Efficient Lighting

Question: Other than efficient light bulbs, what lighting techniques save energy? What else can be done to lighting to make your home or business greener and more efficient?

Answer: The greenest light source is natural day light. Arranging your rooms to take advantage of it instead of electric light can save a lot of energy. There are many sky light options. Using task lighting, instead of full room lighting. Using the right wattage, if you chose the right color of light you can use a lower wattage bulg. Look for fixtures that use fewer bulbs and allow you to change the direction of the lighting. LED lighting is more efficient than CFL, but at this time most LED lighting requires a new fixture. There is a CFL for almost any fixture and some have a glass cover for those who don't like the look. There are a couple gadgets that can help get the lights turned off when not in use. If have rooms that people keep leving the lights on when not occupied you can use a timer, so it switches off after a specific amount of time. There are also motion sensors and for out door fixtures you can install light sensors, so the backyard light isn't on all day. They have what is called a green switch that involves changing electrical outlets and switches. The idea is you flip one switch on your way out the door or before bed and all the nonessential items, like lights tv's and game consoles. get turned off.

Question: Where would I find a Led Lighting Systems with Energy Efficient Lighting in Houston, Texas? Where would I find a Led Lighting Systems with Energy Efficient Lighting in Houston, Texas?

Answer: Hey, Energy Smart Industry, a leading provider of Retrofit Lighting in the U.S.A. has completed its LED retrofitting project for Ocean Palms, a condominium association in Hollywood, Florida. This has made Ocean Palms the first building in America to be entirely retrofitted with LED Lighting. Its LED Retrofit has also resulted in a 25% saving on its energy bill. Energy Smart Industry, LLC is a part of the worldwide operations of Skyrise Development Group, Inc., an international real-estate capital and fund management company. Energy Smart Industry (ESI) focuses on LED energy-saving technology, providing eco-friendly lighting that has helped its clients save energy costs. Headquartered in Hollywood, Florida, ESI sells retrofit lighting service and LED products in the U.S. for applications like offices, industrial lighting, retail lighting, outdoor lighting, residential lighting, architecture, hospitality and healthcare.for more info view source

Question: where can i get more info abt Energy efficient lighting? where can i get more info abt Energy efficient lighting?

Answer: Hey, One of the simple ways to directly start saving energy is to use energy efficient lighting methods. Americans and other countries people can save money and protect the environment by installing energy efficient light bulb. If you are changing building home, or cutting charges for your business, think installing one of efficient lighting systems. All we know that lighting is an element that affects our life in many different types and methods. That’s why lighting solutions judge comfort, mood, safety, and security.for more view source

Question: a highly efficient backup lighting system for those that lose power during outages. Give me your opinion.? I am thinking of starting some sort of business installing backup lighting in homes. I lost my electricity last in 2005 after hurricane wilma and came up with this idea afterwards. Would you purchase a backup lighting system that would automatically turn on and give continous light for 8 hours???? With a system that would be easily charged up in 1.5 hours using a small inverter during the day to recharge?? It is a very efficient system. Need opinions. Generators are very costly to run. I am talking about 8 hours of continuous run time without running a motor. This is backup power.

Answer: Many such systems are already in use, especially in coastal areas and in many rural areas of the U.S. There is a market for a cost efficient method.

Question: Whats the "efficient" way of lighting an apartment? What is the efficient way of lighting an apartment (mainly living room and bedrooms)? We have electricity included in rent but we should install bulbs or lamps for lighting. I am a person who needs bright lights at dusk and less furniture at home as well. Thus if i have to buy table lamps or floor lamps which one is ideal? Or can a bulb directly plugged to plug point still look good?

Answer: ceiling, floor, table, either one, it all depends on the wattage of the bulb. the higher the wattage, the higher the bill. good luck!

Question: any one know any good websites for learning about energy efficient lighting? i need to write a five page paper on it. thanks!

Answer: I have written web pages on energy efficient lighting including a calculator to compare purchase cost and running costs over time. The calculator page http://www.matthewb.id.au/media/Light_Energy_Calculator.html also includes information on the various classes of lighting and the expected energy consumption. There is also a general lighting page at http://www.matthewb.id.au/index.php?view=article&catid=6%3Aenergy-efficiency&id=14%3Alighting&option=com_content&Itemid=8 This includes some best practices.

Question: Are Neon Lights more cost efficient than normal household lighting? So I have this Neon "Open" sign that gives off more light than my lamp for my bedroom, and I'm wondering if it is more or less cost efficient to use the neon sign as my bedroom light, or to continue to use the lamp as my source of light?

Answer: neon lights are in a way cost effective for users but they are usually made for outdoor loghting on the roads for distance. One can see neon signs or lights from far away. Lamps are made for focussed area lighting which is best when used for low lighting in the rooms.

Question: Is a neon open sign more cost efficient than normal household lighting? So I have this Neon "Open" sign that gives off more light than my lamp for my bedroom, running at 120 AC, and I'm wondering if it is more or less cost efficient to use the neon sign as my bedroom light, or to continue to use the lamp as my source of light, running at 120V/60Hz/60watts?

Answer: Neon lights are actually efficient. But I think you would get tired of the red light. The transformers usually have an annoying hum as well

Question: How can we say that this lighting is the "Energy Efficient Lighting"?

Answer: Hey, Energy-Efficient Lighting ... The researchers say it is imperative for society to move to solid-state lighting to save money and help the environment.for more on

Question: how good are those energy efficient bulbs at lighting? I put one in my room and it lights better than my old soft white one and it's brighter but the soft whites beat the energy efficient ones in brightness in the kitchen fan

Answer: I've noticed the same thing. I just recently found newer ones by Sylvania that say "brighter" on the package and they are. They would probably work in your fan.

Question: Looking for energy efficient lighting? Currently have flourescent tubing in my building. Want to see if there is something else out there that is not to costly, illuminates well, and saves energy.

Answer: I would recommend checking out greenandsave.com -- they have a section on energy efficient lighting.

Question: Checklist for energy efficient lighting for new house?

Answer: Use compact flourescent bulbs, if you really want total energy savings, buy LED bulbs. They cost about $20 to $80, but basically last forever, and never need to be replaced, plus they use almost no electricity, and can still produce the same amount of lumens (how light output is measured).

Question: How much more efficient are LEDs over conventional lighting? Floresent bulbs are more efficient than regular light bulbs. How much more efficient would it be if your house was lit by LEDs?

Answer: LEDs are more efficient at producing white light than incandescent lights, but they are still less efficient than fluorescent lamps. See this article for a comparison: http://www.elecdesign.com/Articles/Index.cfm?AD=1&ArticleID=13982 In particular this table: http://www.elecdesign.com/Files/29/13982/Table_01.gif Some of the advantages of LEDs: http://lightingdesignlab.com/articles/LED_fund/led_advant.htm

Question: Looking Energy Efficient lighting? Hi, I have bought new home at miami and I am looking to buy some lighting instruments for my new home which suite my home theme and structure. I am a professional executive in my company. So I need a lighting which suite my profession. Some of my friend suggest me www.nalmco.org, he says they are lighting management organization and offers energy efficient lighting, energy efficient lights, energy efficient light bulbs, energy efficiency lighting which save you money and artificial energy. Please give me suggestion if you have something more to share with me.

Answer: Energy efficiency is had in the bulb and the strategic placement of lighting also the use of dimmer switches. The fixtures themselves are a matter of preference, taste and budget. I suggest you look into the larger lighting company's online and decide on style. http://www.feiss.com/ http://www.lightingperfection.com/ Once you have chosen your style and preferences you can then either have an electrician install or work with your designer.

Question: Is there an energy efficient light bulb that replaces typical flourescents found in classrooms? I'm doing a project, trying to get my school to switch all the lighting in the school to energy efficient lighting... any help would be appreciated!

Answer: The easy and cheap way is to upgrade to electronic ballasts and T8 tubes. Linear fluorescent tubes are rated in size by length and the "T" number which is the diameter of the tube in eights of an inch. For instance old tubes are T12 which is 12/8ths of an inch which is an inch and a half while newer ones are skinnier because generally speaking the skinnier the tube is the more lumens per watt it produces. The GE UltraMAX ballast series is a good choice because they are available in different configurations to match the usage situation. For instance for classrooms with many 4 tube fixtures the 4 lamp L series (ge-432-max-l) is appropriate because it slightly underdrives the tubes to make them last longer and use fewer watts so it saves money not only in the energy bill but in fewer tube replacements. They are also universal voltage (120-277V) so if the school rewires the lighting for a different voltage they don't have to replace the ballasts again. I probably sound like a marketing person from GE at this point but I have no ties to them other than having bought a ge-232-max-h ballast off of Ebay to upgrade a 2 tube 4 foot shop light and I couldn't be happier with the ballast so far. The only thing I need to do now is get a decent set of tubes since the current ones are cheapies from Walmart and don't have a very good color temperature.

Question: I know fluorescent lighting is more energy efficient but how much energy is it saving? What if all the fluorescent lights in a classroom were turned off, about how much money or energy would that actually save?

Answer: Hey Pink, Jerry is pretty close on the power usage. To answer your question as directly as possible, my son is in 5th grade, and his classroom has three strips of lights, each one made up of five fixtures. Each fixture is 4 feet long and has 2 - 48inch tubes inside. This type of fixture generally uses 72watts with both tubes running. The total wattage for the room is 72 X 15 = 1,080 watts when all the lights are on. Flourescent lighting is about 4 times as efficient as incandescent lighting. To light that same room with old fashioned light bulbs would require over 4000 watts, so the power of flourescent lights is pretty easy to see. Most schools pay a slightly reduced rate for electrical power, but still the amount varies quite a bit from state to state. In our town, a school should pay around 9 cents per kilowatt hour. A kilowatthour, or KWH is 1000 watts running for one hour. Let's say the school is open for 8 hours, but the kids are only in the room for 6 of them. If the lights were on for 6 hours, it would use 6.5 KWH, at a cost of about 60 cents. So if the lights were off all day, it would save the school 60 cents each day. If they were only on for 3 hours each day instead of 6, it would save 30 cents each day of school, or about $6.00 per month. Again, this will vary school to school, and town to town, but the idea is the same. If you're in the education business, here is something you might be interested in. Look online for a device called a, "Kill - A - Watt," meter. They cost around $35. They look like a lamp timer, but are really a load meter. Plug it into the wall, then plug any device with a cord you have laying around into the meter. It will tell you how many watts your device is using at the moment, and how many KWH's it has used over time. Some models even let you punch in your utility rate, and it spits out how much your device has used in dollars and cents for as long as you have it plugged in. Now take a lamp and put in a 40 watt light bulb and run it on the meter, it will tell you it is using 40 watts. Next, change the bulb to a 15 watt compact flourescent one, it will register 15 watts, but ask the kids in the room which one is brighter, turns out they are about the same. It's really interesting to see the lights literally come on in the room when you do experiments like this. We live in a home that is powered by the wind and sun, and over time we've had to learn a great deal about energy savings. From time to time, we get to run a solar power seminar for the kids in the schools in our area, and this is one of the experiments we do. It's also interesting to plug other items into the meter, like a radio, or a game system, so the kids can see how much they are using at home. There is a great magazine out that covers all this stuff, it's not very common on news racks, it's called Home Power. I will include the link below, and some other places you can google to find out lots of interesting info on renewable energy and energy savings. Take care Pink, Rudydoo