Fluorescent Efficiency From The Energy Superstore

Energy Bill H.R. 6

Energy Bill H.R. 6, The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, is an energy bill that was passed to help the United States break away from relying on other countries for energy.

This bill was supposed to accomplish several goals:

• to help the United States develop internal resources for providing energy by increasing production of fuels that are clean and renewable
• to increase the efficiency of products, buildings, and vehicles by promoting research on greenhouse gas capture and storage options
• and to improve the Federal Government’s energy performance

Representative Nick Rahall of West Virginia sponsored the bill, and it was made law on December 19, 2007, almost one year ago. Let’s see how much of an impact this bill has made so far.

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Starter Package

At the Energy Superstore, we have started a campaign titled “Project Green 2008″ in order to help our customers go green in 2008. We are trying to make an impact by showing the importance of making the switch to Compact Fluorescents.

To make it easy on you, we are giving you all the resources that you need to make our world a little greener one light bulb at a time. We strive to not only help our environment, but to help our customers save energy, time, and money.

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Energy Savings Calculator

Here is a neat little tool that is rigged up over at the Energy Superstore. Plug in your numbers and see how much you can save by switching from incandescent lighting to compact fluorescent lighting.

Here is the link to the Energy Superstore’s Advanced Energy Savings Calculator.

One of our recent clients plugged in her numbers for the weekly household usage of 5 lamps in her upstairs and downstairs. By switching to compact fluorescent screw-ins, she will be saving 436.8 kWh per year with a return on investment of 163.7%.

So our question to you is this: when it is time to replace your light bulbs why not just pick up compact fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent, and save yourself hundreds or thousands of dollars a year?

Here’s that link one more time: Advanced Energy Savings Calculator.

Neolite CFLs

What are Neolites?
Simply put, Neolites are an improvement on an improvement. What I mean is — compact florescent lighting (CFL) is an improvement over traditional incandescent lighting, which has been in homes for years.

We see incandescent lighting in light bulbs and lamps everyday. They are in our homes and in our workplace. Neolites are an improvement on CFL technology, bringing us an even safer, longer lasting alternative to standard CFLs.

The problem with incandescent lighting is that it produces a harsh unnatural light that can contribute to glare and eyestrain. Not to mention far more costly energy consumption and short life cycles for the traditional light bulbs which has resulted in after-life disposal issues.

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Upgrade Your Lighting

Making improvements to your lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills. An average household dedicates 11% of its energy budget to lighting. Using new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50% to 75%. Advances in lighting controls offer further energy savings by reducing the amount of time lights are on but not being used.

Indoor Lighting

Use tube fluorescent and energy efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) in fixtures throughout your home to provide high-quality and high-efficiency lighting. Fluorescent lamps are much more efficient than incandescent (standard) bulbs and last about 4 to 10 times longer.

Today’s CFLs offer brightness and color rendition that is comparable to incandescent lights. Although fluorescent and compact fluorescent lamps cost a bit more than incandescent bulbs, they pay for themselves by saving energy over their lifetime. Now available are dimmable fluorescent light bulbs, which operate much like incandescent fixtures.

Indoor Lighting Tips

• Look for the ENERGY STAR label when purchasing these products.
• Turn off the lights in any room you’re not using, or consider installing timers, photo cells, or occupancy sensors to reduce the amount of time your lights are on.
• Use task lighting; instead of brightly lighting an entire room, focus the light where you need it. For example, use fluorescent under-cabinet lighting for kitchen sinks and countertops under cabinets.
• Consider three-way lamps; they make it easier to keep lighting levels low when brighter light is not necessary.
• Use 4-foot fluorescent fixtures with reflective backing and electronic ballasts for your workroom, garage, and laundry areas.
• Consider using 4-watt minifluorescent or electro-luminescent night lights. Both lights are much more efficient than their incandescent counterparts. The luminescent lights are cool to the touch.
• Use CFLs in all the portable table and floor lamps in your home. Consider carefully the size and fit of these systems when you select them. Some home fixtures may not accommoda+te some of the larger CFLs.
• Recessed downlights (also called recessed cans) are now available that are rated for contact with insulation (IC rated), are designed specifically for pin-based CFLs, and can be used in retrofits or new construction.
• Take advantage of daylight by using light-colored, loose-weave curtains on your windows to allow daylight to penetrate the room while preserving privacy. Also, decorate with lighter colors that reflect daylight.
• If you have torchiere fixtures with halogen lamps, consider replacing them with compact fluorescent torchieres. Compact fluorescent torchieres use 60% to 80% less energy, can produce more light (lumens), and do not get as hot as the halogen torchieres. Halogen torchieres are a fire risk because of the high temperature of the halogen bulb.

Outdoor Lighting

Many homeowners use outdoor lighting for decoration and security. When shopping for outdoor lights, you will find a variety of products, from low-voltage pathway lighting to fluorescent motion-detector floodlights. Some stores also carry lights powered by small photovoltaic (PV) modules that convert sunlight directly into electricity; consider PV-powered lights for areas that are not close to an existing power supply line.

Outdoor Lighting Tips

• Use outdoor lights with a photocell unit or a motion sensor so they will turn on only at night or when someone is present. A combined photocell and motion sensor will increase your energy savings even more.
• Turn off decorative outdoor natural gas lamps; just eight such lamps burning year-round use as much natural gas as it takes to heat an average-size home during an entire winter.
• Exterior lighting is one of the best places to use CFLs because of their long life. If you live in a cold climate, be sure to buy a lamp with a cold weather ballast since standard CFLs may not work well below 40°F.
• Also consider high-intensity discharge (also called HID) or low-pressure sodium lights.

By implementing some of these tips and strategies, you will save both energy and money. In many cases your home will also be safer due to the decreased fire hazards. Sick of replacing light bulbs and paying high energy bills? Switch to compact fluorescent lighting and you won’t ever go back.