Panasonic Solar Ark

If you take the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto or vise versa, you may see a strange building called the "Solar Ark."

The Solar Ark. In August, Panasonic took ownership of Sanyo and the red "Sanyo" sign on the ark was replaced with a sign reading "Panasonic."

A total of 5,046 solar panels comprise this massive building. The ark was constructed with the goal of promoting clean and renewable solar energy.

Separate from the ark is a museum featuring information on solar power.

The specifications of the Solar Ark

The solar panels in the Solar ark were actually those that had been recalled from the Japanese market due to insufficient output. This was a big scandal at the time, but Sanyo was able to save face and money by finding another use for the recalled panels. Obviously this must be nothing compared to what TEPCO is facing now, regarding the earthquake, but it will be interesting to see where the future of Japanese power lies. Will TEPCO regain face out of necessity for the power it produces?

Setsuden in Kansai

Recently I went to Kansai to see what was going on with setsuden in the West. Since Kansai is on a different electrical grid from Kanto, there was no need for setsuden practices this summer, but I found out that there was still some setsuden going on then and now.

Taken outside of the computer lab at Doshisha University, Kyoto

At Doshisha University in Kyoto, setsuden is visually apparent in many of the buildings on the campus. For example, lights have been removed, and thermostats turned down to 23 degrees Celsius. Additionally, there are signs like those above posted around campus.

It's good to know that setsuden is being practiced even in places where it is not completely necessary.

Visuals Around Town

This summer setsuden was being practiced on the Odaiba Rainbow Bridge, but has since then been relit. Many of the bridges crossing the channel around Tokyo remain lit up.

Setsuden Advertisement 

Lights Out

Tokyo has made great efforts to reduce electricity usage by limiting lights and switching to LED power. This is especially apparent around Shinjuku station. The South exit, once brightly lit, now shuts down after 8pm. This is also true for many office buildings in the area. How do the salarymen feel about this? Does this mean no more 残業？

The only light found on the South side of the Shinjuku Station was this strange "love reader" game.

Eco-friendly Christmas lights

電力館 (Power Museum) Closure

Yesterday I visited the TEPCO Power Museum, ignorant of the fact that its been permanently shut down. I asked a building employee why, but got no answers. I figured it must have been do to TEPCOs bad PR since the nuclear incident, and I was right.

The museum's closure is related to both TEPCO's bad reputation and the fact that it is severely in debt. The company's slogan, "Lets make friends with electricity," is apparently no longer true.

Blog in English explaining the museum closure

Article in Japanese explaining the museum closure

Museum Information

Panasonic and Setsuden

Yesterday while riding the train I noticed panasonic ads playing on the TV screen above the doors.

You can even do setsuden while you clean! Here's a vacuum that increases or decreases its power depending on how much stuff it has to pick up!

An air conditioner/ heater that senses where people are and only heats that area.

This fridge adapts to your lifestyle and determines the peak time of usage.

A washing machine that can detect the weight of your load and determine the length of the wash cycle.

An older ad - A toilet seat that becomes warm only when it senses people in the room.

Panasonic Efforts for Setsuden - Article

Release of 'setsuden' products to continue into winter - Article

List of Econavi Products

Hotels, Universities, and Akihabara

Even where I am staying they practiced setsuden this summer, although it was minimal. For example, they kept the lights off, decreased use of air conditioning, and advised guests to use as little energy as possible. It is also possible that they're still maintaining some aspects of energy conservation. I've noticed that the light in my hallway has stayed off at all times. Additionally, there are stickers above light switches advising guests to turn off lights/ taps when not in use. Besides that, we haven't been warned by the staff to decrease energy usage.

A student at Waseda University told me that this September, around the end of the true setsuden season, they had to decrease air conditioner use and maintain temperatures of 27-28 degrees Celsius in the labs at her school. Furthermore, she was told to unplug toilet seats when not in use -- Japanese have heated toilets. Additional energy saving measures included turning things off when they're not in use, using only one thing at a time if there are two (for example, only using one hot plate), and taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Finally, she noticed that the trains on the Fukutoshin subway line turned their engines off for a few seconds each time they stopped. This helped decrease fuel usage.

She said that setsuden measures are still in effect at some department stores, which have been reducing heating and maintaining a fairly cool temperature of 20 degrees Celsius.

Today I went to Akihabara, the electronics district, to see if I could find any remnants of setsuden. My search wasn't very extensive, but I found no superficial indication of energy conservation. According to the Waseda student, this summer saw a different Akihabra: all of the store lights were turned off during the daytime, and turned on only after night had fallen.

Akihabara

Setsuden Building Standards

Today I spent my time exploring some parts of Tokyo and getting a feel for the city. Since coming here, I haven't really noticed anything that different than Osaka/ Kyoto region in terms of energy conservation.

For instance, stores have their heat blasting, all the lights are on, and the elevators and escalators are all up and running. It is apparent that the extreme energy conservation measures enacted by Tokyo this summer no longer apply.

The only advertisement for setsuden that I have noticed was on a subway door. It said something like 「節電中」. Interestingly, everything on the train looked normal, and so I'm not so sure what kind of energy conservation was taking place. It is a bit depressing to see that Tokyo has converted back to a massively energy-centered society. Hopefully by doing interviews, I'll find at least one individual that is still being influenced by this summer's setsuden movement.

I haven't had a chance to interview many people. I asked a worker at the paper goods store, Itoya, for an interview, but he declined. I also asked a Japanese girl staying in my room what she experienced in Tokyo this summer regarding setsuden, and she basically said it was "hot." She was only here for three days, but she noticed that the airports, trains, and hotels weren't air conditioned and advised against turning on the air conditioning. I can't imagine keeping that up as a lifestyle. It would be ridiculous and even dangerous to ask people to live without air conditioning forever, but there are ways to reduce the amount of cooling/ heating necessary in commercial buildings and houses.

While I was walking around Tokyo I took note of the architecture of some commercial buildings. Many of them have large windows that allow for the exchange of heat. Furthermore, it was extremely apparent that many large businesses overheat their stores. I think it would be smart to regulate internal air temperature more efficiently.

More Insulation! - Japan needs to set standards for energy efficient building materials!

Itoya, like other businesses, has many windows on each floor

Ironically I found that Muji, which is know for its "design minimalism, emphasis on recycling, avoidance of waste in production and packaging, and no-logo or 'no name policy,'" was extremely overheated. It is a really interesting store, though. Like the Japanese version of Ikea.