Helpful Information

The type of lamp you use has a considerable effect on your lighting-related energy costs. For most businesses, lamps account for as much as 35% of their monthly bill. The following information will help you choose the most effective and cost-efficient lamps for your business:

 

Incandescent

These are what most people consider standard light bulbs. They are commonly found in homes and offices, and are very popular for their warm, inviting glow, and affordable price. However, the lifespan of an incandescent lamp is relatively short (only 750 hours) and it's not very efficient -- up to 85% of the energy it uses is turned into heat rather than light.

 

Fluorescent

Fluorescent lamps are popular choices for many businesses. They are up to 75% more efficient than incandescent bulbs, emit less heat, and last up to 20,000 hours. Although fluorescent lamps have a bad reputation for their color rendering, new (and slightly pricier) lamps are much improved. These lamps require ballasts; of the types available, electronic ballasts are the most efficient, eliminate flicker, and reduce noise.

 

Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFB)

These new lamps combine fluorescent efficiency with incandescent convenience. With compact fluorescents, ballasts are built into the lamp, so a CFB can be screwed into a traditional incandescent socket. They are very good at rendering color and last about 10,000 hours.

 

Halogen

Halogen lamps are popular for detail-oriented task lighting, such as desk lamps, because of their superior color rendering. They are also commonly found in track lighting, floor lighting, and recessed cans. Slightly more expensive than incandescent lamps, they also last longer (around 3,000 hours) and are 20% more efficient. Reflector lamps and lamps with infrared reflecting are available for added efficiency (40% and 60% more efficient than incandescent lamps, respectively).

 

High Intensity Discharge (HIDs)

These lights are best suited for warehouses and outdoor applications, and have varied color-rendering capabilities. Following are the three kinds of HID lamps, which range in life from 10,000 to 24,000 hours: High Pressure Sodium Lamps produce an amber color and are a cost-effective choice for lights that remain on for several hours at a time. They are the most efficient source of exterior lighting available. Metal Halide Lamps have good color-rendering capabilities and are commonly used in sporting venues and warehouses. Mercury Vapor Lamps are largely obsolete, inefficient, bluish-white lamps. While their initial cost is low, their operating costs are significantly higher than other HID options. Using a variety of lighting types improves your business's appearance, operations, and efficiency.

Helpful Links

 

US Department of Energy
Mother Earth News Magazine

When homeowners think of remodeling, they tend to think of a sparkling new bathroom rather than an electrical upgrade, which doesn't sound nearly as exciting. However, sometimes the best remodels are the ones you don't see—the electrical upgrades that make your entertainment center possible, the new plumbing that allows for the addition of the new spa, or both to create an outdoor room where you can enjoy those long summer days.

 

Central Control Stations: A variety of new devices allow you to operate many different lights and equipment circuits from a single location. Multiple-station controls can be preset for entertaining so that, with a single touch, they provide candle-like atmosphere in the dining room, tranquil lighting in the living room and activity lighting in the kitchen.

 

Garage or Workshop: Can you use a power tool without unplugging the freezer? If not, upgrade the electrical service in your workshop to reduce the chances of overloading your circuits.

 

Home Entertainment Centers: Televisions, VCRs, stereos, CD and DVD players, surround sound. How about remote speakers to better utilize those purchases by allowing music to play throughout the house and your yard?

 

Outdoors: Adding a spa, automatic sprinklers, a misting system on the patio, or an outdoor kitchen all will require more electricity.

 

Home Security System: Will you ever want to install an electronic security  system that is directly tied– in to a monitoring company?  If so, this will require low-voltage wiring at various points in your home all connected to your telephone “gray box”.

A "GFCI" is a ground fault circuit interrupter. A ground fault circuit interrupter is an inexpensive electrical device that, if installed in household branch circuits, could prevent over two-thirds of the approximately 300 electrocutions still occurring each year in and around the home. Installation of the device could also prevent thousands of burn and electric shock injuries each year.

The GFCI is designed to protect people from severe or fatal electric shocks. Because a GFCI detects ground faults, it can also prevent some electrical fires and reduce the severity of others by interrupting the flow of electric current.

The Problem

Have you ever experienced an electric shock? If you did, the shock probably happened because your hand or some other part of your body contacted a source of electrical current and your body provided a path for the electrical current to go to the ground, so that you received a shock.

An unintentional electric path between a source of current and a grounded surface is referred to as a "ground-fault." Ground faults occur when current is leaking somewhere, in effect, electricity is escaping to the ground. How it leaks is very important. If your body provides a path to the ground for this leakage, you could electrocuted.

Some examples of accidents that underscore this hazard include the following: 

Two children, ages five and six, were electrocuted in Texas when a plugged-in hair dryer fell into the tub in which they were bathing.

A three-year-old Kansas girl was electrocuted when she touched a faulty countertop.

These two electrocutions occurred because the electrical current escaping from the appliance traveled through the victim to ground (in these cases, the grounded plumbing fixtures). Had a GFCI been installed, these deaths would probably have been prevented because a GFCI would have sensed the current flowing to ground and would have switched off the power before the electrocution occurred.

How the GFCI Works

In the home's wiring system, the GFCI constantly monitors electricity flowing in a circuit, to sense any loss of current. If the current flowing through the circuit differs by a small amount from that returning, the GFCI quickly switches off power to that circuit. The GFCI interrupts power faster than a blink of an eye to prevent a lethal dose of electricity. You may receive a painful shock, but you should not be electrocuted or receive a serious shock injury.

Here's how it may work in your house. Suppose a bare wire inside an appliance touches the metal case. The case is then charged with electricity. If you touch the appliance with one hand while the other hand is touching a grounded metal object, like a water faucet, you will receive a shock. If the appliance is plugged into an outlet protected by a GFCI, the power will be shut off before a fatal shock would occur.

Availability of GFCIs

Three common types of ground fault circuit interrupters are available for home use:Receptacle Type: This type of GFCI is used in place of the standard duplex receptacle found throughout the house It fits into the standard outlet box and protects you against "ground faults" whenever an electrical product is plugged into the outlet. Most receptacle-type GFCls can be installed so that they also protect other electrical outlets further "down stream" in the branch circuit.

Circuit Breaker Type: In homes equipped with circuit breakers rather than fuses, a circuit breaker GFCI may be installed in a panel box to give protection to selected circuits The circuit breaker GFCI serves a dual purpose - not only will it shut off electricity in the event of a "ground-fault," but it will also trip when a short circuit or an overload occurs Protection covers the wiring and each outlet, lighting fixture, heater, etc. served by the branch circuit protected by the GFCI in the panel box.

Portable Type: Where permanent GFCls are not practical, portable GFCls may be used One type contains the GFCI circuitry in a plastic enclosure with plug blades in the back and receptacle slots in the f rant. It can be plugged into a receptacle, then, the electrical product is plugged into the GFCI. Another type of portable GFCI is an extension cord combined with a GFCI. It adds flexibility in using receptacles that are not protected by GFCls.

Where GFCIs Should Be Considered

In homes built to comply with the National Electrical Code (the Code), GFCI protection is required for most outdoor receptacles (since 1973), bathroom receptacle circuits (since 1975), garage wall outlets (since 1978), kitchen receptacles (since 1987), and all receptacles in crawl spaces and unfinished basements (since 1990).

Owners of homes that do not have GFCls installed in all those critical areas specified in the latest version of the Code should consider having them installed. For broad protection, GFCI circuit breakers may be added in many panels of older homes to replace ordinary circuit breaker. For homes protected by fuses, you are limited to receptacle or portable-type GFCIs and these may be installed in areas of greatest exposure, such as the bathroom, kitchen, basement, garage, and outdoor circuits.

A GFCI should be used whenever operating electrically powered garden equipment (mower, hedge trimmer, edger, etc.). Consumers can obtain similar protection by using GFCIs with electric tools (drills, saws, sanders, etc.) for do-it-yourself work in and around the house.

Testing the GFCIs

All GFCIs should be tested once a month to make sure they are working properly and are protecting you from fatal shock. GFCIs should be tested after installation to make sure they are working properly and protecting the circuit.

To test the receptacle GFCI, first plug a night light or lamp into the outlet. The light should be on Then, press the "TEST" button on the GFCI. The GFCI's "RESET" button should pop out, and the light should go out.

If the "RESET" button pops out but the light does not go out, the GFCI has been improperly wired. Contact an electrician to correct the wiring errors.

If the "RESET" button does not pop out, the GFCI is defective and should be replaced.

If the GFCI is functioning properly, and the lamp goes out, press the "RESET" button to restore power to the outlet.

Lighting Types

Upgrade Your Home Life

What are GFCI Outlets Anyway?

Helpful Hints

 

CFL Disposal Guidelines