Posts Tagged ‘Wasting’

The Environmental Effects of Wasting Energy

Mankind needs energy for heating, cooking, manufacturing and for transportation. Our lives and lifestyles depend on it. If you consider that the vast majority of that energy is drawn from what are irreplaceable sources: fossil fuels. Certain fossil fuels burn cleaner than others do. Natural gas is very clean, most petroleum products are somewhat dirty, and coal is very difficult to use without dumping a lot of nasty byproducts into the environment.
The Impact of Fossil Fuels
Not only does the use of fossil fuels have a detrimental impact on the environment; the collection of these fuels also can be damaging to the environment. Strip mining and oil spills are just two obvious, awful consequences of fossil fuel collection. Since making and consuming energy has bad effects on the environment and, the acquiring of the fossil fuels has bad effects on the environment, then it stands to reason that the worst sin against the environment is wasting energy. Wasting energy causes both long-term and short-term negative consequences to the environment. This benefits no one.
Energy Waste Can Be Reduced
Waste can come from so many things. Did you know some cars get zero miles per gallon? They are parked cars with their engines running. As stupid as that sounds, what about the lights on in the empty room and the unwatched television or computer? Just as serious, but not as obvious is the waste caused by poor choices. Inefficient indoor and outdoor lighting is such a choice. Just switching away from incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent lighting would save so much energy.
Choosing Fluorescent Over Incandescent
Incandescent light bulbs use substantially more electricity than fluorescent lighting. They burn out far more often than compact fluorescent bulbs and also require far more energy to manufacture. The light emitted from fluorescent light bulbs is actually brighter than the light emitted by incandescent bulbs watt-for-watt.
Incandescent light bulbs give off substantial heat when turned on, which then requires air conditioning and/or high powered fans to keep the room comfortable. Even if you were to ignore the havoc incandescent bulbs wreak on the environment, cost wise they make no sense when compared to fluorescent lighting. Since less light is required, more money is saved, less energy is wasted, which culminates in decreased negative impact on the environment when using fluorescent lighting.
The current price for a barrel of oil ($143 USD on 6/30/08) is going to make many previously wasteful people now start to pay attention to the ways they can start saving energy. As oil prices go up, so follow the prices of electricity and natural gas. People will set their thermostats higher, look for timers to shut off their water heaters during the day, plan their errands to stop making extra trips, wash clothes in cold water and use a clothesline for drying them, and replace incandescent light bulbs with florescent lighting.
Do Your Part
If you want to do your part to help the environment…
Step #1 is very simple. The next time you go to the store to purchase light bulbs, make a specific effort to buy fluorescent lighting instead of anything else. To make it even easier, you can order compact fluorescent light bulbs at a discount online right now at The Energy Superstore, and save gas money too.
Step #2 is also pretty simple, turn off lights and appliances when you leave the room. If everyone implemented these two steps, we would see a major decrease in energy consumption and energy waste. Please try to remember to do your part.

Going Green Replacing Energy Wasting, Mercury Hazard, T8 Fluorescent Tube Lights

Energy-efficient T8/bi-pin LED lighting tubes are the latest fluorescent-replacement LED lighting products LEDtronics® announces in its green-technology lineup. The series LED48T8-288-001W bi-pin LED fits into standard G13 bases and is designed to directly replace conventional T8 fluorescent tubes that provide general lighting for commercial, residential and architectural lighting applications. The 48″ long white tubes provide the equivalent light output of 24 to 32-watt fluorescent lamps while consuming less than a maximum of 19 watts. In addition, the LED48T8 tubes run on a wide voltage range of 100 to 290 volts AC.

When it comes to rated life, the LEDtronics series LED48T8 really shines. While conventional fluorescent lamps typically have a rated life in the range 8,000 to 24,000 hours, the LED48T8 lamps boast an operating life of 50,000 hours and more — 5.7 years of continuous light. Furthermore, since the LED lights produce so little wasted heat, the temperature inside the fixture does not build up as it does with conventional fluorescent tubes. The sturdy construction of a UV-resistant polycarbonate housing over the LED tube provides increased protection (no glass to break) and shielding against many environmental effects, allowing them to be placed in locations where typical lights would be more vulnerable to the elements. In addition, LEDs perform well in temperatures from -35C° to +45C°, making them ideal for applications subject to frequent on-off cycling, such as garages and basements, while the aluminum back cover helps with better heat dissipation and a longer lifetime for the LEDs.

The LEDtronics LED48T8 lights deliver up to 1,342 lumens at a color temperature of 5000K (pure daylight white) and 1,072 lumens at a color temperature of 3000K (warm white), compared to the average 810 lumens for equivalent conventional fluorescent tubes. They provide a brightness of up to 429 maximum foot candela across a 114-degree beam pattern, with an impressive CRI of 80.

Other benefits of LEDs over fluorescents include: Quick and easy installation to minimize retrofit costs; no ballast and starter needed, thus no radio frequency to interfere with radio and television signals; instant, full-strength lightup; no buzzing or flickering; and directional distribution of light—good for interior task lighting.

Solid-state design renders LEDs impervious to shock, vibration, frequent switching and environmental extremes. Savings from reduced maintenance costs and downtime quickly return the capital investment expenditure, making them as friendly to the environment as they are to the operating budget. The positive environmental impacts of LED lights additionally come from the consistent, reduced power consumption, long service life, high-quality light, and cold temperature operation, with the corresponding reduction in greenhouse gases and the reduced waste from fewer replacements. Unlike conventional fluorescent bulbs, LED lights are not disposed of as hazardous waste at end of life.

The LEDtronics LED48T8 tubes comply with RoHS—the lead-free and mercury-free directive, as well as the CE safety assurance. They emit no infrared or ultraviolet radiation, and effectively reduce light pollution, being compatible with the international “dark skies” initiative.

The LED48T8-288-001W Premium 4-ft (1200mm) Tube Lights come in two colors: Warm White (SIW) and Pure Daylight White (TPW). Other viewing angles, tube lengths and a variety of LED colors are available for OEM customers. Large-quantity discounts are available for qualified distributors. Availability is stock to 6 weeks.

About LEDtronics®
Founded in 1983, LEDtronics leads where others only follow when it comes to designing, manufacturing and packaging state-of-the-art LEDs to meet the world’s constantly changing lighting needs. Our inventive product line encompasses an array of direct incandescent lamp replacement Based LEDs, low-cost snap-in and relampable Panel Mount LEDs, high intensity sunlight-visible Discrete LEDs, PCB LEDs circuit board status indicators, surface mount diodes SMT LEDs, full-spectrum rainbow RGB LEDs and Infra-Red (IR) LEDs.