Incandescent or CFL?

Go for CFL when you need Light! Why?

Take a look at the below chart. It explains various types of lights and their efficacies.

Chart 1.0

	Type	Luminous efficacy lum/W
	Incandescent	16
Fluorescent	CFL	46-75
	T12 tube 4', magnetic ballast	60
	T8 tube 4', electronic ballast	80-100
	T5 tube 4'	70-104.2

T5, T8, T12 are various types of "tube lights". In most households, T12 is used. Number in this notation tells you the diameter of the tube. i.e, T5 tube has a diameter of 5 * (1/8th of inch) = 5/8 inches.

Having electronic ballast (aka chalk) instead of magnetic ballast increases the overall ballast-lamp efficiency by 15-20%. ^[1]

What matters ultimately is the light output you get and the month end electricity bill. We'll consider 1200 lumen output, i.e. light output of 1200 lumen and the associated costs. It explains why you should opt for CFL.

Chart 2.0

Type	Energy consumption W	Luminous efficacy lum/W	Cost 4hr/day/month Rs (kWh)
Incandescent	75	16	207.00 (9.0)
CFL	15	80	41.40 (1.8)

• If you are planning to replace your old T12 lamps in your house, choose T8 lamp.
• If you are replacing Incandescent lamps, choose CFL or T8. T8 has a higher efficiency than CFL, but may not be suitable for every location.

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Choose your light wisely. It saves you money and protect environment.

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1 - http://ateam.lbl.gov/Design-Guide/DGHtm/electronicvs.magneticballasts.htm

Mr. Electricity

What matters ultimately is the reduction of your electricity bill. Below web site tells you how to do that. A great site indeed!

• Mr. Electricity

Carbon Terms

Sometimes you may be familiar with these terms: "Carbon Footprint" and "Carbon Neutral". For those who don't know:

Carbon footprint:
A measure of the amount of CO₂ produced by the activities of an entity [person/organization/state/etc...]

Carbon neutral:

Absorbing the same amount of CO₂ as it produces.

e.g. You produce 1 Kg of CO₂ by your activities and you absorb [trees?] same amount or buy carbon credits to make up the difference.

STOP IRONING :D

Please do not iron your clothes! It saves considerable amount of electricity ultimately reducing your carbon footprint.

How:

1. When you are buying clothes, choose your clothes so that they need hardly any ironing.


2. In case you have to, use a steam iron which reduces ironing time.


3. Put an aluminium foil underneath the ironing table so that it reflects heat back to the cloth. It is like ironing the cloth from both sides at once.


4. Use hangers. Do not fold and keep the washed clothes.

Read more:

• Which Fabrics Don't Need Ironing?
• How to Avoid or Lessen Your Ironing