Wednesday, February 26, 2014

LEDing the way



Get the LED out.

 They’ve stopped making the incandescent bulbs but even if you don’t like the CFL fluorescent bulbs, there’s hope.  The LED bulbs are (finally) ready and affordable.

LED bulbs are electronic (Light-Emitting-Diodes) so there’s no filament/wire to burn out.

Bulb Type
Annual operating cost
3 hrs/day
Total cost (20 years)
Lifespan
(hours)
Old style
$7.20
$165
1,000
CFL fluorescent
$1.56
$40
10,000
LED
$1.30
$35
25,000


They are now available in many different types and styles.  The bulbs will end up saving hundreds of dollars over time. And for hard to reach places like high floodlights or post lights, they’re a real saver.
And it will only get better.  As more people use them, the choices will increase and the cost will decrease. 
Simple comparison (it can get complicated, numbers vary):  
Lumens are the amount of light you get.  If you’re comparing similar bulbs but one has more lumens, that’s probably what you want.

Bulb Type
Annual operating cost
3 hrs/day
Light output (Lumens)
Instant On?
Light color
Watts (energy use = heat)
Cost
Lifespan
(hours)
Old style
$7.20
850
Yes
2700°
60
$1.00
1,000
CFL fluorescent
$1.56
775
No

2700°
14
$4.00
10,000
LED
$1.30
800
Yes
2700°
10
$8.00
25,000


Still not convinced? Since they use less electricity and make less heat, you can get more light out of your fixtures (use brighter-equivalent bulbs) and have less heat in the house.  You know how hot the old bulbs got.  That was fine in the winter but it meant more air conditioning in the summer!

  1. How much light will you get?  Although the packaging lists ‘Equivalent watts’, it can be misleading. It’s supposed to help guide you in choosing a similar bulb, but check the Lumens!  I’ve seen ’65-watt equivalent’ bulbs with the light output ranging from 650 to 800 lumens.  That’s a big difference. 
  2. What color is the light?  The typical incandescent bulb color is rated at about 2700° K(elvin) The warm color is what you get if you heat an incandescent bulb's tungsten filament to 2700°K.  That's best for household lighting.  Fluorescent and some LED bulbs are often 3000° or 3500° for whiter light.  Depending on the room and your preference, there is such a thing as too white.  Look for the 2700° or perhaps 3000° warm white LED bulbs.
For more reading, here's a NY Times article on LED bulbs.
Cost comparisons on another site:  http://eartheasy.com/live_led_bulbs_comparison.html

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Snow around generators

Snow build-up around automatic generators can be a problem.  A generator is like a small car engine and needs good air flow for the intake and exhaust.   We went around to our customers to shovel out the snow (at no charge) from all the way around the generator.   The snow will melt away eventually but meanwhile it will run properly during its weekly test cycle and during a power outage.