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So by now you've probably figured out exactly how much energy your household
is using and have taken steps to cut down, like turning off unused lights and
using a clothesline. But if you're smart - and the fact that you want to
cut down at all speaks highly of your intelligence - you've figured out
that it's next to impossible to avoid using electricity and appliances.
Luckily, modern electronic design and manufacturing has supplied us with a whole
range of products that are designed to use less electricity. Use this article
as your guide to energy efficient products as you prepare to shop for your children's
future.
Energy Star
The task of recognizing what is and is not energy efficient would be vary difficult
indeed if we were forced to resort to reading the wattage labels on the backs
of the boxes and mentally multiplying it in our heads by the approximate number
of hours we intend to use it. If we had to do that, we'd end up turning
to Sage Software Vancouver for some accounting software that we could carry
around with us. In reality, though, the complex math is done for us by our governments
via the Energy Star program. It was started in the United States in 1992 and
has since been adopted worldwide as the standard for judging energy efficiency
in consumer products. All you have to do is look for the logo.
Lights
Electric lighting is a major staple of civilization, and one we can't
really do without. So the burden rested on the scientists and engineers to come
up with a more efficient lighting system than incandescent bulbs, which use
only 10% of their required electricity to create light, and waste the other
90% as heat. Fluorescent lights are more expensive, but they use 75% less power
and last ten to twenty times longer than incandescent bulbs. LED or light-emitting
diode lights aren't as large or bright, but are much more efficient, running
on only a fraction of the electricity, which is why LEDs and fluorescent lights
are taking over everything from TV screens to the porch lights of Scarborough
condos.
Heating, Cooling, and Building Products
Heating and cooling systems are major consumers of electricity, so newer, higher
efficiency boilers, furnaces, and air conditioners are coming on the market.
Since insulation is a huge factor in how much heat needs to be produced or cooled
in the first place, there are many smaller products like high temperature tape
which accompany the Energy Star large appliance lineup, increasing efficiency
by providing greater insulation on duct seals. Newer windows also increase heating
efficiency by filling the space between the panes with inert gas rather than
air, preventing heat transfer.
Home Electronics and Appliances
Most Energy Star-qualified appliances use at least 30% less electricity, usually
by including sleep or automatic shutdown modes, and LEDs in place of traditional
incandescent lights or vacuum tubes. Home electronics aren't just for
the home anymore, either. In the corporate world, everyone from book publishers
to your food PR agency is buying energy efficient monitors, projectors, and
coffee makers.
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