Every rare once and a while my fluorescent lights give of incredible bright white flashes that blind you for a mere split second. It usually happens once or twice a day and only when they are turned on.
Why do they do this and is it something I should be worried about?
There are many articles out there which offer great ideas for saving energy in your house. Many people, however, are renters and cannot implement many of the plans, such as energy efficient appliances or insulation.
Does this mean that you cannot conserve energy or slash your electric bill because you do not own your dwelling? Absolutely not! There are simple steps you can take which do not involve digging deep into your pocket to increase your landlord’s equity.
Light Bulbs
Change all the bulbs in your light fixtures to compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). These bulbs do cost more than regular lights, but CFLs will cut your light bill and save you money in the long run. Another step is to turn off the lights when you are not using them. If you are stepping out of a room for more than 5 minutes, shut them off.
Turn Down the Thermostat
When you are asleep, just snuggle under more blankets! You can also reduce the temperature when you are not home and do not need the extra heat.
Hot Water Reduction
Clothes do not need to be washed with hot water. There are detergents available that are specifically for cold water washing. You can also turn down the thermostat on the water heater itself. Consider taking shorter showers or installing the aerating, low flow showerheads, which will reduce water consumption. Reduce the amount of water used during a shower, and you’ll reduce how much electricity is needed to heat it.
Let the Sun Shine
Open those drapes! Let the sun naturally heat a room.
Appliances
You may not be able to install energy efficient appliances or even convince your landlord to do so, but you can still save energy with the appliances you have.
Dishwasher
Consider loading the dishwasher fully. The fewer times you have to run it, the more energy and water you are saving. You can also choose to air-dry your dishes instead of having the dishwasher heat dry them.
Refrigerator
Did you know that the more packed a refrigerator is, the more energy it is using? The air cannot circulate when the fridge and freezer are stuffed and it has to work overtime to keep everything cold.
Oven
How about your oven and stove? Fit the pan to the burner so you are not heating the air around it. Microwaves use less energy than ovens and should be used in lieu of the oven when possible. Or, try using a slow cooker. They use comparatively little energy and as a bonus, they are perfect for “fix-it and forget it” cooking!
If you want to take the extra step and spend a little money on your apartment, you can consider installing weatherstripping, or insulating outlets and light switches to stop drafts. Just make sure you are able to install it correctly, or it will cost you more to correct a mistake. Do not know how to do it yourself or don’t want to spend the money? Consider talking to your landlord. He may be amenable to having weatherstripping installed or allowing you to do it in exchange for a discount in rent.
Whatever you decide are the right options for you and your rented space, you’ll be able to cut back energy and save some money every month. Every little step is
this is in my little bag of tricks……lookin for things to BREAK with my stereo system. Its so loud, if you put a shop bulb on the roof, it might vaporize before your eyes! (i know it DIDNT really vaporize, it looks like it though!) breaking stuff is fun!
Fluorescent Adolescent performed on some show in france
I’m ordering fluorescent tubes, and I see that there are T8, T10, T12, and others. I figured they were different sizes, but then I saw, for example, that you can get medium bi-pin 48 tubes in both T10 and T12. What does T mean? Thanks
And is F anything important? As in F20, F40.
Electrostatic Potential Electric Energy eV Conservative Field Equipotential Surfaces View the complete course at: ocw.mit.edu License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at ocw.mit.edu More courses at ocw.mit.edu … mit Introduction to electromagnetism and electrostatics electric charge Coulomb’s law structure of matter
The Canadian Football League team saw complete changes on and off the field. The result? Well the city was abuzz, but does late NHL runs take away from CFL? Obviously, the game seven match of 2006 between Carolina and Edmonton coincided with season opener between the Stamps and the Edmonton Eskimos. This time it hurt, but historically, how have the Stamps and the Flames compared with it come to exposure and city support?
Well let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the both franchises. For starters, despite hockey holding a cornerstone in Canadian society, it is the Stampeders who hold a deep history with the city. The Flames came to the city in 1980 whereas the Stampeders have been here since 1935. A richer history which should give the edge to the Stamps.
Currently the Saddledome, where the Flames play, holds just under 20,000 whereas McMahon holds just under double at about 38,000. That’s double the people (if they all come out) to watch the team play. Point Stamps, but not so fast.
With only 18 regular season games, 9 of which are at home, the Stamps have a season that’s about a quarter of the regular season of 82 games for the Flames (41 at home). Certainly far more opportunity for fans to see the Flames play. (These numbers don’t include playoff games but CFL playoffs are 3 games long whereas the NHL may go 28 games max.) More exposure for the Flames means more sports love.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the teams other than games played is the fact the exposure on TV is significantly different. Of the 18 games for the Stamps, half are played at home, and all home games are generally subject to black-out policies. That means in a given year, 50% of all games aren’t even broadcasted. This does not bode well when trying to capture more fans to come to games. The first 3 games of the 2006 season went like this: game 1 blacked out, bad weather, game seven of Stanley Cup = bad exposure. Game 2 was on air. Game 3 blacked out—you get the idea.
I know the TV deals are different, but let’s compare this to the Flames season. This past 2005-06 season saw almost 76% of games televised (including 5 pay-per-view). This also amounted to zero local blackouts. The new season will see almost all games on TV (not including Bell Center ice but including PPV) .
So what does this all mean? More exposure of the Flames, more money for the Flames, more fans coming to the games for the Flames, and angry Stamps fans, who are probably Flames fans. It’s no secret the organization has to win back the confidence of the fans, the streak of sold out games hasn’t come back since the Feterik years. The CFL should really do something about (and the teams) blackouts. You just can’t get a city going for a team they see 9 times a year (maybe 11) so please, more TV for Stamps!
Patience: The Virtue That Saves
Patience is a virtue. It takes some character to exhibit such levels of moral excellence, but did you know that by doing so, you could save money at the same time? Read on to find out how you can economize by emanating the virtue of patience.
Have the patience to walk instead of drive. It saves you gas, parking and the stresses of driving. Walking improves your health and well being while saving gas money…
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Ten Practical Tips That Save Money
Saving money is not as hard as it seems. Here are ten practical tips that you can do to begin saving money, without changing your lifestyle.
1. Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs. CFL bulbs consume 80% less energy than incandescent bulbs, but give the same illumination. Make sure to buy only lamps and bulbs that have the Energy Star rating to ensure quality compliance.
2. Make a list when going to the grocery and stick to it! Anything that is not on the list is not a “need”, but merely a “want” so avoid busting your pockets for unnecessary items. Buy non-perishable consumables in bulk to benefit from bulk discounts…
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Priorities Bring Focus to Family Budgeting
Often times, the family budget is a source of conflict. Most of the time, the major earner makes the final financial decision, which isn’t always a welcome deal for the rest. Since money is such an intrinsic part of family life, families need to achieve accord in this aspect. There is a four-step cycle in budgeting the family money to maintain peace and harmony.
1. Set your priorities.
Priorities are different from goals. They are aspects in your family’s life that you, as a family, want to set focus on, say health or children’s future. While goals are specific targets that support priorities…
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Mercury is poisonous, yet it’s a critical part of most compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), the kind that environmentalists and some governments are pushing as a new way to cut energy consumption. Mercury is probably best known for its effects on the nervous system. It can also damage the kidneys and liver, and in sufficient quantities can cause death.
There were an estimated 150 million CFLs sold in the United States in 2006 and, and Wal-Mart alone hopes to sell 100 million in 2007. Some scientists and environmentalists are worried that most are ending up in garbage dumps. U.S. regulators, manufacturers and environmentalists note that, because CFLs require less electricity than traditional incandescent bulbs, they reduce overall mercury in the atmosphere by cutting emissions from coal-fired power plants.
But some of the mercury emitted from landfills - in the form of vaporous methyl-mercury - can get into the food chain more readily than inorganic elemental mercury released directly from a broken bulb or even coal-fired power plants, according to government scientist Steve Lindberg.
“Disposal of any mercury-contaminated material in landfills is absolutely alarming to me,” said Lindberg, emeritus fellow of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The mercury content in the average CFL — now about 5 milligrams — would fit on the tip of a ballpoint pen, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and manufacturers have committed to cap the amount in most CFLs to 5 milligrams or 6 milligrams per bulb. To prevent mercury from getting into landfills, the EPA, CFL makers and various organizations advocate recycling. Besides commercial recyclers and some municipal waste collection services, some retailers accept used CFLs.
IKEA, the Swedish home furnishings chain, has free drop-off programs at all of its 234 stores, 29 of which are in the United States. Now advocacy groups are calling on Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other big chains to get involved.
One problem with recycling is that it isn’t cheap. The value of the metal, glass and mercury reclaimed from recycling fails to offset the cost of the process. Costs can range from 20 cents to 50 cents per bulb - not a paltry sum when some CFLs sell for less than $2 at Wal-Mart.
But, compared with the overall lifecycle cost of buying and using a bulb, recycling would be less than 1 percent. Another obstacle lies in the fragility of the bulbs and their mercury content.
The U.S. government has no single recycling plan in mind. Among the alternatives are special curbside collections by municipalities, mail-back programs by manufacturers and drop-off programs at various places, including retail stores that sell CFLs, he said.
Some methods lend themselves to certain geographic areas more than others, because of differences in population density, transportation infrastructure and proximity to recycling sites.
State laws are also a factor. Federal regulations mandate recycling of fluorescent lighting, while exempting households and other small users. Some states, however, are strict. For example, California no longer allows anyone to throw CFLs in the trash, while Massachusetts requires manufacturers to implement recycling programs and meet certain targets.
As technology advances, however, mercury could become less of an issue, at least as far as light bulbs are concerned. Last month General Electric Co. said it was working on doubling the energy efficiency of incandescent lights and eventually developing versions comparable with CFLs. These bulbs, which the company hopes to begin marketing in 2010, will cost less than fluorescents but they won’t last as long.
Meanwhile, some environmentally minded consumers in Dallas, Houston and throughout Texas are embracing CFLs and doing their best to dispose of them responsibly.
Here are some great ideas on how to make your home, cabin, or cottage more energy efficient:
If you have any appliances (such as refrigerators, freezers, ovens, stoves, dishwashers, and clothes washers and dryers)made before 2000, consider purchasing newer ones. Older models use significantly more energy than newer appliances. For example, current energy-efficient refrigerators use on average 40% less energy than models did in 2000. Modern power supplies also shrink idle energy use in appliances by turning them off or putting them into a low-energy “sleep” mode. Energy Star labeled products are recommended. Use compact fluorescent light (CFL) light bulbs in place of incandescent light bulbs. A CFL uses roughly 25% the wattage of an incandescent light bulb and they last over 10,000 hours. Replace your most-used light bulbs first and work your way from there. Turn off and unplug appliances that aren’t being used, or plug them into a power bar and turn it off. This includes computers, TVs, cell phone chargers, etc. Just because the device is off doesn’t mean it’s not drawing power! Have a light colored roof. Dark colored roofs get a lot hotter than any other roof surfaces and they transfer some of this additional heat inside. Light colored roofs use up to 40% less energy for cooling than buildings with darker roofs. Light colored roofs save more energy in sunnier locations. If you’re considering building a cottage or cabin, consider the location and building direction. These play an important role in controlling temperature and light. Trees and hills can provide shade and/or block wind. In colder climates, consider building your cabin with an east-west direction. This will allow you to increase the number of south-facing windows, which will minimize energy use by maximizing passive heating. Of course try to include energy-efficient windows, well-sealed doors, and extra insulation the walls and basement. This can reduce heat loss by up to 50% Another great solution is to produce your own renewable energy. Commercial installations can cost thousands of dollars, but you can make your own solar panels or windmills and generate your own clean power. There are tons of guides that show you how to do this, but you have to watch out because some are just scams. Trust me, I found out the hard way. I made a website to review all the products I bought to save everyone else a lot of time and money.
Learn how to make your own energy with a home solar system or wind power system. Go to http://www.squidoo.com/renewableenergyforhome to see my reviews of solar power and wind power products to increase your energy efficiency.