Posts Tagged ‘dimmers’

The Sad News

Friday, June 5th, 2009

Although the two tips posted a couple days ago are quick and easy to do, they aren’t going to provide you with the savings you’ll get from other, more comprehensive methods. Also, your room won’t be as bright as before. The amount of light created by a regular light bulb is directly related to how much power it is using, so reducing the power will reduce the light. However, most of the time a reduction of around 8% won’t be noticeable. However, if you’re using them in a single lamp fixture that is the only source in an entire room you might notice the difference. Or, you may not want to change the lamp in your reading light, but it is a start.

You also won’t get anywhere close to the savings you would get from switching to compact fluorescents. However, you also don’t have to make the lifestyle changes associated with switching to compact fluorescents either. Using compact fluorescent properly involves understanding color and daytime versus nighttime usage. I believe that rampant misapplication of CFL lamps is the reason they haven’t caught on as quickly as their proponents would like. However, in a future blog I’ll discuss ways you can use CFLs properly to improve your life.

The Reasons for the Savings

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

Yesterday I posted two tips for saving power. The reasons these methods work are a bit technical, but I’ll post the short version just for interest.

  1. Wattage is proportional to the voltage supplied to the lamp and the resistance within the lamp. The power company supplies your voltage, and the lamp manufacturer supplies the resistance. Homes in the US are nominally supposed to have 120 volts supplied at outlets and in built-in lights, although the actual voltage will vary for all kinds of technical reasons. You’ll also see labels listing voltages as a range, such as 110-120V, or as an intermediate number, such as 115V. When you use a lamp that is designed for 130V the manufacturer has decreased the resistance slightly in order to provide the labeled wattage assuming 130V. If you give that lamp less voltage, the wattage is also reduced because the resistance has already been reduced. How much is saved? I’ll round it off to about 8%. Also, the bulb will last longer.
  2. The reason dimmers work at saving electricity is basically the same idea. If you run a cheap dimmer at full, it isn’t really giving you full power. The dimmer creates a cap that is less than full. So, instead of 100%, full power is only 94%. That number is only an example, the actual number will differ based on all kinds of things. Even if you never use the dimmer to dim the lights, they will still be using less energy. Although, if you do dim the lights, you’ll get even more savings. Dimming a light 50% will save 40% power and can make a light bulb last 10 times as long as normal!

Save Money and Power Today

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

There are two things that any homeowner can do immediately to save electricity, and thereby save money. And best of all, it doesn’t change the way things look.

  1. Change your lightbulbs! And I’m not talking about compact fluorescent (CFL) yet. We’ll discuss those later, since there are a number of factors that go into selecting the right CFL bulb. Instead, look for the same wattage and size light bulb you already use, but select the one that says it’s 130V (volts) instead of 120V.
  2. Install dimmers! You can get inexpensive dimmers from your local hardware store and install them yourself. Even if you don’t dim the lights you’ll be saving energy. Also, installing a dimmer is very easy. All you need is a screwdriver and to know where the breaker box is located in your home. (Turn off the power to the switch and light before removing the cover plate. Getting shocked is not pleasant and can be dangerous.)