Those old-style incandescent lights? They’re still around, certainly. But more and more, they’re being crowded out by the new kids on the illumination block: The longer-lasting, more energy-efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) option.
LEDs have been around for a few years now, and they’ve got quite a bit going for them. Promotional materials tout energy savings of 80 percent or more over their incandescent brethren.
Tags: · Christmas lights, Electricity, energy savings, holiday lights, LED lights
Other than the 2012 Olympics, it’s been a discouraging hot, drought-y month this July. Greenland ice sheets are melting ominously. India plunged into darkness and panic amid two days of massive electrical outages. Cargill recalled about 15 tons of tainted hamburger in the Mid-Atlantic and the New England states. And there are disheartening reports about crop failures in the mighty U.S. “bread basket”.
Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, bipartisan, energy egg, energy savings, positive green developments, saving wildlife, Solar Power
The media seems intent on giving climate skeptics much more than equal time. On Monday, the New York Times printed a cover story about the last arrow in the climate skeptics arsenal, the argument that cloud cover will adjust to a warming world and let more heat escape to space.
Tags: · Amory Lovins, Andrew Winston, climate debate, Empire State Building, energy efficiency, energy savings, Hunter Lovins, OtherVoicesBlog, solving carbon emissions
Building new green buildings can be exciting. But taking old buildings, like a giant college dormitory built in 1965, and making them as energy efficient as they can be, there’s real satisfaction in that, too.
Morrison Hall at UNC won last year's Battle of the Buildings.
Tags: · Battle of the Buildings, energy savings, greenrightnow.com, GSA building, JCPenney, Marriott, Morrison Hall, New York Hospital, The U.S. Mint
Rep. Joe Barton’s last bright idea – to apologize to BP for having to make reparations for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico – earned him national ridicule.
His pandering may not have misfired (much) in the conservative-leaning Texas district he represents, but it was a rude affront to those who earn a living on the gulf, and anyone who cares about the workers and wildlife there.
U.S. Rep. Joe Barton
Now, less than a year later, Barton again appears to have his finger on the pulse of the mean-spirited minority.
Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, Better Use of Light Bulbs Act, CFL light bulbs, Cree Lighting, Electricity, energy consumption, energy savings, Energy Star, EPA, greenrightnow.com, incandescent light bulbs, Joe Barton, LED lights, light bulb law, light bulb mandate, low-mercury CFLs, Marsha Blackburn, NRDC, Philips, Steve Burgess, Sylvania
ThinkEco, Inc. is debuting the first wirelessly communicating intelligent outlet at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas. The “modlet” — short for modern outlet — is designed to reduce energy waste from plugged-in appliances and other consumer electronics.
Tags: · Consumer Electronics Show, electricity savings, energy savings, greenrightnow.com, intelligent outlet, ThinkEco
This LED uses just 6 watts.
As with other technologies, advances in lighting just keep coming. Now that you’re somewhat comfortable with CFL — compact fluorescent lamp — bulbs, get ready for things to change again. The latest generation of LEDs — light-emitting diodes — are here and manufacturers claim they rival the look, dimming ability, and light quality of incandescents. Better yet, LEDs contain no mercury, and last up to five times longer than CFLs and 50 times longer than incandescents. They are pricey, many sell for $60 or more, but could save about $300 in electrical cost over its life compared with an incandescent.
Tags: · CFLs, energy savings, incandescent bulbs, LED lights, LEDs, Lighting
Who says it too expensive to change out the bulbs?
Not the Furniture Row Companies, a large family-owned retailer with 330 stores across the U.S., which is switching its showroom lighting to Cree Inc. LED lights
So far, Furniture Row has installed about 13,000 Cree LRP-38 LED spotlights, out of more than 80,000 planned, at its stores, which include the Sofa Mart®, Oak Express®, Bedroom Expressions® and Denver Mattress Company®.
Tags: · compact fluorescents, Consumer Reports light tests, Cree Inc. Furniture Row Companies, energy efficient lighting, energy savings, LED lights, LEDs
You can hear them rattle in the winter, and rumble in the summer. Whether they’re underfoot or overhead in the attic, these unseen monsters can really make a difference in your home’s heating and cooling bills. Yes, we’re talking about your ducts or duct work, and we don’t mean to be personal when we say, you’d better have your ducts in order when it comes to saving on cooling costs.
Tags: · air conditioning, air leaks, cooling, ducts, ductwork, efficient home, energy efficiency, energy efficient, energy savings, Energy Star, heating, home efficiency, seal leaks
Coal-fired power plant (Photo: Braen Gunem/Dreamstime.)
Sitting in a heap atop the list of climate offenders is coal. Coal-burning power plants are the single biggest source of carbon emissions worldwide and their smokestacks spew sulfur and nitrogen dioxide, as well, contributing to the stew of greenhouse gases that are heating the Earth’s atmosphere.
Despite the growth of renewable energy sources, coal remains the single largest provider of energy for America, at 45 percent. And its toxic footprint doesn’t end with air pollution. The industry’s waste, leftover ash, is laced with metal oxides.
Tags: · Carbon Emissions, clothes dryers, coal, coal electricity, coal industry, coal pollution, coal production, coal-fired electricity, coal-fired power, DOE, energy savings, Energy Star appliances, EPA, green power, home energy savings, hot water heaters, refrigerators
(In this piece, reprinted from a collection of essays assembled by the World Economic Forum, a Switzerland-based non-profit commited to improving the state of the world, U.S. Secretary of Energy argues that making buildings energy efficient can rack up substantial energy savings. Chu also discusses why businesses and individuals have previously failed to pick up on this opportunity.)
By Steven Chu
Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of Energy
For the next few decades, energy efficiency is one of the lowest cost options for reducing US carbon emissions. Many studies have concluded that energy efficiency can save both energy and money. For example, a recent McKinsey report calculated the potential savings assuming a 7% discount rate, no price on carbon and using only “net present value positive” investments. It found the potential to reduce consumer demand by about 23% by 2020 and reduce GHG emissions by 1.1 gigatons each year — at a net savings of US$ 680 billion.
Tags: · building efficiency, building envelope, clean energy, energy savings, energy security, energy waste, greener buildings, home retrofits, OtherVoicesBlog, Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of Energy
By Harriet Blake
Green Right Now
Vancouver scored highly as an Olympic venue despite weather concerns. Equally impressive, the Winter Games also scored well in terms of their energy efficiency.
According to Pulse Energy’s Venue Energy Tracker, the software technology that measured the 17 days of athletic contests, the games were the most energy efficient Olympics ever.
Tags: · 2010 Winter Games, energy savings, Olympics, Pulse Energy Venue Energy Tracker
Barbara Kessler
Andrew Winston
Danielle Nierenberg
Anthony Swift