Update, 2009: Dimmable CFLs are still useful in limited cases
We have a bunch of lights on dimmers — our original motivation was to improve room ambiance. Who knew this was also a good way to save electricity. But now that we’re trying compact fluorescent (CF) bulbs we thought we wouldn’t be able to replace any of these.
Phillips to the rescue. They seem to have lead the way in dimmable CF bulbs, even including floodlight and recessed bulbs. I just placed an order from bulbs.com for several to try them out. A couple will go in the living room which has recessed ceiling floods. I also got a non-dimmable outdoor-rated floodlight. (more…)
Sustainability boils down to living life in a way that results in a net benefit (or at least no cost) to the overall world. When I hike, I see signs that say “leave only your footprints and take only photographs”. This is a reasonable thing to conceive of when you’re hiking, but it seems daunting in the context of the magnitude of our regular human, American, consumption-oriented lives. And indeed it is — a wonderful metaphor used in Cradle to Cradle is a cherry tree (more…)
Of all things out there that use energy, paper is not the biggest culprit. But waste is waste, and presents wrapped in paper designed to be used once is a rather large industry ($5.1 billion, according to the site I linked).
So WrapSacks.com has come up with a simple and brilliant idea: make a decorative bag that can be used to wrap presents, then reused. (more…)
I looked up when I walked into work last week and noticed a huge array of lights covering the expanse of our office. I suspect most offices are similar: suspended tiles with fluorescent tube bulbs.
I noticed each light panel had two tubes. So I got a stool and took out one of them from one of the lights. I couldn’t see any difference in the lighting. So I took out another and am gradually taking out bulbs. (more…)
If you are heating your house, turning on the exhaust fans is blowing hot air outside (and a dryer is blowing extra heated air out!) These appliances are necessary, or at the least desirable. (more…)
Well, this is dull, but as I was installing a new (energy efficient) dryer today I realized our old dryer was being worked too hard — the vent was partially clogged and the plastic flexible vent tube was loaded with lint, as was the vent door, which was letting cold drafts in. I replaced the vents with clean straight metal ducts and used plenty of duct tape.
A quick aside: I am pretty handy, and used to do carpentry for work, so duct tape is not exactly a novelty for me. However, I think I’ll need to confess that this is the first time I used it on a duct. (more…)
