Comments on: GREEN BUILDING 101: Environmentally Friendly Lighting

By: Akemi@1STOPlighting

Akemi@1STOPlighting — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:12:43 +0000

I’m two years too late! Too bad this was a short series.
Yes, the lighting industry on a whole has been kinda slow to innovate but they’re gaining ground. 4 to 12 watt LED under-cabinet units are now offered by Kichler and Sea Gull’s been a part of the Energy Star program from the start. I’m excited about this rise of new technology to meet the great political and environmental challenge.

By: Akemi@1STOPlighting

Akemi@1STOPlighting — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:07:46 +0000

I’m two years too late! It’s too bad this was such a short series on Green Building.
I just started working in the lighting industry and am learning a lot about energy-efficient products. LED lighting has evolved to the point that people can now install 4 to 12 Watts LED under-cabinet units from mainstream manufacturers like Kichler. I’m excited for this rise of new technology to meet current political and environmental challenges.

By: Tammy

Tammy — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 16:08:21 +0000

I replaced my incandescent lights for outside the house that are on a timer with CFL’s. We had 60 watt in there and replaced with 13 watt as per the recommendations on the package. The lights flicker ALL THE TIME not just when they come on.

Any suggestions?

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 15:06:20 +0000

The bulbs are nice for saving energy, but they say they will last for 7 years. Not true. I have had to replace a number of them after about 2 years. The only ones that are still burning ( about 5 years) and have not failed are the ones I bought first off because I got tired of climbing the ladder to change out incandescent bulbs. I think the manufactures have started cutting corners and producing poorer quality since I bought those first ones.

By: Inhabitat » ASK INHABITAT: What are the greenest lightbulb options?

Inhabitat » ASK INHABITAT: What are the greenest lightbulb options? — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 19:18:33 +0000

[...] With all the recent talk of CFL’s, LED’s, and other fancy-sounding efficient lighting options, we thought it fitting to resolve some of your lingering lighting and lightbulb questions for this installment of Ask Inhabitat. [...]

By: Michael Flancman

Michael Flancman — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:37:10 +0000

I’d love your thoughts on my website http://www.poopoopaper.com. We sell products made from elephant poo!

By: hiren patel

hiren patel — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 13:42:15 +0000

want more of such information

By: Inhabitat » ILLUMAWALL by DUO-GARD

Inhabitat » ILLUMAWALL by DUO-GARD — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 05:26:49 +0000

[...] We’ve been singing the praises of daylighting and translucent architecture ever since we began preaching the green design gospel here at Inhabitat. Using translucent daylight panels, you can fill your house with diffused sunlight during the day — aiding your health and well-being, and cutting down your electricity bills at the same time. There are plenty of building companies that have been making polycarbonate, nanogel-filled “Daylighting Panels” for awhile now, but Duo-Gard is the first company to push the envelope to its logical discotheque conclusion by bringing colored LED lights into the mix. Now with Duo-Gard’s new IllumaWALL, not only can you flood your house with sunlight during the day, but you can light up your house like a big jack-o-lantern at night: in pink, yellow, green or blue light — or even a pulsating spectrum of colors if you want to be that annoying. [...]

By: Low Voltage Outdoor Lighting

Low Voltage Outdoor Lighting — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 03:19:09 +0000

Great article. Wanted to add some more info I found on saving energy with your landscape lighting.

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 16:59:35 +0000

Great article with some really useful tips for conserving energy with smarter lighting. I had not heard of the sunlight transportation device before. Seems really interesting and with a lot of potential. Not only with energy savings, but for quality of light issues, which have been brought up in previous posts here. Has anyone ever seen/used one of these before? Does it perform as well as it sounds?

By: Inhabitat » Blog Archive » GREEN BUILDING 101: DESIGN INNOVATION

Inhabitat » Blog Archive » GREEN BUILDING 101: DESIGN INNOVATION — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 07:01:44 +0000

[...] Don’t let the size of these tiny wonders mislead you; it is their size that provides such incredible versatility. With a typical lifespan of twenty years, LEDs provide illumination for twice as long as fluorescent bulbs and more than twenty times longer than incandescents. Their light is emitted instantaneously –- unlike the flickering start-up time of fluorescents — and they give off almost no heat compared to their incandescent cousins. Most importantly, LEDs are super efficient, use very little electricity, and can often be run on batteries, which enables portability and use in remote off-grid areas. Among the recent innovations in LED technology we’ve seen recently, our favorites include Philips’ Simplicity LED light-bulbs and the LED Glass Table, as well as the Portable Light, which was developed for use in developing regions with insufficient infrastructure. [...]

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 10:32:51 +0000

Wow – lots of pessimism. Time for some good news?

We just built a new home two years ago, which is lit primarily by daylight at CFL’s. Where we wanted dimmable, we put in low voltage 50w halogens (replaceable today with LED bulbs).

After working with a lighting consultant, we specified the cool white color of CFL bulbs. Warm sounds great, but cool white more closely replicates natural daylight. We have no flicker. We’re very familiar with SAD, since a) we live in Maine and b) one of our children was diagnosed with same. Successful strategies for dealing with SAD can include one or two “special” lights, and also more basic strategies such as diet and exercise.

Our fixtures for the CFL’s are recessed cans from Progress Lighting; bulbs are Sylvania pin-type. Progress is not a high end supplier, but we have found their equipment reliable.

Where we read (bedroom, den) we have reading lights – old ones that we brought with us to this home that are halogen. We read a lot, but the draw of those bulbs for a few hours per day is minimal.

I know not everyone can build a new home to accomplish energy savings, but here’s a perspective: our old home was traditional light and appliances when we bought it; we switched to a good refrigerator (Amana) and dishwasher (Bosch) and we switched 50% of the bulbs to CFL; our average electricity consumption went from 22KWh per day to 14KWh. In our new house we’re down to an average of 8KWh per day.

In terms of power consumed by device (light, pc, stereo, cellphone charger, etc) – you can buy a watt meter for under $20 that plugs “in between” the device and the wall socket; it will tell you easily and precisely how much energy is used by any particular “plug in the wall” device.

By: Inhabitat » Blog Archive » GREEN BUILDING 101: Appliances and Daily Energy Use

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 05:27:13 +0000

[...] Ah, plug loads! Very exciting, you say…but what are they?! Let’s simplify. We’re talking about everything and anything that you plug in—major appliances, task lights, consumer electronics, home office products and a variety of miscellaneous tools and devices. Minus the lights, which Jill featured two weeks ago, we’re left with nearly 50 percent of an average home’s electricity bill. Lighting commonly adds another 15-20 percent. Space heating and cooling, cooking, and water heating make up the rest, and also comprise your natural gas bill. So let’s investigate the primary energy suckers. [...]

By: Jeri

Jeri — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 16:38:36 +0000

I travel my home state as a government working (not a salesperson) taking knowledge to schools, churches, manufacturers, commercial business, etc about the benefits of the energy efficient lighting. In addition to energy efficiency, quality of lighting is very important. I am a strong beleiver in 5,000 Kelvin (some CFL’s are rated at 51K) color temp. lighting. One particular school worked with a test run on 5,000 Kelvin T8 lighting and found the students were calmer, and teachers and students alike had less headaches. In my home, I also prefer 5,000K. I have found this lamp at “big box” stores like Menards and Home Depot. I even saw a couple of lamps with this color temp at Walgreens. Yes, it is a whiter light. Yes, it is much easier to read by and yes, I can see to put on my make up and determine if my slacks are blue or black and match my socks. If you are looking for “mood” lighting then you will want the 2700 – 3500K which are much warmer. I am very spoiled with my 5,000K lamps at home. When I spend the night in a hotel room, the lamps over the vanity are so warm it is very difficult to see to put on make up. When purchasing a CFL, rule of thumb is that you need 1/4 – 1/3 the watts used in an incandescent lamp. However the best recommendation is to purchase a CFL which has at least as many lumens as your current incandescent ie. a 60 Watt, soft-white incandescent lamp has 840 lumens, As as for the flicker affect, many of the new lamps are instant on with no flicker. Hope this is helpful.

By: Inhabitat » Blog Archive » LIGHT POLLUTION: The continuing spread

Inhabitat » Blog Archive » LIGHT POLLUTION: The continuing spread — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 15:27:41 +0000

[...] You might remember that we’ve railed against light pollution before, and since we’ve been talking a lot about lighting this week, we figured now would be a good time to bring up the subject matter again. Today we’ve brought in guest writer / night sky activist Anthony Arrigo to talk about the overly-bright light continuing to plague our night skys.. Light pollution affects the vast majority of the inhabitants of this planet. Right here in the US, 19 out of 20 people live under skies that are clouded by light pollution. In fact, more than 2/3 of Americans live in places where they can no longer see the Milky Way at night. This sad state of affairs that speaks volumes about the wasteful nature of our society. [...]