Lighting represents 20% to 25% of the electricity consumed in the USA. An average family spends 5% to 10% of its energy for lighting budget, while businesses consume 20% to 30% of their total energy for lighting only.
In a residential or commercial lighting installations, 50% or more waste of energy is obsolete equipment, inadequate maintenance, [...]
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Cool light is preferred for visual tasks because it produces higher contrast than warm light. Contrast is the brightness difference between different parts of the visual field, which is the area of space you can see at a given instant without moving your eyes. Warm light is preferred for living spaces because it is more [...]
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Read more >>All fluorescent lamps contain small amounts of mercury, and some compact fluorescent lamps with magnetic ballasts contain small amounts of short-lived radioactive materials. Because of these hazardous materials, you should not throw burned out bulbs in the trash. Discover if there is a recycling program for them in your communities, which are increasingly common. Or [...]
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Read more >>There are four basic types of lighting: incandescent, fluorescent, high-intensity discharge, and low-pressure sodium.
Incandescent lighting is the most common type of lighting used in residences. Fluorescent lighting is used primarily in commercial indoor lighting systems, while high-intensity discharge lighting is used only for outdoor lighting applications. Low-pressure sodium lighting is used where color rendering is [...]
Popularity: 67%
Read more >>In choosing the best lighting options, you must understand what basic lighting is. This page explains the terminology used in the industry, which will help you better understand the language that you might hear in a lighting store.
Illumination
A lumenis a measurement of the light of a lamp, often a tube or a lamp. All lamps [...]
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Read more >>The quantity and quality of light around us determine how well we see, work, and play. Light affects our health, safety, morale, comfort, and productivity.
Lighting also directly affects our economy. As a nation, we spend about one-quarter of our electricity budget on lighting, or more than $37 billion annually. Yet much of this expense is [...]
Popularity: 67%
Read more >>If your air conditioner is installed correctly, or if major installation problems are found and fixed, it will perform efficiently for years with only minor routine maintenance. However, many air conditioners are not installed correctly. As an unfortunate result, modern energy-efficient air conditioners can perform almost as poorly as older inefficient models.
Be sure that your [...]
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Read more >>Choosing a contractor may be the most important and difficult task in buying a new central air conditioning system. Ask prospective contractors for recent references. If you are replacing your central air conditioner, tell your contractor what you liked and did not like about the old system. If the system failed, ask the contractor to [...]
Popularity: 68%
Read more >>When your air conditioner needs more than the regular maintenance described previously, hire a professional service technician. A well-trained technician will find and fix problems in your air conditioning system. However, not all service technicians are competent. Incompetent service technicians forsake proper diagnosis and perform only minimal stopgap measures. Insist that the technician:
check for correct [...]
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Read more >>Each air conditioner has an energy-efficiency rating that lists how many Btu per hour are removed for each watt of power it draws. For room air conditioners, this efficiency rating is the Energy Efficiency Ratio, or EER. For central air conditioners, it is the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, or SEER. These ratings are posted on [...]
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Read more >>Today’s best air conditioners use 30% to 50% less energy to produce the same amount of cooling as air conditioners made in the mid 1970s. Even if your air conditioner is only 10 years old, you may save 20% to 40% of your cooling energy costs by replacing it with a newer, more efficient model.
Sizing [...]
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Read more >>Air from hot attics can leak into the home around registers of the duct system. Air in the ducts can leak out through holes and seams.
An enormous waste of energy occurs when cooled air escapes from supply ducts or when hot attic air leaks into return ducts. Recent studies indicate that 10% to 30% of [...]
Popularity: 60%
Read more >>An air conditioner’s filters, coils, and fins require regular maintenance for the unit to function effectively and efficiently throughout its years of service. Neglecting necessary maintenance ensures a steady decline in air conditioning performance while energy use steadily increases.
Air Conditioner Filters
The most important maintenance task that will ensure the efficiency of your air conditioner is [...]
Popularity: 61%
Read more >>An evaporative cooler (also called a “swamp cooler”) is a completely different type of air conditioner that works well in hot, dry climates.
These units cool outdoor air by evaporation and blow it inside the building, causing a cooling effect much like the process when evaporating perspiration cools your body on a hot (but not overly [...]
Popularity: 59%
Read more >>Older air conditioners may still be able to offer years of relatively efficient use. However, making your older air conditioner last requires you to perform proper operation and maintenance.
Air Conditioning Problems
One of the most common air conditioning problems is improper operation. If your air conditioner is on, be sure to close your home’s windows and [...]
Popularity: 60%
Read more >>The basic types of air conditioners are room air conditioners, central air conditioners split-system, central air conditioners and packaged.
Room air conditioners are installed directly in the windows or walls, which means they have no pipeline. The fan spray faces inside, while the condenser fan is facing outside.
Room Air Conditioners
Room fresh air conditioners rooms than the entire [...]
Popularity: 60%
Read more >> The fluid that collects heat at the evaporator and releases it at the condenser is called refrigerant. Apump, called the compressor, forces the refrigerant through the circuit of tubing and fins in the coils. Air moves through the tiny spaces between the fins and is cooled by the refrigerant in the coils.
Air conditioners employ [...]
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Read more >>Are you considering buying a new air conditioner? Or, are you dissatisfied with the operation of your current air condi- tioner? Are you unsure whether to fix or replace it? Are you concerned about high summer utility bills? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this publication can help. With it, you can [...]
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Read more >>The following are sources of additional information on heat pumps. This list is not exhaustive, nor does the mention of any resource constitute a recommendation or endorsement.
Ask an Energy Expert DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse (EREC) P.O. Box 3048 Merrifield, VA 22116 1-800-DOE-EREC (363-3732) Online submittal form. Energy experts at EREC provide free [...]
Popularity: 61%
Read more >>Heat-pump performance will deteriorate without regular maintenance and service. The difference between the energy consumption of a well-maintained heat pump and a severely neglected one ranges from 10 to 25 percent.
Regular Maintenance
Either the homeowner or service technician can perform the following routine maintenance tasks:
Clean or replace filters regularly (every 2 to 6 months, depending on [...]
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Read more >>Like combustion heating systems, you control heat pumps using thermostats.
If you leave and return at regular times everyday, you’ll save money by using automatic thermostats, which minimize energy use during the times the home is unoccupied. However, choosing an automatic thermostat’s reactivation time requires considering the duration of heatpump operation necessary to restore a comfortable [...]
Popularity: 63%
Read more >>Poor installation, duct losses, and inadequate maintenance are more of a problem for heat pumps than for combustion furnaces. A growing body of evidence suggests that most heat pumps have significant installation or service problems that reduce performance and efficiency. According to a report on research funded by Energy Star‚ more than 50 percent of [...]
Popularity: 65%
Read more >>A heat pump’s performance and energy efficiency not only depend on the selection and planning of the equipment but also on careful installation.
Consumers and home builders alike tend to accept the lowest bid for heating and air-conditioning work. This unfortunate choice can often leave a system lacking 10 to 30 percent in the materials and [...]
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Read more >>When selecting an air-source heat pump, consider the following three characteristics carefully: the energy efficiency rating, sizing, and the system’s components.
Energy efficiency rating
In the United States, we rate a heat pump’s energy efficiency by how many British thermal units (Btu) of heat it moves for each watt-hour of electrical energy it consumes. Every residential heat [...]
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Read more >>A split-system heat pump heating cycle
You can use a central heat pump to heat and cool a whole house. Most central heat pumps are split-systems—that is, they each have one coil indoors and one outdoors (see Fig. 1 below). Supply and return ducts connect to a central fan, which is located indoors. The fan, often [...]
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Read more >>There are two common types of heat pumps: air-source heat pumps and geothermal heat pumps (GHPs). Either one can keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. An air-source heat pump pulls its heat indoors from the outdoor air in the winter and from the indoor air in the summer. A [...]
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Read more >>Note: Installation is more difficult on gas- and oil-fired heaters. Ask your local furnace installer for instructions.
1. Cut the tank top insulation to fit around the piping in the top of the tank. Tape the cut section closed after the top has been installed.
2. Fold the corners of the tank top insulation down and tape [...]
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Read more >>Most consumers use more hot water in the evenings and mornings than at other times of the day. For those who have an electric water heater, this usage contributes to the electric utility company’s “peak load,” or the largest amount of power demand that they have to meet on a daily basis. Some utilities are [...]
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Read more >>Reducing hot-water usage is primarily a matter of common sense and exerting a little extra effort to not be wasteful. Once you have applied a few simple, low-cost measures for reducing hot-water consumption, you may want to consider water-heating system improvements if you wish to further reduce your energy bill.
Lower Your Water Heater Thermostat
One [...]
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Read more >>Generally, four destination points in the home are recognized as end uses for hot water: faucets, showers, dishwashers, and washing machines. Now, you do not have to take cold showers, dine on dirty dishes, or wear dirty clothes to reduce your hot water consumption. Less radical measures are available that will be virtually unnoticeable once [...]
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Read more >>The next time you pay your utility bill, try one simple calculation. Divide the total amount by seven. The result is the amount you spend to heat your water. (If you receive separate utility bills for gas and electricity, use the gas bill for this calculation if you have a gas water heater; use the [...]
Popularity: 60%
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