Anyone who has used dimmable CFL bulbs with a standard dimmer is no stranger to the flickering issues inherent in the energy-saving conjunction of the two technologies. Dimming a CFL with a standard dimmer not only results in occasional flickering, it can also lead to limited dimming ranges and a flat out inability to turn the lights on at all when the dimmer is in a certain position.
Enter Leviton's new Decora CFL Slide Dimmer, launched at the 2010 International Builders' Show a couple weeks ago. Made specifically to work with the widest range of dimmable CFLs, the Decora CFL Slide Dimmer eliminates the aforementioned issues, optimizing CFL dimming performance. The dimmer's "auto mode" lets it automatically detect if the bulb being controlled is an incandescent or CFL and adjusts its settings for optimal dimming performance.
Kudos to Leviton for making it more likely we consumers will go even greener in our homes.
No word yet on a cost for the dimmer or the best place to buy, but stay tuned for that info as it comes in.
It's not monsters in the attic you have to worry about. It's the cold.
Here is yet another way to save money this winter, this time with an eye on heat loss into the attic.
The Shuttercover Trim to Fit is an insulated cover for the shutters of your whole-house attic fan. Because the louvers on an attic fan are not airtight or insulated, a home in the winter loses warm air through them, driving up the utility bills.
The Shuttercover Trim to Fit contains the hot air within the home by sealing up the vent's shutters. A simple adhesive loop fastener installation method makes it easy to set up and trim the cover to fit.
The covers are 1/4-inch think and have an R-value of 7.5. They come in 36" x 48" and 48" x 48" squares, with the latter retailing for about $50. You can find them at a number of hardware stores like Ace, Lowes and Grainger.
Would you use a Shuttercover to save money this winter?
The people at NASA have every right to toot their own horn. They routinely send people into space, they've found water on the moon and they've sent a number of funny-looking ATVs off-roading on the surface of Mars. So I won't hold it against them that they have their own NASA Spinoff magazine, showcasing the NASA-inspired products and technologies that have permeated into our everyday.
One such product that came across my desk is Thermablock. An aerogel product manufactured by Acoustiblok, Thermablock installs directly to the edges of wall studs, prior to the installation of drywall, to prevent "thermal bridging," or heat loss due to conduction. As the most insulating technology known to man, aerogel was used to solve the space shuttle's problem of keeping the liquid hydrogen (the shuttle's fuel and also the second coldest liquid on the earth) at its maintained temperature of -423° F without causing a potentially hazardous build-up of ice on the outside of the external fuel tank and other parts of the fuel launching system. The flexible aerogel solution has since been used in numerous cold-weather applications, including pipelines and cold weather clothing.
As a wall stud insulating product, the Thermablok aerogel--installed as 1/4-inch thick and 1 1/12-inch wide peel-and-stick strips -- can increase the wall insulation factor of a residence by as much 42%. In an example cited by Acoustiblok, this would reduce the annual energy costs of a typical 2,400 square foot Midwestern home by $700. No wonder then that Thermablok earned its place as one of NASA's top 49 spinoff products of 2009.
There is talk of Thermablok distribution through Lowe's and Home Depot. In the meantime, ask your homebuilder or contractor about using the product in any new home construction or renovation.
If you believe in coincidences, you might call it one that, only days after we blogged about a $99 LED bulb, the shopping-savvy folks over at The Consumerist would feature a short piece about these HD Light bulbs for sale.
Made by OttLite, the "High Definition Natural Lighting™" bulbs come in 13, 15 and 18 Watt versions and run anywhere from $12.95 to $24.99 for a single replacement bulb. Not quite as expensive as the GeoBulb III, but then again I doubt the OttLite bulbs last 50,000 hours either.
But that's not what this is about. This is about a bulb that's going to change my life. Have I been living a life of Standard Definition this whole time, lighting my home with 480i bulbs? What clarity of vision have I been missing out on? Just imagine how the ping pong ball would look if I used OttLite's HD bulbs in the fixtures over head. I would see every imperfection in the ball, every tiny black mark left by the paddle, every subtle change in spin, right?
You know who this bulb is perfect for? The same people who walk into a Best Buy, look at the 1080p HD LCD playing a basketball game and say "it looks better than if you were there at the game." People, nothing looks better on a television than actually being there.
A bulb won't change my world from SD to HD. Credit to OttLite for preying on the gullible, but I'll be shopping around for less expensive CFLs or LEDs...even if they only illuminate my world in 480i.
GeoBulb just introduced its latest in a line of LED bulbs, the GeoBulb III. Using a scant 7 Watts of power, the GeoBulb III puts out about as much light as a 60-watt incandescent. You do the math there, folks.
And here's some more math to factor in: The GeoBulb III uses half the energy of a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) and has a life of 50,000 hours. I actually have done the math on that. Take the light bulb on my bedside table: I figure it is on for a maximum of 2 hours a day. That's 25,000 days of life, or 68.5 years. It is safe to say that the light within this writer's soul will flicker and die before the light from the GeoBulb III does. Did a lightbulb just turn on above your head? Yeah, it did for me, too.
Now here's another figure for you: the GeoBulb costs $99. Ok, so that dimmed said bulb above my head, but only for a moment. Is a bulb that lasts my lifetime, costs far less to run than an incandescent or CFL, runs cooler and doesn't contain mercury or lead worth $99? I have my opinion--what's yours?
GeoBulb expects the price to drop in the near future. There's also an under counter option. 1 bar (light), AC adaptor and connectors costs $44.95, and a 2-bar expansion kit with connectors costs $74.95.
What do Smart Homes running off a Smart Energy Grid need to be complete? Why, Smart Plugs, of course!
The energy conservationists at Zerofootprint are adding IQ points to each outlet in the home with their new carbon emission-reducing socket supplements, called "TalkingPlugs™." Designed to fit right on top of an existing outlet, each TalkingPlug™ comes equipped with technology that enables control of a plugged-in appliance across a network as well as real-time measuring of energy consumption. You know how the "Stand-by" mode of every plugged in appliance or electronic device consumes electricity even when said device is turned off? The TalkingPlug™ can be programmed to cut power to the device during certain hours (sleepy time) to conserve electricity.
Widespread installation of TalkingPlugs™ across neighborhoods, municipalities and even the country will result in a sort of mesh network -- information gathered from each home can be sent to Zerofootprint and individual homes can check in to see how their energy usage compares to others.
The current $50/plug price is a little prohibitive. I want to conserve, but I also want to have enough money to actually pay the electricity bill (lower though it may be). I'm not sure if I'm sold on the name, either. I envision cartoonish plastic wall pods from some animated kids' movie fighting for the attention of the human characters. "Plug ME!" "No, plug ME!" Lower the price, change the name, and I'm as game as the next guy.
LEED rates buildings on a number of factors that reflect a home’s sustainability. The first LivingHomes was the first home to receive a LEED’s highest designation of Platinum.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to help identify and implement practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.
To qualify as LEED certified, homes must earn a minimum of 45 points in eight categories including: Innovative Design Process (ID), Location and Linkages (LL), Sustainable Sites (SS), Water Efficiency (WE), Energy and Atmosphere (EA), Materials and Resources (MR), Indoor Environmental Quality (IQ), and Awareness and Education (AE).
LEED certified homes save more energy, conserve more water, create less waste and are healthier for homeowners than non-LEED certified homes. These green homes offer homeowners health benefits, significantly reduce their utility bills and lessen their impact and dependence on the environment. While not every home will be built or retrofit to LEED certification standards, a number of smaller steps can be taken by homeowners and builders with the LEED standards in mind.
Federal stimulus packages create additional incentives for homeowners to incorporate energy-efficient products into their homes including a 30 percent tax credit (up to $1,500) on windows and doors, insulation, roofs (metal and asphalt), HVAC, water heaters (non-solar) and biomass stoves for those products purchased for existing homes from now until 2010. Tax credits for existing homes and new construction are available at 30 percent of the cost on geothermal heat pumps, solar panels, solar water heaters, small wind energy systems and fuel cells through 2016. With more than 1,800 exhibitors -- many of which boast LEED credits for homes -- and 100 educational sessions on sustainable building including a keynote opening by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, GreenBuild 2009 demonstrated the growing interest, importance and need for eco friendly building and design. Touting the theme, “green building on every street” and through its first-ever Green Job Fair, the conference and expo proved that going green has never been more mainstream.
What does this mean for homeowners? Not only will your homes be healthier for your family and the environment, but as more and more companies offer green products and services, more options and competitive pricing will emerge for homeowners looking to go green. For homeowners interested in more information on LEED, green building or to view a list of builders dedicated to sustainable homes, visit the USGBC Web site.
GreenBuild is an international conference and expo on bringing green living to Main Street. It is being covered for BobVila.com by the editors of EcoNewsNetwork.org, a blog that provides news, trends and commentary on ecological issues, challenges, products, processes, science and leisure.
