Brooklyn Free Lighting Project

doctorj

Con Edison is funding a compact fluorescent bulb giveaway in Brooklyn at the moment via an outfit called "Brooklyn Free Lighting Project" in order to reduce domestic power load on summer evenings. They're starting by offering to bill payers at random, they're doing PH this week, and I happened to get picked. I just had a couple of guys come round who changed every incandescent bulb in my apartment for a corresponding intensity fluoro (but a quarter the power). Apparently they're guaranteed for a year, so they'll actually come back and change them for you again if one of them dies (and they tend to last years longer than regular bulbs). I think the limit is you have to swap between 5 and 15 bulbs (they take away the old ones) but if there's some you don't want to swap you don't have to. They have a range of sizes and brightnesses, but only standard socket width and type. Pretty good deal I think; a full set of free low energy bulbs in one go, with no catch. I suspect they'll keep doing it until they've met some target or funding limit.

If you're interested, you can call Brooklyn Free Lighting Project, 1-866-364-8269

PS: their estimates over the lifetime of each bulb you swap are a saving of $100-$125 on your power bill and 10-15 replacement bulbs, and 1000 pounds of CO2 emissions. Some people don't like the quality of the light as much, but I think there's hardly any difference, especially inside a fitting. They're much nicer than a regular old fluoro tube in my opinion. The main difference I notice is that sometimes they take half a second to power up.

veggiequeen

We're getting ours tomorrow... yea!

bigguy

I may have to start switching over.

sweet tea

indoor lighting is the site of my greatest hypocrisy as a greenish person. man, i can't stand the light those bulbs throw. it's like throwing the depression switch. i try to just use my regular light bulbs thoughtfully and sparingly, which i know is still more wasteful than i should be.

kudos and admiration to those who do make the switch.

gphant

Pintchik also some compact bulbs. They even have three way bulbs!

brooke lynn knight

I don't love the light, but it's okay if it's augmented by an incandescent bulb or two. Also, the higher-end fluorescents seem to have a less greenish/more sunlight-ish spectrum.

My problem is that very few fluorescents are dimmable. I probably save more energy dimming my incandescents & halogens than by using an undimmable fluorescent. Even if I don't, I'm not always in the mood for an industrial supermarket-aisle lighting vibe. Sometimes, you just gotta "dim all the lights, sweet darlin'...." 8)

doctorj

These things cost a few dollars each, and I took 14. Even if I end up using a dimmable incandescent somewhere for intimate occasions, I can't argue with being given a lifetime supply of the things. And electricity is so expensive in this city compared with other places I've lived that that's all the incentive I need to ration it as much as possible.

By the way, dimmers reduce power, but waste some power as well, i.e. the power consumption does not decrease as much as the light level.

sweet tea

doctorj wrote: And electricity is so expensive in this city compared with other places I've lived that that's all the incentive I need to ration it as much as possible.
.

true dat! i've known for a long time that my charger transformers were wasting power, but it took the bills here to get me started turning off my power strips.

we're trying out not having an a.c. this summer because our bills were so high (even for pretty moderate use) last summer. so far so good -- hopefully we aren't obliterating our power savings by running the fan on the hot nights. actually, i've been impressed at how little we've even needed the fan. thank god for our old, pre-a.c. building, with high ceilings and big windows.

erikka

I know they're better for the environment but goddamn that is some unflattering, shitty depressing glow.

MOD

Sweet T, tell me more about the power strips. Are you talking about your basic power strips wasting energy?

sweet tea

Mamacita wrote: Sweet T, tell me more about the power strips. Are you talking about your basic power strips wasting energy?

the power strips aren't the problem; they're just an easy way to deal with it.

the problem is that lots of devices draw power whether they're turned on or not. obviously anything with a standby light but also all the myriad chargers -- for cell phones, computers, etc -- and other devices with transformers are constantly using power, even when you don't need them to. (you can feel that the transformer box on the cord is hot, for instance, even when i don't have my speakers turned on. likewise my laptop power cord.)

you can just unplug them when you're not using them, but it's easier to organize your power strips so you can just turn them off when not needed.

veggiequeen

sweet tea wrote: [quote=Mamacita]Sweet T, tell me more about the power strips. Are you talking about your basic power strips wasting energy?

the power strips aren't the problem; they're just an easy way to deal with it.

the problem is that lots of devices draw power whether they're turned on or not. obviously anything with a standby light but also all the myriad chargers -- for cell phones, computers, etc -- and other devices with transformers are constantly using power, even when you don't need them to. (you can feel that the transformer box on the cord is hot, for instance, even when i don't have my speakers turned on. likewise my laptop power cord.)

you can just unplug them when you're not using them, but it's easier to organize your power strips so you can just turn them off when not needed.

We're in the process of doing that now. We also want to do a little experiment... unplug all non-essential items, look at our electric meter, plug them back in, then look again. I'm sure it'll be scary. Hopefully, keeping anything not used daily on a power strip we can turn off will help with the usage (and of course the bill).

boygabriel

VeggieQueen wrote: We're in the process of doing that now. We also want to do a little experiment... unplug all non-essential items, look at our electric meter, plug them back in, then look again. I'm sure it'll be scary. Hopefully, keeping anything not used daily on a power strip we can turn off will help with the usage (and of course the bill).

oooh, let us know how it goes.

trainsmoke deleon

FYI they're not doing 11217 addresses

veggiequeen

the bulb guys came today. we got 11 bulbs equiv of 40 watt regular bulbs and 1 equiv of a 100 watt bulb. they have to put a special insert into the socket so the bulb will fit in... something about making sure we replace them w/ CF bulbs. he said we can always pop those out if we need to. oh, and we can order replacement bulbs wholesale from the manufacturer. i think it's a pretty good deal.

vanilla

the bulb guy came to us a while back - he said the replacement bulbs are free and if any blow out to call and someone will actually come to the apt. and replace the blow out bulb(s). so far, we actually like these bulbs BETTER. however, i did keep my 3-ways and dimmer bulbs.

recycler

For those who don't like the glow from flourescents, the problem you have is probably color temperature. Most generic bulbs in the store will give off light at 4000 Kelvin or so. If you look only or in a specialty store, you can find "warmer" bulbs that have a color temperature of 2700 Kelvin. In my opinion those look much better. - Look for the Litetronics brand.

bluecat

Recycler wrote: For those who don't like the glow from flourescents, the problem you have is probably color temperature. Most generic bulbs in the store will give off light at 4000 Kelvin or so. If you look only or in a specialty store, you can find "warmer" bulbs that have a color temperature of 2700 Kelvin. In my opinion those look much better. - Look for the Litetronics brand.

I agree, 2700K looks much better and there is so much
choice online (candelabra sockets, dimmable bulbs, 3-way, etc...) Try
http://www.buylighting.com/Compact-Fluorescent-Screw-In-s/75.htm

j.b.

hrmn, correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't dimming lights still use the same electricity? At least for incandescent?

doctorj

j.b. wrote: hrmn, correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't dimming lights still use the same electricity? At least for incandescent?

I believe the current will drop because the total resistance is increased (V=IR) and that the power will thus decrease (P=I^2R). However, because the resistance is divided between the dimmer and the bulb, instead of just the bulb, some power is lost as heat in the resistor. And because the resistance of the bulb increases with its temperature, at lower currents, proportionally more power is lost as heat in the filament rather than being converted to light. So a dimmer lowers the power, but by less than the decrease in light, at least at first. If you dim it until the lamp is dark and cold, i.e. break the circuit, the power falls to zero. I don't know exactly what the power vs. light curve looks like for your typical dimmer and bulb, but I imagine it is a curve where the power falls slowly, then rapidly as you get closer to turning it entirely off.

daver

Dimming lights saves energy. Here is a California paper showing how automatic daytime dimming systems could save commercial buildings thousands. Like $50k on a $1.9M bill. So maybe not all that much. 2.6%.
http://lighting.lbl.gov/pdfs/49971.pdf

daver

doctorj wrote: I don't know exactly what the power vs. light curve looks like for your typical dimmer and bulb, but I imagine it is a curve where the power falls slowly, then rapidly as you get closer to turning it entirely off.

Dead on, check page 3.
http://www.lutron.com/ballast/BallastGuide/Hilume1percent.pdf

j.b.

This is great! Thanks for the info.

daver wrote: [quote=doctorj]I don't know exactly what the power vs. light curve looks like for your typical dimmer and bulb, but I imagine it is a curve where the power falls slowly, then rapidly as you get closer to turning it entirely off.

Dead on, check page 3.
http://www.lutron.com/ballast/BallastGuide/Hilume1percent.pdf

jane_birkin

Recycler wrote: For those who don't like the glow from flourescents, the problem you have is probably color temperature. Most generic bulbs in the store will give off light at 4000 Kelvin or so. If you look only or in a specialty store, you can find "warmer" bulbs that have a color temperature of 2700 Kelvin. In my opinion those look much better. - Look for the Litetronics brand.

thanks loads for this info, Recycler. I haven't liked that supermarket look either, but these bulbs seem much better!

brooklynpotter

i switched all but one of mine over about a year ago... dropped my electric bill about 20% each month.

dougheights

The agent for this program is QCS(Quality Conservation Services.) I allowed QCS to replace 20 bulbs on the 11th of July. Afterwards, I read the agreement I’d signed and began feeling paranoid, They have the sole right to supply and physically replace these bulbs. Replacements, of course, will not be free. They state “you (may be) eligible for additional rebates and discounts…” Their phone solicitation made prominent mention of Con Edison. However, the agreement makes clear that “Con Edison is not a party to these arrangements.” Each bulb has a socket insert designed to prevent replacement with unauthorized bulbs. The worst part is that the agreement gives them the right to inspect my premises to insure compliance.
Since no one else seems concerned, maybe my paranoia is unfounded

j.b.

Can you really sign over access rights to your own property (or the property of others, in the case of renters)?

veggiequeen

We're reading the contract now. It says we have 3 days to cancel, but the guy dated it 7/17 (he came yesterday, 7/19). As well, we called their office to cancel and the girl who answered said we'd have to call her boss and gave us his number. Stay tuned...

veggiequeen

Just found this on Con Ed's website... it makes me feel a little better (QCS is mentioned as a vendor).

http://investor.conedison.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=61493&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1025680&highlight=

Con Edison Offers More Customers Energy Savings

NEW YORK, NY, Jul 12, 2007 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX News Network) -- Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. has hired four vendors to help expand the company's targeted demand side management program. The program is designed to help customers in certain neighborhoods reduce electricity use during peak usage periods by achieving permanent energy savings.

The vendors hired are: Quality Conservation Services of New York; Public Energy Solutions of Englewood, N.J.; Free Lighting Corp. of Houston, Texas and WebEnergy.net, Inc, d/b/a Consumer Powerline of New York.

The vendors will work with Con Edison customers to reduce peak demand by 33 megawatts from 2008 through 2011.

Quality Conservation Services' goal is to reduce electrical demand by 6 megawatts in the Randall Island, Ward Island and Yorkville areas of Manhattan and the southeast area of the Bronx.

WebEnergy.net, Inc, d/b/a Consumer Powerline was selected to work in five areas on the East Side of Manhattan, to reduce peak demand by 20 megawatts.

Public Energy Solutions will focus on the Harrison area in Westchester County, to reduce peak demand by 6 megawatts. Free Lighting Corp. will work with customers in various neighborhoods in Staten Island to reduce peak demand by 1 megawatt.

Customers may save on their bills by installing energy efficient lighting, air conditioning, refrigeration, motors and clean distributed generation. Both residential and commercial customers may qualify, and there may be financial incentives for customers to offset installation costs.

The Targeted Demand Side Management program focuses on communities where peak demand is projected to result in the need for infrastructure upgrades. Targeted DSM efforts may help to defer the capital investment in those areas.

The vendors were selected from qualifying companies that responded to Con Edison's Request for Proposals (RFP) issued in December 2006. Customers in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island are already benefiting from DSM initiatives that started when the Targeted DSM program was launched in 2005.

Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED), one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $12 billion dollars in annual revenues and $27 billion dollars in assets. The utility provides electric, gas and steam service to more than 3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York. For additional financial, operations and customer service information, visit Con Edison's Web site at www.conEd.com.

Contact:
Chris Olert
212-460-4111

ben

dougheights wrote: The agent for this program is QCS(Quality Conservation Services.) I allowed QCS to replace 20 bulbs on the 11th of July. Afterwards, I read the agreement I’d signed and began feeling paranoid, They have the sole right to supply and physically replace these bulbs. Replacements, of course, will not be free. They state “you (may be) eligible for additional rebates and discounts…” Their phone solicitation made prominent mention of Con Edison. However, the agreement makes clear that “Con Edison is not a party to these arrangements.” Each bulb has a socket insert designed to prevent replacement with unauthorized bulbs. The worst part is that the agreement gives them the right to inspect my premises to insure compliance.
Since no one else seems concerned, maybe my paranoia is unfounded

What's the penalty for non-compliance?

dougheights

Ben wrote: [quote=dougheights]The agent for this program is QCS(Quality Conservation Services.) I allowed QCS to replace 20 bulbs on the 11th of July. Afterwards, I read the agreement I’d signed and began feeling paranoid, They have the sole right to supply and physically replace these bulbs. Replacements, of course, will not be free. They state “you (may be) eligible for additional rebates and discounts…” Their phone solicitation made prominent mention of Con Edison. However, the agreement makes clear that “Con Edison is not a party to these arrangements.” Each bulb has a socket insert designed to prevent replacement with unauthorized bulbs. The worst part is that the agreement gives them the right to inspect my premises to insure compliance.
Since no one else seems concerned, maybe my paranoia is unfounded

What's the penalty for non-compliance?I don't know. The agreement states QCS "may request return of such improvements",whatever that means. I'm probably overreacting to the legalese.
Thanks for your search VeggieQueen. I had looked at the Con Ed site,but didn't see that info. It's reassuring.