Category: saving energy

Saving energy can be done in a number of ways such as sealing air leaks, controlling temperatures, reducing water heater usage, and using LED bulbs  and fixtures to name a few. Saving energy also leads to saving money on energy costs.

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Trend: LED Vintage Edison Light Bulbs

Posted on by Conservation Mart
LED Vintage Edison Light Bulb
LED Vintage Edison Light Bulb

The old-school Edison style light bulbs of the 20th century were evolutionary yet far from the different variations of light bulbs that have been developed today. The first models of light bulbs developed by Thomas Edison used carbon filaments and wasted a ton of energy and subsequently, a ton of money as well. Although it is rare that any of these initially developed models are used today, the perception of what some of the first light bulbs looked like has not been forgotten and has recently become the perfect way to give any space an antique finish.

Now, with new LED models of these old-school Edison bulbs, anyone can achieve a vintage look in their home or establishment while simultaneously saving energy. For example, an Edison style model from Bulbrite only uses 4 Watts of energy, which compares to a 40 Watt incandescent and has an average long life of 15,000 hours.

Homeowners everywhere are loving this trend and have found a number of different ways to display and use these light bulbs to an extra touch to their interior/exterior design. There are several different models of the Edison style bulbs, such as A19, Globe, Chandelier, and Torpedo, making them suitable for a variety of locations including outdoor lanterns, ceiling fixtures, pendants, and more. Vintage Edison light bulbs offer all-in-one satisfaction by combining style, energy conservation, and convenience.

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What is Title 24 Compliance?

Posted on by Conservation Mart

View our Title 24 LED Troffers/Panels
What is Title 24?

Title 24 is a collection of energy standards that address the energy efficiency of new (and altered) homes and commercial buildings. Since 1978, California residents are required to meet the energy efficiency standards contained in Title 24, Part 6 of the California Code of Regulations. Because energy efficiency reduces energy costs, increases reliability and availability of electricity, improves building occupant comfort, and reduces impacts to the environment, this has made a big impact on the how lighting and other home fixtures are used in California.

As these standards are important and necessary for California’s energy future, the goal of the California Title 24 energy standards is the reduction of energy use to benefit all. Homeowners save money, California has a more secure/healthy economy, the environment is less negatively impacted, and electrical systems are more stable.

California’s building efficiency standards have saved more than $70 billion in electricity and natural gas costs since 1978.

How does it affect lighting?

All homes and commercial buildings must achieving Title 24 compliance in California. Any new homes, or the remodeled part of new homes that require building permits, are also subject to these standards.

Within these standards includes guidelines for lighting. According to Title 24, at least 50% of the wattage in the kitchen must be consumed by high-efficacy lighting, which usually includes LEDs and fluorescents. To qualify as high-efficacy, light fixtures must be certified by the manufacturer to the California Energy Commission and can’t contain a socket that allows low-efficacy lighting, such as an incandescent. LED fixtures must offer a minimum of 90 on the color-rendering index (CRI), which measures crispness and color accuracy. Also, the color temperature must range between 2700-4000k for indoor use.

High-efficacy lighting is also defined as:

  • 15 watts or less: Minimum of 40 lumens/watt
  • 15 to 40 watts: Minimum of 50 lumens/watt
  • More than 40 watts: Minimum of 60 lumens/watt

As exhibited, it is very important for Californians to follow these standards when proving lighting for their homes and buildings. Moreover, light fixtures with Title 24 compliance are ideal for any home in order to assure energy efficiency. You can find more information about the current Title 24 standards here.

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What is an LED Dusk to Dawn Light?

Posted on by Conservation Mart
Dusk-to-Dawn Fixture
Dusk-to-Dawn Fixture

Dusk-to-dawn LED fixtures are triggered on and off by the amount of light reaching the fixture’s sensor, making them suitable for outdoor areas such as streets, roadways, parking lots, and pedestrian areas. The dusk-to-dawn feature of a light will cause your motion light to activate only when it is dark.  This feature uses a small photocell to detect the presence of available and/or existing light.  If light is detected, the motion light will not trigger.  If light is not detected, the light will turn on once motion is detected. Therefore, during the day when natural light is present, the light will not activate when motion is detected, which saves energy. Here is a breakdown of the features and advantages that come with the dusk-to-dawn feature:

Features:

  • Automatically triggered on and off by the amount of light reaching the fixture’s sensor
  • Great light output and efficiency
  • Inexpensive and widely available
  • Significantly longer life
  • Low maintenance

Advantages:

  • Security: Provides enough light to see an intruder and, therefore, deters an intruder from entering an area
  • Safety: Mishaps and accidents can be significantly reduced if you illuminate doorways, sidewalks, and driveways
  • Convenience: You don’t have to remember to switch the light on or off
  • Conservation: Offers low intensity to conserve electricity and to keep from disturbing neighbors

Dusk-to-dawn lighting can be a useful addition to your home or establishment. Remember, when choosing the type of dusk to dawn lighting source you may need it would be best to check the lumen output of your fixture based on how much light you would like the light to emit, as light intensity is measured in lumens.

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How To Conserve Water Outside Using a Water Hose Timer

Posted on by Conservation Mart

waterhosetimerSaving water at home can be easy and affordable at the same time. In reality, making conscious decisions about how much water you are using on a daily basis both inside and outside of your home is all it takes. Let’s take lawn watering, which is a common activity for outdoor home maintenance, for example. One of the best ways to conserve water outside of your home is by using a water hose timer when sprinkling your lawn.

Water hose timers, which work just like egg timers, can be twisted to set up different time durations for the hose to turn on and off. This is beneficial because while deep-soaking your lawn is sometimes okay, most lawns only need about 1 inch of water each week. Continuously running water for the lawn will result in an over-saturated yard and ultimately, a lot of wasted water. Therefore, sprinkle only when your lawn shows signs of needing it. Over-watering is bad for plants and lawns because it promotes shallow root growth and reduces hardiness. To determine whether or not the lawn needs watering, walk across the grass. If you leave footprints, it’s time to sprinkle. This is also where the conservative water hose timer comes into play. Here are three benefits of using a water hose timer:

  • Automatic On/Off – Automatic sprinkler controls are convenient for you and the environment, preventing you from forgetting to turn your hose off and causing the sprinkler to run all day long.
  • No Batteries Required – Without batteries, a water hose timer is much easier to manage and take care of. The timer will run on its own without any outside help, making it a smooth and easy addition to your yard hose.
  • Ergonomic swivel for easy hose attachment – By effortlessly attaching to your hose, these water timers are user-friendly and quick to install and use.

Using a water hose timer is one of many ways you can begin to conserve water in your home. Take the first step by adding this convenient tool to your yard.

Shop for Water Hose Timer >>>

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Internal Driver vs. Instant Start for LED T8 Tube

Posted on by Conservation Mart
LED T8 Tubes
LED T8 Tubes

LED T8 tubes, which used to be exclusive to fluorescent technology, are the new standard for commercial and household lighting. These tubes are ideal for replacement, emitting the same amounts of light as fluorescent T8s yet using a fraction of the power and lasting up to three times longer. LED T8 tubes are also mercury-free, dimmable, more efficient, and have high-quality directional light. When replacing your fluorescent tubes with LEDs for your home or workspace, it is important to be aware of these two types of technologies:

Internal Driver
T8 lamps with internal drivers are 1 of 2 ideal energy saving choices when upgrading traditional linear T8 or T12 fluorescent lamps in fixtures. With internal drivers, the ballasts are removed from the fixture and the power is wired direct to the sockets. Since no power is wasted on the ballast, these type of tubes tend to be more efficient. Consumers also experience less long term maintenance costs since you have one less part to maintain in the future by eliminating the ballast. These LED T8 tubes are designed to provide appropriate light levels while utilizing a dedicated internal driver. However, some cons associated with internal drivers include: required electrical modifications, limited dimming, dangerous installation and higher installation costs.

Instant Start
T8 lamps that are instant start compatible require no rewiring of the fixture. Since this step is not necessary, instant start tubes offer a simple way to replace the fluorescent lamp with your new LED lamp. Instant start ballasts ignite lamps by applying a significant voltage across the lamp during starting. However, no cathode heating is applied before or after the lamp ignited. The high voltage applied across the lamps typically ignites them within 50 milliseconds. Emissive material is also released during this since the cathodes are not heated with instant start ballasts. It is the most energy efficient type, but yields the fewest lamp-start cycles, as material is blasted from the surface of the cold electrodes each time the lamp is turned on. Instant-start ballasts are best suited to applications with long duty cycles, where the lamps are not frequently turned on and off.

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How much water can I save by switching to WaterSense Labeled Pre-Rinse Kitchen Spray Valves?

Posted on by Conservation Mart
WaterSense Pre-Rinse Spray Valve
WaterSense Pre-Rinse Spray Valve

WaterSense labeled Kitchen pre–rinse spray valves, which are designed to remove food waste from dishes before dishwashing, can save you more than $115/year in water and energy (natural gas or electricity) costs. Often used in commercial or institutional kitchens, these valves can account for up to one-third of water usage in the average kitchen. By switching to a WaterSense valve, costs for accommodating this water usage can drop significantly.

While the federal standard for commercial pre-rinse spray valves is 1.6 gallons per minute (gpm), EPA’s specification sets the maximum flow rate for WaterSense products at 1.28 gpm. Because of this, manufacturers have now developed models that use 20% less water than the federal standard–a significant decrease, such as the 1.28 gpm Prerinse Kitchen Spray N2180. EPA’s specification also includes spray force criteria and lifecycle testing to ensure performance in commercial kitchens. To make customers select products that best suit their applications, all WaterSense labeled spray valves are required to include spray force on product packaging and are independent certified to ensure efficient use along with water conservation.

Just by replacing one pre-rinse spray valves with a WaterSense labeled model, an average commercial kitchen can save more than 7,000 gallons of water per year. When you factor in the hot water used to rinse dishes, switching to a water-saving pre-rinse spray valve can save a commercial kitchen’s natural gas use by more than 6,400 cubic feet per year as well. Across the country, we could save over $225 million annually in water and energy costs if all commercial food service establishments used WaterSense labeled pre-rinse spray valves. Start saving today.

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What is a Vapor Tight / Vapor Proof LED Fixture?

Posted on by Conservation Mart
Vapor Tight LED Fixtures
Vapor Tight LED Fixtures

vaportightBusinesses and individuals can face many challenges when choosing ideal lighting for wet atmospheres. Vapor tight and vapor proof lighting fixtures are specially designed to not only to provide protection and reliability for any space, but to save energy as well. These fixtures are suitable to keep moisture and vapors from entering inside the fixture at any time.

Energy-efficient vapor tight LED fixtures are built for powerful lighting in harsh environments, protecting the light source from dust, dirt, and moisture. The durable construction of the fixture features a full metal fixture liner, which is placed inside of a reinforced fiberglass housing with a high impact diffuser. With new generation LEDs (available in 35-50K) and drivers (0-10V), these fixtures are designed to replace less-efficient fluorescent strip lights in interior and exterior locations such as car washes, airports, tunnels, parking garages, and other maintenance areas. They can be surface or chain mounted, are offered in 2 ft. and 4 ft. sizes with 30 and 50 wattages, and wet location rated.

Vapor tight fixtures are not to be confused with vapor proof fixtures. Vapor proof LED fixtures are designed to replace incandescent and CFL fixtures with high-quality, long-lasting illumination over doorways, scaffolding, construction sites, fire hydrants and emergency call stations. They protect the lighting source from hazards such as corrosive fumes, non-combustible dusts, moisture, non-explosive vapors and gases as well.

Shop for Vapor Tight LED Fixtures>>>

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High-Power LEDs: The Battle of the Bulb

Posted on by Conservation Mart

High Power LEDs
High Power LEDs
With so much variety in energy efficient lighting, it can be difficult to choose which option is best. But with recent advances in LED (Light Emitting Diode) technology, the lighting industry has been revolutionized. The development and production of “power chips” or “high current chips” enabled LEDs to be more widely used, allowing them to better compete with other light sources. High-power LEDs are energy efficient, long-lasting, and environmentally friendly causing many to rethink the tried-and-true HIDs and CFLs. But with new technology come new questions – which will win the battle of the bulb?

CFLs (Compact Florescent Lamps) have become popular alternatives to incandescent bulbs because of their low power consumption. The typical CFL bulb consumes around 15W of energy, a close second to the slightly more efficient high-power LED at 10W of energy. But CFLs contain small traces of mercury, making them potentially hazardous and therefore difficult and often expensive to dispose of. With that in mind, LEDs sound like the obvious best option. But the high-power LEDs tend to be quite a bit pricier than their contender. However, because they last longer and use significantly less power, LEDs makeup for the high ticket price in the long run. Additionally, high-power LEDs mercury-free composition makes them more environmentally friendly and easier to dispose of.

At first glance HIDs (High-Intensity Discharge) and LEDs seem comparable in their energy consumption, but because of the structure of the bulb, many lumens are trapped within the protective coverings of HID bulbs. However if strong multidirectional light fits your need, HID bulbs are the best option as LEDs offer more concentrated, directional light. Unlike HIDs, High-power LEDs don’t require a warm-up, meaning there’s no wasted time waiting for lights to reach their maximum brightness. In the price category, HIDs definitely have a lower upfront cost but with a lifespan of up to four times longer and virtually no maintenance expenses, LEDs again make up for the initial sticker shock. Unlike high-power LEDs, many HID bulbs have been known to emit harmful UV radiation and contain toxic chemicals.

Each energy efficient lighting option offers its own pros and cons. The low ticket price of HIDs and CFLs means less money out of your pocket up front, while the lifespan of LEDs means a longer lasting bulb and less maintenance. However if green is your goal, then the environmentally friendly high-power LED may just be your bulb.

 

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You Spoke and We Listened: Energy Star Labeled Products

Posted on by Conservation Mart
Energy Star Certified
Energy Star Certified

We always enjoy receiving feedback about our site and how we are doing from our customers.
I am happy to announce that we are adding a search tab for Energy Star Certified products. This will make it easy for all of you who are only interested in Energy Star products.

We have currently updated:
• LED PAR 20 Bulbs
• LED PAR 30 Bulbs
• LED A19 Bulbs

Within the next month- our goal is to have this process complete and you will be able to search all products that are Energy Star with ease.

To some of you, you may not know a lot about what an Energy Star certified product means. Energy Star is a voluntary labeling program that was created in 1992 by the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA). Its creation was to help identify and promote energy efficient products. Energy Star began with computers and monitors— now energy star is partnered with over 18,000 private and public sector organizations ranging from products in major appliances to lighting to home electric.

By now you are probably thinking, okay, so what are the major perks of purchasing an Energy Star vs Non?

By purchasing an Energy Star Certified product, you may qualify for rebates, sales tax exemptions, and recycling incentives. So not only will you be saving money in your monthly energy bills, but you may also qualify for additional money back by purchasing an Energy Star product.

To view what type of perks you may qualify for visit: Energy Star Rebate Locator

Start conserving more today and maybe even get a rebate for doing it…. check out our new feature for Energy Star search on our website today!

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What is DLC Approval and is it Important?

Posted on by Conservation Mart
LED Light Fixture
LED Light Fixture

If you have ever shopped for energy efficient light bulbs, you have heard a term called ‘Energy Star Approved’. You probably know this is important for two reasons: first because it’s certified as being energy efficient by the EPA. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly for your wallet, it qualifies for utility rebates. There is similar approval that is given for energy efficient fixtures that allows them to qualify for utility rebates and incentives: it’s called DLC Approval. Design Light Consortium (DLC) is the non- profit institution that approves the fixtures for its stamp provided it meets certain energy efficiency requirements.

If you’re shopping for an LED light fixture, say an LED Wall Pack, pay attention to whether it is DLC qualified because depending on your utility, it may help fund a significant portion of your energy efficient lighting fixture purchase. And of course, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that you are purchasing a fixture that met the strict guidelines for being classified as Energy Efficient.