Author Topic: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact  (Read 16934 times)

Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #175 on: 28 January, 2020, 12:56:47 pm »
That's not a problem of technology - it's perfectly possible to engineer an LED lamp with a long life - it's one of capitalism.  Why make an expensive lamp that lasts for ages when you can make a cheaper, brighter one that fails after 18 months?  'Twas ever thus.

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"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #176 on: 28 January, 2020, 12:58:47 pm »
Kettles are a laugh nearly always boiling 2-3 times as much water as needed for a cup.

Less of a problem for half the year where it means your heating bills will be slightly lower. Not sure of the efficiency differences between heating and kettles though.
"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

Kim

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Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #177 on: 28 January, 2020, 01:04:50 pm »
Kettles, like electric heaters, are 100% efficient at heating rooms (unless you pour some of the hot water down the drain).

The interesting one is heating a kettle full of water before pouring it into a saucepan on a gas hob, as per 240V BRITISH tradition.  Obviously the kettle is more efficient at heating the water, but it becomes a lot more complicated when you consider the entire system (including whether the heat wasted by the hob is usefully heating the house).

I could claim all sorts of energy efficiency wins for not drinking tea/coffee, but ultimately it comes down to them tasting bad.

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #178 on: 28 January, 2020, 01:08:08 pm »
I read somewhere that concrete is responsible for around 12% of all global CO2 emissions.

Which is why we aren't demolishing the UK housing stock to make brand new passif haus buildings. Yes they would have lower emissions, but the embodied energy in the housing stock is formidable, and so the net result would not be an improvement.

There are steps that can be taken to improve the footprint of your average house, but in many cases this involves making a room 100mm smaller on each dimension, which for your average rabbit hutch, really sucks.

Wrt to lights, when I moved into my flat in the UK in the early 2000's, my bedroom had 3 100w bulbs. There are now 3x 9w bulbs in there. A 91% drop in power use. Unfortunately most of that 273w is replaced by heat from the heaters in the winter, so it only really has an appreciable benefit on the power bill in summer.

On the plus side, the LED bulbs have lasted about 5 times as long as the filament bulbs I had, and about twice as long as the CFT.

IME, LED bulbs obey the Sam Vimes Economic Model. You get what you pay for.

In my Amsterdam flat I have gone for the IKEA Tradfri bulbs, which are all fancy IoT devices that I can controlled with my phone. A useful feature of this, is that I have a timer setup to turn all the lights on for 1 minute, and then turn them all off again in the middle of the day. The purpose of which is if I've forgotten to turn the lights off when leaving for work, the lights get turned off, and don't stay on all day. I had to turn them all on for 1 minute, as the ikea app doesn't allow for timers to just turn things off...

Simple stuff like this can be really good for energy savings.

J
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Cudzoziemiec

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Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #179 on: 28 January, 2020, 01:33:15 pm »
I read somewhere that concrete is responsible for around 12% of all global CO2 emissions.

Which is why we aren't demolishing the UK housing stock to make brand new passif haus buildings. Yes they would have lower emissions, but the embodied energy in the housing stock is formidable, and so the net result would not be an improvement.
No, the reason we aren't doing that is because it would lead to an epidemic of House Price Cancer.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Kim

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Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #180 on: 28 January, 2020, 01:37:28 pm »
I've built a several of flicker-free dimmable LED lamps, on account of barakta's photosensitive migraine issues.  (It's basically impossible to tell whether an off-the-shelf lamp will have problematic flicker, though most CFLs will have some ripple, and you can be reasonably sure the cheap nasty LED lamps will strobe at twice the supply frequency, and anything doing PWM dimming will be in the <1000Hz visible range.)

In doing so, I've designed them to under-drive the LEDs which makes them run cooler and greatly prolongs their lifespan.  I've also used quality components in the drivers, and of course since I've got the designs and used screw-based construction techniques, it's all eminently servicable.  Also, because feeping creaturism, they turn off[1] when there's nobody in the room, which saves a decent chunk of power.  But I'm under no illusions that handbuilt one-off construction of electronics is in any way resource efficient.  I've used way more Stuff than a simple light bulb, the per-item energy costs will be non-trivial[2], and the supply chain is hardly efficient.

On the gripping hand, since the alternative would be tungsten[3], it's probably a long-term win.


[1] For "quiescent power of about 2 watts" values of 'off' - the power supply and microcontroller are still active so they can turn back on again[4].
[2] Just look at the energy consumed by hand-building (sodlering, power tools, and - because I'm getting old - lighting throughout the process), even before considering that used while writing firmware and arsing about in CAD that isn't offset by mass production.
[3] Barakta can see the 100Hz ripple on halogen lighting, so even that isn't a panacea.
[4] Automatic lighting being an accessibility win for the hand-impaired.

Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #181 on: 28 January, 2020, 03:59:25 pm »

IME, LED bulbs obey the Sam Vimes Economic Model. You get what you pay for.

Would that were so. For sure, buying cheap is not a thing to do especially with the inbuilt propensity for heating way beyond their declared wattage, but buying expensive doesn't guarantee jack. I tend to look for brands where you can identify quality, eg a ceramic base, but again, no guarantee.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #182 on: 28 January, 2020, 05:22:22 pm »
That's not a problem of technology - it's perfectly possible to engineer an LED lamp with a long life - it's one of capitalism.  Why make an expensive lamp that lasts for ages when you can make a cheaper, brighter one that fails after 18 months?  'Twas ever thus.

Of course it is. One of unfettered capitalism, that is.

---o0o---

Meanwhile, Total are being sued for not taking environmental concerns serious. They're accused of being responsible for at least 1% of greenhouse gas emissions.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #183 on: 28 January, 2020, 05:41:31 pm »
I can’t remember the last time I replaced an LED bulb, and half the ones in the flat are from Poundland.

Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #184 on: 28 January, 2020, 06:16:34 pm »
I've replaced quite a few.
Mostly candle-flame shaped ones.
Yeah, I know.
But they're the only ones which can be accommodated into the very slim porthole-like ceiling lights I have in my hall.
Thankfully they are behind frosted glass, so their shape isn't immediately apparent.
Curiously, the candle-flame shaped halogens they replaced, used to fail with alarming frequency, as did the incandescent ones which preceded them.
I've taken to buying only Phillips branded ones, and only buying them from a retailer who will offer refunds/ replacements without giving me grief.
So, goodbye Screwfix and your insistence that my lamps are failing because I must live close to an electricity sub-station (I don't) which subjects the lamps to over-volting (is that actually a thing? Or is it just a thing of Screwfix retail counter trained sparkies?).
I now obtain the lamps from John Lewis, who are generally a bit more relaxed when it comes to refunds / replacements, and won't subject me to bullshit and insults in the process of doing so.
My surprise however, remains, as I find the claim by Phillips of a lamp longevity of 15 years, or 15,000 hours use or 50,000 service cycles to be up there with King Arthur, Medusa, Aesop and other myths, fables and legends.

Kim

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Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #185 on: 28 January, 2020, 06:21:35 pm »
So, goodbye Screwfix and your insistence that my lamps are failing because I must live close to an electricity sub-station (I don't) which subjects the lamps to over-volting (is that actually a thing? Or is it just a thing of Screwfix retail counter trained sparkies?).

Out-of-spec voltage is certainly a thing (see posts passim about our low voltage problems), but while living right next to the substation is likely to mean less voltage drop, it's more to do with changes in the amount of load since the distribution guys last had reason to turn up and fiddle with the transformer taps or whatever.  (Bafflingly, there's no permanent monitoring of the last mile service.)

Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #186 on: 28 January, 2020, 06:35:30 pm »
So, goodbye Screwfix and your insistence that my lamps are failing because I must live close to an electricity sub-station (I don't) which subjects the lamps to over-volting (is that actually a thing? Or is it just a thing of Screwfix retail counter trained sparkies?).

Out-of-spec voltage is certainly a thing (see posts passim about our low voltage problems), but while living right next to the substation is likely to mean less voltage drop, it's more to do with changes in the amount of load since the distribution guys last had reason to turn up and fiddle with the transformer taps or whatever.  (Bafflingly, there's no permanent monitoring of the last mile service.)

It was a bit of a tongue in cheek question (I'm aware that out-of-spec voltage is a thing) it was more of a reflection of Screwfix's piss-poor customer service, where they'll pluck the flimsiest of stuff from the ether to avoid adhering to their obligations insofar as the Sale of Goods Act is concerned.

Anecdata time: We were re-furbing an exhibition at Wroughton Airfield, a few years ago. We'd contracted some electrical work out to some sparkies, because that is what they do best.
The sparkies expressed some surprise when 267v showed up on their multimeter.
Sure enough, 20m away from the doors of the hangar a sub-station was happily emanating its warm hum....

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #187 on: 28 January, 2020, 10:32:40 pm »

On the metro home from work I looked up at the office blocks near the station, all lit up with noone at the desks, at 2100. I could light my flat on a single 1w led, and wouldn't in a year get the same power savings, as would occur if businesses like these just turned their bloody lights off at night...

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #188 on: 28 January, 2020, 10:35:36 pm »
I don't talk as much as I used ro.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #189 on: 29 January, 2020, 08:17:30 am »
I've replaced quite a few.
Mostly candle-flame shaped ones.
Yeah, I know.

We call those suppository bulbs.

H&S WARNING: Don't.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #190 on: 29 January, 2020, 08:22:43 am »
On the metro home from work I looked up at the office blocks near the station, all lit up with noone at the desks, at 2100.

Cleaners.  But normally they should only work a couple of floors at a time.

I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #191 on: 29 January, 2020, 09:00:02 am »
And the problem of "one person working late has to keep half the block lit up because the switches are in the wrong places" has been noted for decades.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

ian

Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #192 on: 29 January, 2020, 09:15:53 am »
Our mothership lights go off if there's no one moving. I think this is to high- (or rather low-)light people like me sleeping at their desks.

Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #193 on: 29 January, 2020, 09:24:29 am »
Same here, no movement for 5 minutes (after 5pm) and the lights go off. Small individual areas too, probably covering no more than 6 desks. We've had that ever since I've been in this office (2006).
"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #194 on: 29 January, 2020, 10:22:52 am »
One place I worked in briefly, had lights similarly controlled in the (windowless) gents toilet.
The sensor was in the part of the room where the hand basins were located.
Noticeably, there was an absence of sensor in any of the cubicles.
So, after you had been sitting there for not very long, you'd be plunged into inky darkness.
You could either wait until the next user entered the room for the lighting to be restored.
Or.........

Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #195 on: 29 January, 2020, 11:16:20 am »
I have switched jobs to work for one of the leading energy research and analysis firms in the UK.  My view is that individual actions are pretty much pointless and that to get to zero carbon in time you need to convince governments, investors, banks, pension funds ect that it is possible and profitable.  Which is what I do now.  Pretty incredible being on the front line and speaking on a daily basis to all the major players in the game - genuinely feels like I am doing something that might help.

My current job is based around helping our clients understand the exact economics of a wind farm or potential location for a wind farm which will help the investment case for building more renewable s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNcwoRrQrl0&t=4s

Kim

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Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #196 on: 29 January, 2020, 01:17:26 pm »
And the problem of "one person working late has to keep half the block lit up because the switches are in the wrong places" has been noted for decades.

Switches are going out of fashion.  The modern problem is not being able to turn lights off when you want to darken a room for whatever reason.

Kim

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Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #197 on: 29 January, 2020, 01:18:35 pm »
One place I worked in briefly, had lights similarly controlled in the (windowless) gents toilet.
The sensor was in the part of the room where the hand basins were located.
Noticeably, there was an absence of sensor in any of the cubicles.
So, after you had been sitting there for not very long, you'd be plunged into inky darkness.
You could either wait until the next user entered the room for the lighting to be restored.
Or.........

This is a favourite in C&CC club site wash blocks.  It's best to just leave your head torch switched on during 3am loo visits.

Wowbagger

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Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #198 on: 29 January, 2020, 01:38:34 pm »
Our mothership lights go off if there's no one moving. I think this is to high- (or rather low-)light people like me sleeping at their desks.

The building I worked in up to 1995 had this even a quarter of a century ago. I quite often turned up at my desk about 10pm on an otherwise deserted 11th floor as our chess club used to meet on the 15th. It was quite fun to walk across the floor and a succession of light going on in front of me like a kind of bow wave.
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Re: Changes You've Made that (Might) Have a Climate Impact
« Reply #199 on: 29 January, 2020, 08:51:05 pm »
Same here, no movement for 5 minutes (after 5pm) and the lights go off. Small individual areas too, probably covering no more than 6 desks. We've had that ever since I've been in this office (2006).

Here too. I’m normally in well after the lights have gone on in the morning. The Monday before Christmas I discovered that the movement detector doesn’t “see” my desk as none of the rest of the team were in.