Energy EfficiencySustainable Energy

The discovery of commercially feasible light bulbs has been a revolutionary invention in the history of human race. It completely transformed and innovated the manner in which we live our lives and has led to massive developments in science as well as commerce. However due to the increasing global warming and climate change affecting the planet there have been increasing cries for people to do their bit in helping the planet by reducing the pollution. The usage of energy saving light bulbs is a small yet a significant step in helping our environment. Not only this, the energy saving light bulbs also help in reducing the electricity cost of your lighting requirements. Thus these bulbs are a great option that people should consider when installing light bulbs at their homes and work places.

The most popular energy saving light bulbs

Due to their affordable cost and low energy, the energy saving light bulbs are increasingly becoming popular amongst the consumers both in private homes and commercial establishments. An increasing number of people these days are opting for the energy saving light bulbs over the traditional light bulbs. Let us have a look at some of the most popular energy saving light bulbs.

  • LED Bulbs

LED light bulbs are well known across the board for their lighting efficiency. The energy consumption required for LED bulbs is extremely low whereas their lifespan is an incredible 100k+ hours. This essentially means that the lifespan of an LED light bulb is 20 times of a regular, traditional incandescent light bulb in a household. This is one of the reasons that an LED light bulb is preferred in places where there is a requirement for lighting conditions to be on most of the time. The low energy, high durability of an LED bulb is a life saver as it provides a productive lighting solution to the lighting requirements of big and small scale industries.

The approximate efficiency rate for energy in LED bulbs is about 80 percent. This means that the 80 percent of energy consumed by LED bulbs is transformed into light and only 20 percent of the energy is lost. That is a good conversion rate going by the current standards of lighting equipments. In contrast, the incandescent light bulb only transforms 20 percent of the energy into light and the staggering 80 percent of the remaining energy is lost and wasted. That is a huge gap of energy conservation between LED bulbs and regular incandescent light bulbs. This is why most of the businesses as well as industries that have high lighting requirements, such as large hotels, office buildings etc prefer LED bulbs as they are comparatively far cheaper than the traditional bulbs.

  • CFL Bulbs

CFL bulbs, also known as compact fluorescent lamp bulbs, are amongst the most efficient low energy bulbs out there in the market. These bulbs are essentially nothing but fluorescent bulbs but they have a higher degree of efficiency when it comes to energy consumption and they are also more versatile in comparison to their compatriots. They are considered versatile because these bulbs can be used with a wide range of applications and settings.

One of the key feature of the CFL bulbs is the mercury vapor contained in small quantity within the glass. When electricity runs through the bulb it stimulates phosphorous coating via ultra-violet light thereby enabling the vapor to glow which produces light. This method of stimulating phosphorous coating requires less amount of electric energy as compared to other methods of lighting which includes incandescent bulbs. Thus CFL bulbs are one of the most energy efficient bulbs and are increasingly being used in the lighting environments.

  • Sensor Light Bulbs

The sensor light bulbs are a technologically advanced version of the CFL bulbs. The sensor light bulbs come with inbuilt mechanism and sensors that enables them to switch on the light when the sunlight is fading and switch off automatically when day sunlight is restored. This is one of the most amazing advances in the lighting industry.

The sensor within the sensor light bulb analyzes the level of natural sunlight and depending on its status, whether it’s fading or increasing, it decides to switch on or off automatically. This feature is not only amazing but it also helps to save energy by avoiding unnecessary wastage. A lot of the times people tend to be lazy and don’t switch off the lights even when it is not necessary. However the sensor light bulbs solves that problem by switching off automatically when not required. These bulbs are able to provide 100 light watts from a mere 20 watts of electric power thus making them one of the most energy efficient power bulbs in the market.

Contributing To Efficiency

There are multiple brands for these energy saving bulbs in the market and you should make your choice based on your own research and requirements. These energy savers are not just for homes. Companies have replaced a lot of their bulbs to be more efficient. Efficiency knows no bounds and all players can make a difference. LSA Networks, a U.S. based social networking company known for free sexual sites for casual dating, have revamped the lighting in all of their offices to maximize efficiency. Other large tech companies and small businesses continue to do the same.

Energy EfficiencyFossil Fuels

Energy is what makes the universe functional. According to science energy can neither be created nor be destroyed. We now get to the point from where do we get that energy. It is obtained from the resources found on the earth. Some of these are natural and some man-made. If not for energy transformation from one form to another, carrying on life and its activities become difficult. Looking deeper, we can classify the resources into two broad categories. They are renewable and non-renewable sources of energy.

Renewable as the name suggests can be used over and over again. There is no end to it and it can be replenished. These are present naturally on mother earth without any need to create them. This includes the energy from the Sun, wind, water, and geothermal. These are present in nature in abundance and are also known as clean energy resources since they do not cause any damage to the environment.

Non-renewable sources are those that cannot be replenished and get over, due to continuous usage. They are limited in supply as they do not occur in nature as it is. Mankind is heavily dependent on these resources and is using them up at a fast pace. Some non-renewable resources are coal, natural gas, nuclear energy, oil.

Fossil fuels

All the non-renewable resources are collectively given the name fossil fuels. Organic substances like dead animals and plants lie under the ground, as deposits thousands of feet below the earth. These decay over time and are converted into coal, oil, and petroleum due to extreme heat and pressure in the earth’s crust. Thus are formed fossil fuels. It takes millions of years for them to be created and is used up at a rapid rate presently.

Types of Fossil fuels

  • Coal- It is made up of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur and is a hard black substance. They are used in industries and also to generate electricity in thermal power plants. The steam engines of yesteryears used coal as fuel to generate steam and run the engine.
  • Petroleum- It is an oily liquid generally green or black and has the name black gold as it is very precious. Its use is found in the manufacture of plastics, fibers, polythene, and also for road pavements.
  • Natural gas is a clean fuel and is usually stored in compressed form to be transferred through pipelines. It is used in cooking, as automobile fuel, for power generation, and also to make chemicals and fertilizers.

Importance of fossil fuels:

  • Nearly 90% of the demand for energy in present times is taken care of by fossil fuels only.
  • Quite a huge amount of energy can be produced by burning a unit mass of fossil fuel.
  • Most of the products we use on daily basis are based on fossil fuels like plastics, medicines, sunglasses, lipsticks, medical devices, and computers.

What is the need to conserve fossil fuels?

  • The foremost need arises from the fact that they are non-renewable sources of energy. Once used, they cannot be easily replenished and it takes millions of years for fossil fuels to form. Unmindful usage of these essential resources will lead to scarcity and processes dependent on these sources will come to a standstill.
  • As we have seen above man is heavily dependent on these resources and survival becomes very difficult if they are not conserved and used judiciously.
  • Another important reason to conserve them is to reduce pollution and help the environment. More burning of fossil fuels leads to increased greenhouse gas emissions which in turn damage the ozone layer.
  • To reduce global warming, less use of fossil fuels is considered. Heavy usage of fossil fuels leads to the heating up of the earth and due to this polar ice caps have started to melt leading to a rise in sea levels.

Ways to conserve fossil fuels:

  • Use more of alternate sources of energy. The importance of renewable sources is being recognized and people are resorting to using them effectively. For example, powering your house through solar energy wherever possible can help conserve considerable energy.
  • Try to be energy efficient starting from individual households. Better insulation also helps in lesser use of energy. The use of energy-efficient appliances and being considerate about energy usage can help a lot.
  • Always follow the 3 R’s of Reduce, Reuse, and recycle to conserve energy. We cannot easily create fossil fuels so it is important to reuse and recycle products made from them in whatever possible way we can.
  • Using lesser number of vehicles and resorting to public transport can also help conserve fuel.