The new ESL bulbs will use accelerated electrons to directly stimulate the phospors, avoiding the need for mercury, says VU1. The ESL bulbs are said to be dimmable and to have the "warmer" light spectrum we associate with incandescent light bulbs.
Fine Homebuilding's Winter 2010 issue of Energy-Smart Homes also reviews other energy-efficient household lighting products, including "cold cathode fluorescent lamps" (CCFLs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). CCFLs are an improvement over existing CFLs, says Fine Homebuilding, because they come in a wider variety of color temperatures and can dim down a full 90%, unlike CFLs. LEDs, long used for electronics, are now being reconfigured for home lighting units. They're out in daylight light spectrum units, and unlike CFLs, LEDs don't contain mercury, a big plus. However, current LED lighting products can be expensive and don't fit the design requirements for some home lighting uses.
Building Energy 2010, the northeast's premier annual conference on alternative energy and green construction, takes place this year March 9-11 in Boston, at the Seaport World Trade Center. The conference is put on each year by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA).
The three-day conference is organized in nine different topic "tracks," including "Energy Conservation for New Commercial and Institutional Buildings," "Energy Conservation for New Single Family and Multifamily Homes," and "Energy Retrofits for Residential Buildings." If past conferences are any indication, the presentations are being given by hands-on practitioners, who are in the field retrofitting and constructing energy efficient buildings. Construction photos heavily lace the talks, the level of questioning is sophisticated, and answers get into specific construction details.
The conference also features a track on new trends in renewable energy, as well as a policy-level track on climate change solutions. The exhibition hall will be packed with companies selling energy conservation and renewable energy equipment, handing out useful literature and potentially useful business cards.
Dr. Samuel Baldwin, the Chief Technology Officer for the U.S. Department of Energy is giving the opening plenary address. A public forum the evening of March 9th features Tina Clark (Transition Town US), Sharon Astyk (A Nation of Farmers), and Linda Wigington (The Thousand Home Challenge).
Pricey, but well worth attending. Student discounts and early registration discounts are available.
In the midst of the destabilization and near overthrow of the housing market, an equally significant, but quieter revolution in housing is continuing to grow. This revolution, unlike the one led by deregulating politicians, irresponsible lenders and greedy profiteers, is a positive revolution that needs to be nurtured and expanded. It is a revolution in the energy efficiency of American homes. This quiet revolution is being mounted by unsung insurgents, radical architects, developers and contractors, conspiring to push the energy use of housing down to the point where there is a “net zero” use of energy to heat, cool, and power the American home.
The energy we use to heat, cool and operate our buildings accounts for about 36% of all U.S. energy consumption and about 30% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.S. EPA. (See http://www.epa.gov/oaintrnt/projects/ ) So the victory of this quiet revolution in housing is essential, not only to transform our homes, but as a critical front in the battle against global warming and for energy security in our country.
This is a revolution of technique as much as of technology. Builders thinking outside of the box are taking existing materials and systems and putting them together in innovative and more efficient ways (technique). For example, existing 2x6 framing studs are used to make a thicker exterior wall cavity to allow more insulation on the sidewalls of the house. They are also installing improved heating, cooling, and ventilation equipment, and energy-efficient appliances (technology), to further push the home’s energy use down to the bare minimum. And finally, once the fundamentals of air sealing, insulation, high-efficiency equipment, etc. are in place to minimize the home’s energy use, then photo-voltaic and solar hot water panels, or heat pumps are being added to actually make the house a generator of energy (again, technology).
If the energy use is reduced enough, and enough energy can be generated on-site, by solar panels, heat pumps, small wind turbines and the like, the house may actually start producing as much energy as it uses -- entering “net zero” nirvana. ("Net" zero because at any particular time of day the house may be using more energy than it produces, or producing more energy than it uses, but over the course of the year the production pluses and the consumption minuses will "net out" to zero in the home's energy budget.) The homeowner treads more and more lightly in the realm of home energy use, until his or her carbon footprint simply vanishes. Maybe this will be our new housing “enlightenment."
Here are some of the keys to this revolutionary new approach to house construction and energy systems:
Peaked your interest? Then go to our Housing Resources page to see how you can join this quiet revolution in housing.
-- Rudy Perkins
For organizational and informational resources on housing issues, go to the Sustenance Housing Resources page.
Page last modified: 2/6/10