Jul
19

Barriers in Providing Energy Efficient Lighting

on July 19th, 2010

The energy efficient lighting is often recognized as a symbol for energy efficiency. However, energy saving constitutes a major component for energy conservation and power saving. And, the government is trying for various measures and scopes for reduci…

Continue reading about Barriers in Providing Energy Efficient Lighting

Interior Design Comments Off
Jun
19

Three advantages of window treatments

on June 19th, 2010

For many average citizens everywhere, their primary residence is the biggest investment they make in their lives. In addition to providing shelter for their families, the cost of their primary residence is a major investment that they would like to preserve and protect. This preservation includes making the necessary maintenance to the primary home as needed to keep all of the structural components and other accessories in proper working order. Proper window treatments fall into this category. In this article, we will explore three advantages that proper window treatments can provide for your home.

The first advantage that a proper window treatment provides is to offer a level of privacy to the occupants. In this day and age where high powered binoculars and other spy devices are freely available in the market, you need to ensure that the privacy of yourself and your family is properly maintained. Window treatments by way of curtains and blinds offer this privacy without costing too much.

The second advantage that proper window treatments provide is in the area of energy conservation. Proper choice and installation of window treatments such as curtains and blinds result in less of an energy transfer between the insides of the home and the exterior. This will result in lower heating costs in the winter and lower cooling costs in the summer. Thus your energy costs can be lowered by the proper use of window treatments.

The third advantage of using elegant window treatments is the improvement in the decor of your interiors and thereby the pleasant living conditions for yourself and your family. No one likes to stare at blank windows. Adding a little bit of color to the windows by way of window treatments can complement the other furnishings in the room and make your living conditions more serene and pleasurable. Sometimes, great curtains and blinds can even be a conversation piece and a topic of interesting discussions.

Thus proper window treatments offer more value for the money spent than most other home improvement projects.

Raj Krishnaswamy -
About the Author:

Continue reading about Three advantages of window treatments

Interior Design Comments Off
May
26

LED Retrofit Bulbs – Cutting Edge Technology

on May 26th, 2010

Energy conservation and cost savings are two of the top items on everyone’s list these days. With the two-fold crunch of increased worldwide energy demand and the global economic crisis, people from all walks of life are looking for ways to reduce their energy footprint while saving money at the same time. It’s becoming more of a necessity to shop around for the best deals and the most energy efficient products.

Lighting is one of the things that we have complete control over when it comes to conserving both energy and money. The average home contains approximately 30 light bulb burning light fixtures, so replacing bulbs with cost and energy efficient ones is a smart way to go.

With cutting edge technology paving the way, we can now have our light and make a savings difference too. LED retrofit bulbs are among the newest forms of cost cutting, energy saving lighting to hit the market and they provide some excellent benefits over traditional incandescent and even fluorescent bulbs.

LED bulbs outlast fluorescent bulbs by up to three to five times and, at up to 20 to 30 times longer, cause incandescent lights to pale in comparison. Most LEDs run around 50,000 hours of burn time, which is quite considerable. If you make a simple calculation, you can see that replacing traditional incandescent bulbs in all of your fixtures will likely save you a heap of money and conserve a great deal of energy too.

LED lamps consume much less power as well. An incandescent bulb transmits more than 80% of its power as heat, which makes it very inefficient at producing cost saving light. However, an LED bulb produces very little heat, converting most of its energy into a crisp, white light that is easy on the eyes. LEDs are more shock and temperature resistant as well and contain no harmful gases.

Although LED lights have been growing in popularity, consumers have had to use the LED bulbs with special LED fixtures that are designed to accommodate them. Since many light fixtures are not suited for them, LED light bulbs have not been used commonly.

The new LED retrofit bulbs are unique, however, in that they have a standard base that can be used in standard light fixtures the same as incandescent or halogen bulbs. Some LED bulbs are dimmable now also and can be used with standard wall dimmers for extra energy and cost savings. LED retrofit bulbs are leaving their mark in the lighting industry, while reducing the energy footprint in the world.

Barry Wax -
About the Author:

Barry Wax of Brodwax Lighting offers a selection of LED retrofit bulbs on the Brodwax.com site. Visit our website today to see more lighting fixtures and styles for your home.

Continue reading about LED Retrofit Bulbs – Cutting Edge Technology

Interior Design Comments Off
Apr
19

Shanghai Month Of Novel Light And Green Source Lighting

on April 19th, 2010

This year’s Expo 2010 Shanghai will be an LED-intensive event, boasting over 80% of high efficiency, energy saving landscape decorations and lighting featuring LED.? At the recent Annual Sessions of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, delegates proposed the installation of 150 million energy saving lamps to replace large power incandescent lamps.? This scheme will be subsidised by the government.? The “Ten Cities Ten Thousand LED Lights” project launched in 21 cities marks a transition towards LED lighting from traditional landscapes to roadway applications for even scale use in the future. All indications are that the novel light and energy sources lighting industry has a bright future as the trend towards energy-saving grows and calls for? better environmental protection intensify.

 

Green Lighting Shanghai 2010, co-hosted by Reed Exhibitions and the CSA from April 20 to April 22, has received widespread support from leading enterprises like Philips, Osram, Astri, Aixtron, Cree, Delta, Hisense, Skyworth, BYD, Shanghai Sansi, Everfine, SFT, Mingxin, Zhongwei and Kingsun Photoelectricity.? These companies, together with a host of other exhibitors, will fully explore the concept of novel light and new energy sources in the lighting sector. According to Josephine Lee, Vice President of Reed Exhibitions East China, the three-day event will scale the full industry chain, including upstream epitaxial materials growth, chip preparation, midstream devices, module packaging, downstream lighting and display integration application.? The novel light and energy sources lighting industry boasts rich potential and Green Lighting Shanghai is the best platform from which to explore the emerging opportunities thoroughly.

 

Philips Lighting features LED solution series (e.g. the Master LED) specially designed for hospitality in the replacement of halide lamps, incandescent lamps and energy-saving lamps. Hospitality lighting will probably undergo a revolutionary change due to advances in LED technology. BYD solar LED road lamps, which use special BYD Fe batteries, use a self-developed control system of battery charging and discharging, as well as a light-sensitive lighting system powered by DC.? These lamps possess several benefits, such as high reliability, durability, ease of installation, energy conservation, environmental protection and economy?

 

A theme forum – “Thoughts and Strategies on Novel Light Sources and Energy Lighting Development” – and a summit forum – “Innovative Development of Novel Light Sources and Energy Lighting” – as well as four other seminars – will be held during Green Lighting Shanghai. Nearly a hundred industry experts, scholars and business leaders are set to take part in an exciting discussion on the future of the snovel light sources and energy lighting industry. Among them are:
1.Wu Lin, Secretary General of the CSA, who will describe development strategies for the emerging semiconductor lighting industry;?

2. Professor Hao Luoxi, from Tongji University’s College of Architecture and Urban Planning, who will deliver a speech on “Innovation and application design on lighting engineering for Expo 2010 Shanghai”;?

3. Ni Yang, Chief Designer of Expo 2010 Shanghai’s China Pavilion, who will expound on “Lighting Strategies and energy saving measures for Expo 2010 Shanghai’s China Pavilion”

4.Tang Guoqing, Chairman of the Special Committee on Semiconductor Lighting for the China Association of Lighting Industry and Marketing GM of Cree China, who will analyze the development of the LED and lighting revolution.

Business leaders from Osram, GE, Siemens and Philips Lighting, among others, will give presentations on developments in the novel light sources and energy lighting industry.

 

To date, over 3,000 organizations are expected to participate in the event.? These are set to include IBM Public Sector Asia Pacific, Lumileds Asia Pacific, Beijing Jiegao Opto-Elecrtonic Science Ltd., Skyworth Group, Dongguan Kingsun Photoelectricity and Guangdong Zhonglong Transportation Technology. This strong lineup of novel light source and energy lighting innovators augurs well for the success of Green Lighting Shanghai and the future of the industry as a whole.

gao max -
About the Author:

[url=http://www.led-expert.cn/led-t8-tube-c-140.html] LED T8 Tube[/url]

Continue reading about Shanghai Month Of Novel Light And Green Source Lighting

Gardening Comments Off
Mar
31

Signs That A Garage Door Should Be Replaced

on March 31st, 2010

Garage doors are designed to last many long years.  Products are available to help maintain the operation and beauty of garage entries, with a bit of annual maintenance.  Many homeowners only think to replace garage doors when something happens that makes it necessary, such as being hit with a car or lawnmower.

Even without accidental damage, garage doors do suffer wear and tear over time, especially from the elements.  Waiting too long to replace worn out doors and openers can create a serious safety hazard.  Doors and openers that are worn cease to operate properly, and accidents can occur.

Energy efficiency is yet another reason to upgrade existing garage doors.  Over time, the seals that help stop air loss around the garage doors weaken and wear out.  Once these seals become too worn, air loss begins to occur, which creates an expensive power concern.  For old doors that do not have insulation, replacing them with new, well insulated doors is an investment in energy conservation that can pay for itself in energy savings over the life of the door.

Signs to look for that a garage door is at the end of its useful life include lack of insulation and modern safety features, air seals that are torn and worn out, and dents and breaks in the door.  Fiberglass garage doors will often fracture upon impact.  If this happens, the door’s safety is compromised.  When the door is in the full overhead open position, part of the door could fall off due to the fracture and cause serious damage to nearby items, and even more serious injury to anybody standing under or near it when the break occurs.

Likewise, garage doors with considerable dents also pose a safety risk as misshapen doors can interfere with the smooth operation of automatic door openers.  If any part of a metal garage door is dented outward, or inward, in such as way that it makes contact with the ceiling or any other object or portion of the opener mechanism, malfunctions will occur.  In this event, the door should be fully closed then detached from the automatic opener until a garage door service can install a replacement.

Safety is an important consideration with garage doors.  Because they are heavy and are usually hung from overhead, the risk of a door, or part of a door, falling and causing property damage or injury to people and pets should be carefully avoided.  If an existing door’s safety features falter, it should not be used and must be replaced.  Every garage door must have bump sensors that automatically reverse and raise the door if it bumps anything on the way down.  To test that this feature is fully functional, put a block of wood under the door and attempt to close it with the automatic opener.  If the door does not reverse on its own, the bump sensors are no longer working.

While garage doors can last many years with regular maintenance, safety concerns are the number one reason to replace old doors.  Of course aesthetic style and energy efficiency are also important.  However, if a door shows signs of dangerous wear and tear, getting a replacement garage door should not be put off.

Grubb Young –
About the Author:

Mesa Garage Doors

Mesa has been setting the standard in garage door creation, installation, and service since 1989.  Everybody at Mesa understands that purchasing a garage door is a decision that affects the aesthetic beauty and comfort of a home.  Let Mesa help you design an entry that will welcome you home with warmth and style every time:

http://mesagaragedoors.com

Continue reading about Signs That A Garage Door Should Be Replaced

Remodeling Comments Off