LEDs moving in on CFLs in general lighting
It’s a small world on airplanes flying between technology coasts. This time on the San Francisco to Boston run, I cornered Udi Meirav, CEO of Luminus, which is doing great things with LED lighting. The small world part is that two years ago, I wrote about Luminus’ Phlatlight technology just as it was entering the projection TV market. Compared to TVs using mercury arc lamps, Phlatlight LEDs produce a superior picture, last much longer and are kinder to the environment given they don’t contain mercury. Luminus Phlatlight LEDs can be found in the Samsung 1080p DLP units, but now TVs are the its “legacy” business, says Meirav. Since I last caught up with the company, Luminus has moved into the “pocket projectors” market and has struck deals to produce light engines for Samsung and LG units. But now it’s eyeing the much bigger general lighting market defined as street lamps, industrial and home lighting. In February LLF, formerly LED Lighting Fixtures, was brought by Cree and already makes LED can lighting typically found in kitchens. It’s now the LED Lighting Solutions unit of Cree.
But much work remains to be done to get the costs down (An LED is a semiconductor, BTW). For instance, a 60-watt incandescent light bulb produces about 800 lumens, according to Meirav. While a 15-20 watt LED can produce 800 lumens of warm friendly glow, it costs about $80 versus under $1 for an incandescent bulb, says Meirav.
But LEDs have a lot going for them. We already reap comparable electricity savings from CFLs, but the problem is the mercury they contain which has to be recycled or cleaned up if a CFL is broken. Drop one of those puppies on the floor and you’re looking at possibly thousands in hazardous waste clean up costs. And finding a place where you can recycle dead CFLs isn’t easy, either.
Only the most elite pocketbooks will open for LEDs at current prices, but the cost will come down. Cree maintains the electricity savings over incandescent bulbs already make LEDs quickly pay for themselves. Be that as it may, Cree makes it real difficult to find the actual cost of its big product, the 12-watt and 650 lumen LR6 can light. I suppose that’s to avoid sticker shock.
So I called a nearby Design Lighting and Electrical Supplies in N. Andover, Mass. which which carries the LR6. A nice salesman said that with the can and trim, they cost between $140-$145 apiece (a bit lower in volume) versus about $45 for an incandescent can. But he pitched the LR6 hard and said they pay for themselves within five years and last for 17. “We can’t keep them in the store,” he said. Our kitchen cans have CFLs in them, but I am intrigued by the LR6.
As for Luminus, it will announce its general lighting strategy in a couple of weeks, Meirav said. And next week, the company will get the the Display Component of the Year Gold Award for its Backlit Unit at the SID show in Los Angeles.
For a technology journalist, the run between San Francisco to Boston has always been productive. The trip home to Boston last night did not disappoint.
jay draiman commented:
You must serve as an example in implementing energy efficiency.
I think if corporate America is serious about energy conservation; it must start with people at the top and roll down from there to the rest of the executives and employees.
In order to accomplish such an important mission as energy conservation every executive and employee has to believe that what he is doing is the right thing.
They must practice the same attitude at home and implement energy conservation at home. This attitude will carry on to the workplace.
First thing that must be done is, each employee should be asked what has he/she done in their own lives to conserve energy, and than if the answer is positive advance the initiative from there, if not an education process must be implemented to drive the process home once this process has been achieved, it will be easier to get everyone to participate in energy conservation.
The motive and behavior has to come from within each individual person – it must become part of a routine practice – it must become a way of life – reducing waste in any form.
In today’s rising cost of energy – conservation must become a national theme.
Jay Draiman, Energy Analyst
jay draiman commented:
“Can the energy crises be overcome?” – I say yes!
I think that the public, the government and corporate America should treat these energy crises as a danger to our way of life.
During World War II, the America we know unified in a common cause. Everyone rolled their sleeves to chip in and Americans produced an enormous amount of hardware for the war effort. “I see a solution within 36 months”.
If we as a nation can really appreciate and understand the severity and enormity of the energy crises, the catastrophic impact on our economic stability and civilization,
we must unite and do whatever is necessary to produce other forms of energy and overcome this energy and economic crises “by putting all politics and egos aside and look for the good of our nation”.
Jay Draiman, Northridge, CA
jay draiman commented:
A more efficient and cost effective renewable energy system is needed.
A more efficient and cost effective renewable energy system is needed.
To accelerate the implementation of renewable electric generation with added incentives and a FASTER PAYBACK - ROI. (A method of storing energy, would accelerate the use of renewable energy) A greater tax credit, accelerated depreciation, funding scientific research and pay as you save utility billing. (Reduce and or eliminates the tax on implementing energy efficiency, eliminate increase in Real estate Taxes for energy efficiency improvement).
In California, you also have the impediment, that when there are an interruption of power supply by the Utility you the consumer cannot use your renewable energy system to provide power.
In today's technology there is automatic switching equipment that would disconnect the consumer from the grid, which would permit renewable generation for the consumer even during power interruption.
New competition for the world's limited oil and natural gas supplies is increasing global demand like never before. Reserves are dwindling. These and other factors are forcing energy prices to skyrocket here at home. It's affecting not just the fuel for our cars and homes, but it's driving up electricity costs, too. A new world is emerging. The energy decisions our nation makes today will have huge implications into the next century.
A synchronous system with batteries allows the blending of a PV with grid power, but also offers the advantage of “islanding” in case of a power failure. A synchronous system automatically disconnects the utility power from the house and operates like an off-grid home during power failures. This system, however, is more costly and loses some of the efficiency advantages of a battery-less system.
Jay Draiman, Northridge, CA
May 21, 2008
Jay Draiman commented:
Water is the source of life - treasure it! R4.
Water is the source of all life on earth. It touches every area of our lives. Without it, we could not thrive — we could not even survive.
Sustainability – “We strive to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
We should discourage wastefulness and misuse, and promote efficiency and conservation.
"Conservation is really the cheapest source of supply,"
For the benefit of mankind, maintain the quality of life and preserve the peace and tranquility of world population. Water resources must be preserved - to sustain humanity. We must eliminate wasteful utilization of water, conserve our water sources and implement rigid conservation methods. We should utilize solar and or other source of renewable energy to operate desalinization projects from the oceans. Utilize renewable energy sources to purify and transport the water to its final destination. As world population increases the scarcity of water will become a cause for conflict, unless we take steps now to develop other sources of water for drinking, rainwater harvesting – storm-water and gray-water utilization. Designing of landscaping that uses minimal amount of water.
"With power shortages and a water scarcity a constant threat across the West, it's time to look at water and energy in a new way,"
To preserve the future generations sustainability, we should look into urban farming – vertical farming. The term "urban farming" may conjure up a community garden where locals grow a few heads of lettuce. But some academics envision something quite different for the increasingly hungry world of the 21st century: a vertical farm that will do for agriculture what the skyscraper did for office space. Greenhouse giant: By stacking floors full of produce, a vertical farm could rake in $18 million a year.
Jay Draiman, Energy and water conservation consultant
May. 2, 2008
PS.
Hydro dynamics: forget oil. Sharing freshwater equitably poses political conundrums as explosive and far-reaching as global climate change.
Quoted from other sources
Anyone who has ever stood on a beach and looked out into the vast expanse of an ocean knows that there is a lot of water on this planet. In fact, 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water. It may seem like water is all around us, but safe, clean, reliable drinking water is not a cease¬less resource. The problems facing drinking water range from failing infrastructure, to climate change, to insufficient supplies.
Personal Conservation
Preserving our water resources is not a job for water industry professionals alone. We all have a vested interest in ensuring that water remains safe, af¬fordable and available. Therefore, each individual American has a responsibility to monitor and control their water use, There are many simple ways for people to reduce excess water use, lower water bills and protect the environment, espe¬cially in die spring and summer months, Beyond the standard constraints of watering the lawn only when neces¬sary and washing car wisely by using soap and a bucket of water, some steps include: draining water lines to outside faucets, disconnecting hoses, shutting off outdoor water sources during cold weather and running a small trickle of water on whiter nights to prevent pipe from freezing.
Conclusion
Water supply management is an issue that affects us all. It may not be apparent to every citizen today, but with climate change and population shifts transforming the United States, it soon will be. Effective solutions need to be put into place today before we are faced with a water crisis. A focus on careful planning, treatments, innova¬tions and conservation measures will help to create stability for long-term water management. Commitment to keeping water at the top of the list for communities and citizens will better prepare us for whatever the future of water holds.
WATER!
The indispensable source of life-without water there would be no industry, no agriculture and, most importantly of all, no life. In dry parts of the world this essential commodity is even more precious. Almost all human actions involve water from taking a shower to reading a newspaper to driving a car or simply eating a sandwich - almost everything we do or touch is somehow related to this precious treasure. We ask that you stop and think how you use water and what you can do to conserve this essential natural resource.
*Water, beliefs and customs,
*Water as a vehicle of the economy,
*Water, source of art and life, irrigation and cultivation.
The people have decided to act to try and develop a real awareness program on the theme of water preservation and distribution in an attempt to help maintain the original purity of rivers and streams.
In many parts of the world water sources and wells are not equally distributed. Water as a source of life can also be at the source of conflict.
Whether we live in India, Iceland or the Atlas… we have always tried to trap and tame water. Dams, pumps, canals, water treatment centers; there are so many different ways to exploit this resource that we often forget how fragile this unique and essential treasure actually is.
Unfortunately, many of the things we do every day can harm our water. That’s why all people and government should be working with municipalities, farmers, business leaders and developers just like you to take action to protect our water and clean it up.
Small changes can make a big difference. This guide outlines practical things we can all do to preserve and protect our water. We all need to be part of the solution.
Concentrated Solar Power, which requires no solar panels at all. It works by concentrating sunlight onto a small pipe using cheap parabolic reflectors. The pipe contains a liquid that’s heated to very high temperatures by the sun and drives a steam boiler that rotates a turbine to generate electricity (much like nuclear power plants, but without the nuclear waste). It’s cheap, low-tech, and far more affordable than solar power. Plus, it can be built in practically any desert, so it doesn’t take up valuable land. As another bonus, when CSP operations are built near the ocean, they can desalinate ocean water as a side effect, providing fresh water for irrigation to grow food. This is the only renewable energy technology I know of that can produce cheap energy, fresh water and crop irrigation all at the same time. Plus, it has no emissions, no toxic chemicals, no nuclear waste and very little environmental impact..
“You can’t escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today” - Abraham Lincoln said it.
“That man is richest whose pleasures are the cheapest” – Henry David Thoreau.
“To waste, to destroy, our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will re
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