SunWave’s Recent Comments

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  Lighting: Efficiency, More Light, Less Energy?

  What's not to like about efficient lighting?

  If our current stock of inefficient lighting represents 22% of all electrical energy consumed in the US, and if the adoption of more efficient technologies with a 2 year payback could cut that bill by 50%, then we could cut carbon emmissions by 11% in this sector in 2 years.  The Energy Policy Act of 2005 incentives and many utilities are offering substantial rebates for investing in energy efficiency now.

  Often a simple "Change a Light Bulb" investment saving electricity now will yeild dividends for the next 5 to 10 years reducing CO2 in defacto excess of international standards.  It puts a $50 dividend for every $5-10 investment back into the pockets of everyone that uses light bulbs or simulated daylight of any kind.  Best of all we don't have to agree with anyone except ourselves in order to do it.  

  It only takes 18 seconds to change a light bulb.  See www.18seconds.org to see how much money, energy and carbon are being saved in your area.  

  See www.sunwavelighting. net for "Changing a Light Bulb and BCH (Boulder Community Hospital.)  for a 2 minute look at lighting that is 50 to 75% more efficient on average than the lighting in the typical facility.  

  See www.truths.treehugger.com for the Convenient Truths video contest finalists.  Of particular interest are "Changing a Light Bulb", and "Chicken Enlightens, Human Learns, World Improves".   If a hospital can do it and a chicken can teach a human how to do it, anyone can do it.

  Go right ahead, keep using inefficient lighting.  The extra after-tax spendable money you willingly give to your energy supplier each month could have been yours.  Instead, it goes up in smoke.  

  Australia and others have announced a ban on incandescent light bulbs by the year 2009.  Green on Ya, Mates.  

  Steve Heising
  www.sunwavelighting.net

  Sunwave Spectrally Enhanced 25 Watt T8 Lamps 1-866-4Sunwave Most light - Least Energy - Win the energy reduction race and green up your bottom line.

  On All ten of 'em posted 2 years, 7 months ago 13 Responses

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  Think Distributed Electric Generation.

  I just saw a talk today on Energy Autonomy by Hermann Scheer at the University of Colorado. He outlined 13 myths used by the central energy companies to delay,  deny, and at whatever cost promote the continuation of the status quo.  

  Our very survival depends on following the lead established by our allies in this energy reduction race.  Only widespead parallel  Distributed Renewable Energy Installations can accomplish this Macro Economic transformation in the time scale necessary to prevent disaster. He notes that the Macroeconomic benefits are multiple, but that the microeconomic impacts are not good for all parties.  

  He recommends a portfolio of several renewable sources of energy and is shooting for 100 percent displacement of traditional Fossil based energy sources for Germany because germany is not going to wait around to see what happens if they do not lead.  The sun he notes will be shining for another 5 to 7 billion years if we are here or not.  I did not buy the book, but I should have.  

  What a great country we live in, when a world leader in energy and political transformation comes to Boulder to speak to a couple hundred interested individuals.

  ENERGY AUTONOMY
  THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL CASE FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY

  February 20, 2007
  1:30 - 3:30 pm, Old Main Auditorium
  University of Colorado, Boulder

  For 200 years industrial civilization has relied on the combustion of abundant and cheap carbon fuels. But continued reliance has had perilous consequences. On the one hand there is the insecurity of relying on the world's most unstable region - the Middle East - compounded by the imminence of peak oil, growing scarcity and mounting prices. On the other, the potentially cataclysmic consequences of continuing to burn fossil fuels, as the evidence of accelerating climate change shows.

  Yet there is a solution: to make the transition to renewable sources of energy and distributed, decentralized energy generation. It is a model that has been proven, technologically, commercially and politically, as Scheer comprehensively demonstrates here. The alternative of a return to nuclear power - again being widely advocated - he shows to be compromised and illusory.

  The advantages of renewable energy are so clear and so overwhelming that resistance to them needs diagnosis - which Scheer also provides, showing why and how entrenched interests oppose the transition and what must be done to overcome these obstacles.

  Biography: Dr. Hermann Scheer is a member of the German Parliament, President of EUROSOLAR, the European Association for Renewable Energy, and General Chairman of the World Council for Renewable Energy. He devoted the greatest part of his political and scientific life to the replacement of nuclear and fossil fuels with environmentally sound energy sources. In the German Parliament, the German Renewable Energy Feed-in-Tariff-Law, the new Federal Building Law (prioritising Renewable Energies) and the Tax-Free-Law for Biofuels are based on his initiatives. These laws became the most successful Renewable Energy industrial promotion and application worldwide.

  Dr. Scheer has received numerous awards including the World Wind Energy Award, the World Prize on Bio-Energy and the World Solar Prize as well as the Alternative Nobel Prize. In 2002 Time Magazine recognized him as one of five `Heroes for the Green Century'.

  His previous books include The Solar Economy (2002) and A Solar Manifesto (1994).

  This talk is free and open to the public. Dr. Scheer's book, "Energy Autonomy", will be for sale starting at 1:00 pm in front of the Old Main Auditorium. The cost of the book is $20.00 (includes tax). Only checks or cash are acceptable. Please make checks out to University of Colorado. For more information: http://ei.colorado.edu/.

  Cosponsored by The Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory and The University of Colorado Energy Initiative.
  On My presidential platform calls for clean air and no war. What about yours? posted 2 years, 8 months ago 23 Responses

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  Just do it.

  Just don't rush out and buy the cheapest cfl crap you can find.  

  There are CFL's for all types of fixtures.  Our utility offers 39 different styles.  Some work great some don't.  Typically you get what you pay for except when you buy the 50 cent incandescent you are agreeing one, either not to use it or two, to pay on average $25 more in energy costs.  Easy monthly payments. That's what everyone likes...

  So when you purchase and install CFL's write the date, the source, and the warranty expiration date on the base and keep your receipts. If and when a cheap lamp fails or you don't like it take back and make them give you another better one.  
  Sooner or later the retailers will stop selling the crap that people don't like. Ask them when they are going to start a CFL recycling program and make them take them back. They take back used motor oil now a days.  They can recycle spent CFL's.  

  Even better yet, write or call your government  representatives and ask them to tax the incandescent light bulb. The Incandescent light bulb is 125 and the CFL is 20. It's about time the old 90% wasted as heat technology were retired to make way for innovative new solutions.  We could use the taxes (maybe 6 billion per year) to encourage alternative energy and level the playing field, and put $150 billion spendable after tax dollars back into everyones pockets and dramatically reduce CO2 and need for new coal fired power plants while we figure out this distributed net metering solar energy alternative energy business.  

  How many legislators does it take to change a light bulb?  One in California wants to do it by 2012... it's at least a start.  

  How many Boulder hippies does it take to screw in a light bulb?  None.  Boulder hippies screw in solar powered hot tubs.  If they want to change a light bulb with a CFL, they just hold one up and wait for the world to revolve around them.  On Umbra on replacing light bulbs posted 2 years, 9 months ago 19 Responses

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  But is the Walmart CFL the best buy?

  I drove down to the experimental Walmart store in Aurora Colorado the other day to check it out and to scope out the new CFL display. To my dismay, there is still 5 to 1 shelf space dedicated to incandescents and none of the cheap fixtures were actually displaying CFL's in use. The display on the end cap was nice but it was not electrified so that customers can not actually see what the light looks like.  Here in Boulder at least, one can shop at Boulder Light Bulb and at McGuckins and see what one is thinking of buying before actually buying it.  

  So I bought some of the cheap dimmable LOA cfl's. One was defective out of the plastic (which has no recycling information stamped into the plastic) The other was also a major disappointment.  It seemed like it was actually going to work but then when it heated up it got very bright to almost 80% of full brightness on the lowest dimmer switch setting.  

  I am taking them back and will likely not step into another malwart green or otherwise.

  Worse yet, they are still selling T12 4 foot fluorescent lamps 4100K (cool white) with a 60 CRI which the last time I checked were the same lamps banned in Germany because they have been linked to "sick building syndrome".  

  But I give them credit, they are cheap. 10 for $15.00. Good for the bottom line, bad for the customers. And at the malwart price.  

  Is it green or is it greenwash. It's at least a start. But we've got a long way to go.  

  Buy the way, the GE commercial dimmables are much better although they cost a lot more.  

  The N:Vision non-dimmable 5500K CFL's from Home Desperate are way better. In my research, HD actually has the best selection of all the big boxes I have visited.

  Beware of the 2700K (yellow) lamps at Low's called Daylight Plus.  Daylight is 5550K and has blue and violet and a CRI of 100 ... They should be called Daylight minus. Note the asterik and the note on the back side that says that "Daylight" as used on the front side does not conform to the standard use of the term "Daylight".  

  Note the color of the light coming in the skylights. Then compare to the color of the light from the light bulb and you'll see what I mean.  And keep in mind that the term "Full Spectrum" means just about as much as the term Natural. (Not necessarily in the same sentence.)  

  And don't buy T12's anywhere at any price.  Recycle your old magnetic flickering fixtures and replace them with T8 fixtures. (or change the ballasts to electronic ones and run T8's  You will thank me in the end. You may be eligible for a rebate from your utility and you might even qualify for incentives under the Enery Policy Act of 2005.

  More Light - Less Energy. Lower Lifecycle cost.  Period.  

  Sunwave Spectrally Enhanced 25 Watt T8 Lamps 1-866-4Sunwave Most light - Least Energy - Win the energy reduction race and green up your bottom line.

  On Wal-Mart pushes CFLs posted 2 years, 9 months ago 17 Responses