Posts tagged "lighting"

Energy-Efficient Appliances and Lighting For Green Homes

Many people are considering a solar-power kit or solar-panel system for their home. This is a wonderful way to save money, produce clean energy, and “go green”. But before you do this you have to make sure your home is as energy-efficient as possible. The less energy you use, the greater impact your solar-power system will have on your wallet and the planet. This article will teach you about energy-efficient lighting and appliances.

Be an Energy Star

One of the best things you can do is to start putting energy efficiency high on your requirements when shopping for new appliances. Look for the ENERGY STAR logo. This is a government program intended to help consumers find the most energy efficient units. This program also puts the average consumption on each unit so that you can compare two appliances side by side.

Drying and Cooking

Generally creating heat with electricity is less efficient than creating heat by burning gas. Heating with electricity requires that the electrical current heat a coil, which then gives off heat. Gas appliances burn gas and discharge the heat directly to its intended use. This means that for cooking and drying, the best bang for your buck is with gas appliances. You’ll notice with gas appliances that your clothes tend to dry quicker and your food cooks faster.

Washing Machines

With the emphasis on energy efficiency in the last few years, high-efficiency (HE) washers have gained in popularity. Many HE washers use 70% less water in each load. They use a side load feature, instead of top load, which means less water is needed since the clothes spin through the water sitting at the bottom of the drum.

]]>

Conventional top-load washer need to fill the drum up with water for the clothes to get wet. The HE units spend less time and energy filling the tub, draining the tub, and rinsing the clothes. It also means there is less weight for the drum to spin, saving energy. In arid areas, some water companies are offering rebates for water efficient appliances. Remember, saving water and saving energy go hand in hand.

Power Strips & Electronics

Most electronic devices draw a “phantom load” of up to one-third of their operating power. This means that even when your DVD player is technically off, it is drawing electricity. This electricity is often intended to allow remote controls to work (if your DVD player was completely off the remote would not work).

This may not sound like much, but if every electronic device is drawing a little power 24 hours a day this can add up. The best way to get rid of this waste is to get a power strip for each area of the house that has several of these devices (e.g. the home office, the entertainment center, the kitchen). At the end of each evening, and as you leave for work, just make a habit of going around and shutting off the all the power strips.

Lighting

By now you’ve probably heard of Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL’s). These lights can use up to 80% less energy than conventional incandescent light bulbs. Remember how electricity uses a current through a coil to generate heat? Conventional light bulbs work much the same way. You can see the coil in an old incandescent light bulb. With CFLs, a gas is heated to generate light, using far less electricity and in most cases lasting much longer. These lights should be standard issue in every home these days. Just make sure to get the low-mercury bulbs. And don’t forget, solar garden and security lights can handle virtually any outdoor lighting needs you have.

Disposal

When getting rid of your old appliances, don’t forget about the environment. Many appliances, especially refrigerators, contain harmful chemicals and gases. Call your local waste management company for proper methods of disposal for older units. Even better than disposal is recycling your old fridges, stoves, and washers. Many companies will come and take them off your hands for a minimal charge, and they strip down the metal components for scrap and rebuild parts that can be reused. Another great way to recycle: Craiglist or your local classified ads. Many first time home buyers, landlords, and dormitories take old appliances and use them.

More Green Homes Articles

Eco-story Rolls Out New LED Refrigerated Case Lighting Fixture

Eco-story, a leader in LED lighting solutions, today announced that it has added LED refrigerated case lighting fixtures to its portfolio of products.  Eco-story decided to add the product because of high demand for sustainable, uniform LED lighting in refrigerated displays for convenience stores, grocery stores and markets that require case lighting.

The standard case light operates at less than 19W per door, compared to the industry average of 26W, and has a single solid-state power supply and uniform light distribution.  Stock color temperature is 3500K with a minimum 80 CRI, though custom color options are available.  The fixture is offered in 48″, 60″, and 72″ versions.  The product carries a five-year warranty and is NSF and Design Lights Consortium approved.   The majority of case installations are expected to realize return on investment in approximately two years.

“The main challenge with case lighting is how to distribute the light evenly and we’ve noted that many competing products create both dark and hot spots on the product,” said Bill Stauffer, co-founder of Eco-story.  “This new product not only cuts energy costs but also distributes light evenly.”

]]>

In fact, the fixture offers a unique design that allows the light to be adjusted in stores to optimize light distribution for shelves that range from three to 12 inches deep.  The refrigeration case light fixture is being manufactured in the U.S. and is competitively priced against similar products manufactured in China.

Eco-story, based in Portland, Maine and with an office in Denver, has a strong track record of manufacturing quality interior lighting for restaurants, retail stores and hotels.  Eco-story’s LED lights have proven to save money for businesses over traditional incandescent lamps, while retaining the look and ambiance businesses desire.

To see imagery or learn additional specs on the refrigerated case LED lights, visit www.eco-story.com.

Eco-story LED Lighting Solutions, based in Portland, Maine, was founded in spring 2007 on the premise that environmental improvements make strong economic sense.  Due to improved technology and Eco-story’s high-quality, reverse-engineered product, companies no longer have to compromise quality and color to use LED lighting to save on utility costs. Eco-story’s LED bulbs are superior to traditional lighting bulbs, offering the highest quality of light on the market.  Eco-story bulbs contain no mercury or harmful substances and can duplicate current lighting specifications. For more information, visit www.eco-story.com.

For more information on Eco-story LED Lighting and its products, visit www.eco-story.com.  For sales inquiries, please contact Bill Stauffer at 207-774-9889 x101.  Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eco-story/108175905923781.

Related Eco Articles

Using Landscape Lighting To Great Effect

Getting your garden to look just the way you want it to is not only not easy, but it is an on-going battle against weeds, pests and disease, so once you have lovely garden, the next stage is how to show it off it in all lighting and weather conditions. This article is about just that: how to use landscape lighting to great effect.

Read more...

Green Home Ideas – Energy Efficient Lighting, what a bright idea

by Grigor Hristov

Setting up a good green home starts with energy efficiency. Traditional incandescent light globes lose almost 90 per cent of their energy in generating heat – only 10 per cent of the electricity used is actually going into lighting your room. And because of their various filaments and parts, incandescent bulbs generally have a much shorter life span than their more energy efficient counter parts.

Installing energy efficient globes is one of the most cost effective and easiest options available for a good green home. Some companies had even traditionally given out energy and water saving “packs” for people to try out. Nowadays, these energy saving globes are available everywhere – so the question becomes, which light fitting is right for you?

Eco Home Tip # 36 – The lowdown on CFL – Compact Fluorescent (CFLs) are the most common energy saving fitting. CFLs use just about 20 percent of the energy required for the same amount of light from an incandescent globe and last 10 times as as long. All in all, a CFL will help reduce the cost of lighting your home by as much as 60 %.

Eco Home Tip # 37 – Keep your CFLs close, if shaded – a British study last year revealed that CFLs produced a small amount of UV radiation when used unshaded and in close proximity. Open globes were of note, which “encapsulated” globes were considered safe. So if you’re using a work lamp with a CFL, keep it shaded of opt for an encapsulated globe instead.

Eco Home Tip # 38 – Recycling your CFLs – The typical CFL contains a minute 4 mg of mercury sealed in its glass tubing. Some manufacturers have lowered its CFL mercury content to as little as 1 – 2.5 mg. Handle your CFLs with care and take advantage of recycling programs for CFLs to keep mercury from ending up in landfill.

Eco Home Tip # 39 – Leading by example with LEDs – Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are another popular energy efficient lighting option, especially to replace halogen globes and downlights in your home. The small cluster of diodes can be arranged in a number of configurations and sizes to suit your home. LEDs have been traditionally found in electronics including clocks, and have a variety of uses in terms of producing a broad spectrum of bright coloured light. LEDs are the perfect substitute to the more heat intensive halogen globes and last for over 50,000 – 60,000 hours and uses 70 percent less energy than standard halogen globes. LEDs are also mercury free.

Lighting a home can account for as much as 20 percent of a home’s energy use. Energy saving lights are simply a bright idea for your green home.

Looking for more eco home tips and ideas? Visit the Green Pages directory for more great eco home tips and ideas!

Light Up Your House With Backyard Solar Lights

Solar lights are an environmentally friendly and cost effective means to illuminate your garden or parking strip. Solar technology converts sunlight into a cost-free form of electricity. They also provide safety and beauty to an outdoor area. There are a various solar powered lights that last quite a while. Caused by increasing popularity and increasing advancements, there are now more styles and types available to change any outdoor space.

Read more...