they look for abnormally high electricity usage. I’ve had a few friends that use a lot of power (legitimately) getting a visit from the cops.

8. Alice H
   September 16th, 2007 at 10:52 am

   I wonder how much they factor in roofs that get extremely hot? We had a whole house fan put in at the end of spring, and the installer commented that our roof and attic were among the hottest he’d ever encountered. In April.

   We’ve cut our summer energy usage by over 30% with the house fan, btw. The air conditioner the previous owners installed isn’t very efficient. We only ended up using the air conditioner three days this year, thanks to the house fan.

9. munky
   September 16th, 2007 at 3:48 pm

   And that’s another reason to avoid returning to the UK.
   While there might be some merit to previous comments that the Man is looking for dope growers - if you’ve ever lived in Harringey, you’d know this one’s a no-brainer…), one has to wonder if this is really a pertinent use of technology.
   And rather than “shaming’ the excess energy users into compliance, where are the initiatives to provide subsidised or low cost insulation to those properties identifed..?
   Silly me, the Market is supposed to take care of that…

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