Energy Management Websites

What's a kilowatt?

When you use electricity to cook a pot of rice for 1 hour, you use 1000 watt-hours of electricity! One thousand watt-hours equals 1 kilowatt-hour, or 1 kWh. Your utility bill usually shows what you are charged for the kilowatt-hours you use. The average residential rate is 9.4 cents per kWh. A typical U.S. household consumes about 11,000 kWh per year, costing an average of $1,034 annually.

Fluorescent Lighting Explained

 

What you need to know before Purchasing Fluorescent Bulbs

 

Fluorescent to Incandescent Wattage and Lumen Output

                     Fluorescent          Wattage  Incandescent         Wattage  Average Lumens
                  4-7 Watts   25 Watts    300
                 9-11 Watts   40 Watts    450
               13-16 Watts   60 Watts    800
               18-20 Watts   75 Watts 1,100
               22-25 Watts 100 Watts 1,500

 

    The wattage or light output that you need in a Fluorescent Bulb to match the wattage or light output of your current incandecent or Halogen Bulb can be found In the chart below:

                                                Fluorescent     Incandescent
                                                 4-7 Watts      = 25  Watts  
                                                9-11 Watts     = 40  Watts  
                                                13-16  Watts   = 60  Watts 
                                                18-20  Watts   = 75  Watts  
                                                22-25 Watts   = 100  Watts
 

 You will note that Each bulb has a Kelvin (K) rating. This incandescent light bulb color temperature often seen in today's typical incandescent bulb is referred to as "Warm White" as it has more of a "yellow" color on the light color index. The higher the Kelvin color temperature of the bulb the whiter the color will appear to the eye. 6500K is the "whitest" color bulb we offer and it most closely resembles daylight. The higher Kelvin color temperature bulbs may be used in areas that are task oriented. Kitchens, Bathrooms and reading lights are where these bulbs are found in residential applications. These bulbs are rarely found in Living, Dining, Family or Bedrooms. These rooms are almost 100% "warm white" or 2700K color bulbs. If purchasing for a retail application you may wish to purchase the higher Kelvin colors to create energy and the feeling of "daylight"

  • You will need to know the required shape and size of the bulbs you need for your light fixtures.
  • You will need to know your base type. The "standard" base type that is found on most incandescent bulbs is called E-26. The smaller shape used with some candelabra bulbs is called E-12. The new fluorescent light fixtures use a GU-24 base shape.
  • That Par means Parabolic Aluminized Reflectors (PAR)-Outdoor flood bulbs that are resistant to damp areas. PAR bulbs are used for spotlighting or as flood lights.  PAR is the trade designation of a type of lamp that offer "flat" lighting and is widely used in commercial, residential, and transportation illumination.  Flat lighting can be defined as even front lighting of a subject, producing little contrast, no shadows, and no modeling. 
    • You should always look for EnergyStar approved bulbs. Bulbs with the United States Federal Government EnergyStar approval have passed rigorous life testing, performance testing and energy utilization testing. The bulbs on our site are all EnergyStar certified. This is the reason for our somewhat limited selection for each bulb type. When buying from Wholesalebulbs, you have the peace of mind of knowing that if the bulb is listed on our site, it is of the highest quality and meets all of the demanding requirements of the EnergyStar Standards Body.

    EnergyStar and Fluorescent Light Bulbs

     

    Why choose ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs over a non-qualified CFL?

    ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs are different than other CFLs on the market because they have been tested to meet stringent performance criteria established by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The criteria ensure that all CFLs earning the ENERGY STAR label meet minimum lifetime and efficacy requirements, and are within maximum allowed product start and warm-up times. Manufacturers are also required to label the product if the light output is different than that of a soft white incandescent. If you choose a CFL that is not ENERGY STAR qualified, you might not get the performance you were looking for.

    Benefits of ENERGY STAR Qualified CFLs

    Use at least 75% less energy (than incandescent bulbs).
    Last up to 10 times longer than incandescent lighting.
    Come in different shapes and sizes, to fit in most residential fixtures.
    Are convenient in hard-to-reach or high-use fixtures, as they need replacing less often.
    Generate 70% less heat than incandescent light bulbs.
    ENERGY STAR qualified bulbs offer a 2-year manufacturer warranty (double the industry standard).
    Do not hum, buzz, or flicker.

    Energy Star savings calculator

    Click this link to assess how much energy you can save using our Energy Star qualifified bulbs.

    http://www.energystar.gov/ia/products/lighting/cfls/downloads/CalculatorCFLs.xls

     
    Dimming Saves Energy
     

     Home Energy Savings Calculatorhttp://hes.lbl.gov/

     
    Energy Management Links
    Chilipepper Hot Water Appliance - Speed up your hot water!  Works with any water heater, even tankless water heaters.  
     
    What size Air Conditioner to buy?
    Area in square feet Btu/hour Two major factors should guide your purchase: correct size and energy efficiency. If the room is very sunny, increase capacity by 10%. If the unit is for a kitchen, increase the capacity by 4,000 Btu per hour.
    100 to 150 5,000
    150 to 250 6,000
    250 to 350 7,000
    350 to 450 9,000
    400 to 450 10,000
    450 to 550 12,000
    550 to 700 14,000
    700 to 1,000 18,000
     
     

     What You Should Know

    Information Courtesy of: Tiger Direct.com

    Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) - What Wattage is Best for You
    The most important question you need to ask when you buy a UPS backup is how much time you have to shut down or back up your data if the power goes down. Obviously, if you purchase a UPS backup that lacks the muscle to sustain your load in the event of a power outage, you’ve wasted your money. That’s why our Editors have created a handy chart that illustrates the average run time for UPS backups.
    Standard Electrical Specification Terms
    What Is A Joule? Or a Watt, Volt, or an Amp?

    Electronics and Electricity, uses a wide range of terms to represent different kinds of measurement units.  Many you have seen every day, and others from time to time in product specifications.  These are all part of the International System of Units.  Here is a short list of several common terms your will see in our products and their meanings:

    JOULE: One joule (symbol: J) is defined as the amount of work done by electricity.  Technically it is the work required to continuously produce one watt of power for one second; or one watt second (W*s).   One kilowatt hour (a common electric company measure) equals 3,600,000 Joules (1W*s x 1,000 x 3600 seconds).


    Using This Chart You Can Easily Calculate
    The Wattage, Current (Amps), Ohms, and Voltage For A Device!

    WATT: In terms of mechanical energy, one watt (symbol: W or P) is a measure of energy used - this frequently results in heat, or as in the case of a light bulb, the heat creates a glow, thus more heat equals more light.  Technically a Watt is the rate at which work is done when an object is moved at a speed of one meter per second against a force of one newton.  By the definitions of electric potential (volt) and current (ampere), work is done at a rate of one watt when one ampere flows through a potential difference of one volt - or simply A*V=W

    AMP (Ampere): In practical terms, the ampere (symbol: I) is the amount of electrical current passing through a conductor (a wire).  Technically it is a measure of the amount of electric charge passing a point per unit time. Around 6.242 × 1018 electrons passing a given point each second constitutes one ampere. You can figure out the Amps being use by dividing the Wattage by Voltage.  A 100W light, in a typical house (120V) uses 1.2A.

    VOLT (Voltage): The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electromotive force measurement, commonly called "voltage".  Technically, the volt is defined as the value of the voltage across a conductor when a current of one ampere dissipates one watt of power in the conductor.  For example, if you know a TV uses 295 Watts and uses 2.45 Amps, you can calculate the voltage is 120 Volts.

    OHM:  The ohm (symbol: Ω or R) is the unit of electrical impedance in AC, or, in the direct current case, electrical resistance.  It is the resistance of material to electrical current.  The higher the value, the higher the resistance, and the more voltage is required, and the more current used.  Most home speakers are low resistance, just 8 ohm.  Technically, the ohm is defined as the resistance between two points of a conductor when a constant of 1 volt is  applied, and produces in a current of 1 ampere.

    DECIBEL:  The decibel (dB) is a logarithmic unit of measurement that expresses the magnitude of a physical quantity (usually power or intensity) relative to a specified or implied reference level.  The decibel is useful for a wide variety of measurements (particularly acoustics and electronics). It has a number of advantages, such as the ability to conveniently represent very large or small numbers, in a scaling that roughly corresponds to the human perception of sound and light.  It is frequently seen in Home Theater Receivers to represent amplification or volume.  Since it is based on a reference level, it is not easily used by the non-engineer, but simply as a specification value.

     
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