Changing More Than Your Light Bulbs
February 19, 2008
Posted by: johnsoncontrols 06:02 PM
By George Gansner
As 2008 gets under way, the many implications and consequences of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 are beginning to make waves. Signed into law by President Bush on December 19th, 2007, the law will make a major impact on lighting, and how home owners and businesses look at energy savings.
One key initiative of the recently signed law is that it "mandates increases in energy efficiency of light bulbs by 30 percent. This will effectively phase out most common types of incandescent light bulbs by 2012."1
Many people are reluctant to change from incandescent lighting because they have not been educated well enough on the benefits of newer technologies. Consider this:
• Increasing efficiency of light bulbs by 30 percent has already been done through the introduction of compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), as well as the use of energy saving halogen technology.
These two technologies have overcome many of the early major objections stated below in bold:
• Dimming is not possible: Actually, dimming is now possible on certain types of CFL and all halogen lighting.
• Light output is not equivalent: Light output is the same and sometimes better than incandescent lighting.
• CFL doesn't provide good color: Now you are able to select from several color options with CFL lamps - 2700K, 3500K, 4100K, and 5000K (K = Kelvin).
• Color rendering is not as good as with incandescent bulbs: Energy saving halogen technology provides exactly the same color rendering as incandescent, and CFL color rendering is 82 CRI (color rendering index) on a scale of 1-100, considered very good (incandescent color rendering is 100).
• They don't last as long: Halogen lasts up to three times longer, while CFLs last up to 10 times longer than incandescent lamps.
Consumers and businesses alike must continue to learn how to save energy within the needs of their own space. A high level of education is the most important aspect in helping to make a decision as to what type of lamp can benefit their needs.
Does a business know that changing incandescent desk lamps for CFLs can provide up to 75 percent energy savings? A desk lamp doesn't seem like much, but that's just the beginning. That same incandescent lamp is in ceiling-can lighting, wall sconces and other applications. So here is a one-lamp scenario: One watt, at 10 cents per kilowatt hour, at 4000 hours running per year will save 40 cents per watt, per year. That is an approximate savings of $30 in energy alone. Add in the cost of the lamp and labor and the savings grows.
On March 13th, 2007, a coalition including Philips Lighting joined together to press the government to ban inefficient lighting2. Philips has considered sustainability a long-standing initiative. Moving to more efficient lighting is just one way to positively impact the environment. You can read more about Philips Sustainability initiatives at: http://www.philips.com and http://www.asimpleswitch.com.
The government understands the impact energy savings can have on the environment. Now it's time to educate consumers and businesses on how they can support one of the most important initiatives our generation has ever seen - and benefit from it at the same time.
1(http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/energy/)
2 New York Times, March 14th, 2007
George Gansner is a Field Marketing Manager for Philips Lighting. His responsibilities include Philips professional channel marketing initiatives for the central part of the United States. George can be reached at george.gansner@philips.com for more information.
