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Good news. An LED that can replace the omnipresent 100W
incandescent bulb has hit the market. Bad news. It costs $95
bucks.
www.treehugger.com
recently posted an
article on Earthtech Products’ 13W LED, designed to replace 100W
incandescents and last more than 50,000 hours. But at this price, it
will be tough to compete with the conventional incandescents. Lowe’s
is advertising an eight-pack of 100W incandescents for $1.98 (about 25
cents a bulb). At least the LED is on sale – the regular price shown
on Earthtech Products’ website is
$109.
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The National Lighting Bureau (NLB), Silver Spring, Md., isn't happy
about what it calls "misinformation" regarding mercury in compact
fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and wants consumers to hear both sides of the
story.
"There's so much misinformation about mercury in compact fluorescent
lamps," says John Bachner, NLB's communications director. "The overall
effect is counterproductive for the nation as a whole. In fact, use of
CFLS will result in far less mercury in the environment rather than
more."
In a recently released NLB P.R. statement, Bachner said the amount of
mercury in the typical CFL is not enough to coat the head of a pin and
that, "The average swordfish contains 20 times as much mercury." "When a
CFL is broken, most of the mercury adheres to the glass and does not
disperse into the air," he said. "Reasonable caution is all that's
needed to deal with the situation."
NLB says two good resources on the topic are EPA
guidance on cleaning up a broken CFL and a white
paper
published by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA),
Rosslyn, Va. Other information is available at www.nlb.org
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Most people don’t think too much about all of those green LEDs
around their homes or businesses for computers, cell-phone chargers, fax
machines, copiers, printers and other electronic equipment. But these
silent green eyes are indicators of what’s called “vampire power”
— standby power consumed by electronic appliances while they are in a
standby mode. Another common power thief is the humble power adapter,
because it doesn’t have an on/off switch. According to a posting on
www.wikipedia.com, desktop computers left on will draw around
150W continuously, laptops consume less than 50W while on standby power.
Some studies have shown that up 8 percent to 13 percent of residential
power usage is consumed needlessly by standby power.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “Many appliances continue
to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off. These
phantom loads occur in most appliances that use electricity, such as
VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers and kitchen appliances. In the
average home, 25 percent of the electricity used to power home
electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. This can be
avoided by unplugging the appliance or using a power strip and using the
switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance.”
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Watt Stopper/Legrand’s Isolé plug load controller helps
building managers prevent wasted energy from a wide variety of
electrical devices in private and modular offices. Isolé couples a
personal occupancy sensor with a surge-protected power strip to turn off
unneeded devices when a space is vacant while also protecting expensive
equipment. It’s promoted as the only occupancy-based plug load
controller available.
Isolé provides two uncontrolled outlets for devices that should remain
on regardless of occupancy and six occupancy-controlled outlets.
Plugging equipment such as monitors, task lighting, radios, calculators,
fans, heaters and transformers into the controlled outlets is a
convenient way to ensure that these devices will only be powered up when
they are needed. In addition to turning off unneeded lighting and fans,
Isolé also shuts off power to "phantom" loads such as sleeping monitors
and unused transformers. While many modern electronic devices now have a
low-power standby mode, they still draw significant amounts of power
unless they are switched off, and many charging units draw power unless
they are unplugged.
Energy codes and green building initiatives are only beginning to
address control of the growing electrical demand of plug loads. ASHRAE
Standard 90.1-2004 requires inline control of permanently installed task
lighting, but does not require automatic off or regulate other plug
loads. Because Isolé exceeds ASHRAE requirements, this solution can
contribute to LEED credits for optimizing energy performance as well as
providing significant financial savings.
www.wattstopper.com
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Mathew, Brnik, president, Schaedler Yesco, Harrisburg, Pa., and the
company’s Energy Savings Solution (ESS) team met recently with several
Pennsylvania state officials to teach them about whole-building lighting
management. After the presentation, Brnik and the ESS team gave the
state officials a tour of their company’s green building systems,
including Lutron’s Quantum monitoring and control system, which
includes fixture dimming, occupancy sensors and daylight-controlled
shades. “The ESS team was organized by Schaedler Yesco to help
business and government entities understand how to save on utility costs
with energy-efficient technologies that solve today’s energy
issues,” said Brnik.
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Most Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) commuters don’t give the proper
disposal or recycling of the fluorescent lights over their heads a
second thought as they ride in and out of Manhattan. However, this issue
is at the heart of the recent resolution of a U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) complaint
against the LIRR, which the railroad settled by paying a financial
penalty of $43,875.
EPA inspected the Hillside Maintenance Facility in Hollis, N.Y., last
year and based on that inspection and other information received from
LIRR, found violations in the disposal of fluorescent light bulbs as
regular garbage at three facilities. In addition to the Hillside
facility, Richmond Hill Sheridan Shop in Richmond Hill, N.Y., and West
Side Storage Yard in New York City were identified.The LIRR estimates
that it generated nearly 260,000 spent fluorescent light bulbs from 2003
to 2005, but says it's now in compliance with all EPA rules on the
proper handling of spent fluorescent bulbs.
For more information about the federal rules for the proper disposal of
mercury and other toxic metal-containing bulbs, visit the
EPA site.
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Despite its cool, cloudy climate, Germany is a world leader in the
devlopment and use of solar power. The country is now looking abroad to
develop new centralized solar-generating facilities.
According to a recent article
in the Phoenix Business Journal, Arizona could be in line
for as many as three dozen solar energy projects and facilities from
Germany. The article said California, New Mexico, Oregon and other
states also are in the fray as competition heats up for solar and other
alternative energy projects. At an international trade event in
Scottsdale on May 6, Greater Phoenix Economic Council CEO Barry Broome
said 34 German solar companies are looking at potential U.S. sites for
energy facilities and Arizona is in the running for those projects.
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May 20-22
Green West
Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles; Green Media Enterprises,
310-984-6919; info@GreenWestExpo.com; www.greenwest expo.com
June 1-4
Windpower 2008
George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston; American Wind Energy
Association (AWEA); 202-383-2512; mbundy@awea.org; www.awea.org. Future conference dates:
June 7-9, 2009, Minneapolis; May 16-19, 2010, and Salt Lake City.
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GreenBiz is a twice-monthly newsletter published by Electrical Wholesaling and Electrical Construction &
Maintenance magazines covering the latest news in the green
market of interest to the readers of our magazines.
Twice each month, GreenBiz will cover topics such as:
- The latest developments in solar, wind and other
alternative sources of energy
- Utility rebate programs and other finanical incentives
- Federal, state and local energy legislation that creates sales
opportunities for energy-efficent electrical products
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- New green products
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