Are Light Bulbs Turning Your Hawaii Home Into An Easy Bake Oven?
Why Are You Heating Your House In Hawaii?
You are probably wondering, “what in the world does an Easy Bake Oven have to do with heating a house?” Lots, actually.
If a teeny tiny light bulb can bake a cake, imagine how much heat it can add to an already warm room.
Incandescent lighting is not your friend.
Thing about it. How is light produced? Electricity energizes a filament in the lamp which produces light. Simple…but that is not all that is produced. Roughly 90% of the incandescent lamps output is heat. Yes, enough heat to bake a cake! It is a very inefficient way to light a room.
Incandescent lighting, however, may be inexpensive to purchase but is very expensive to maintain. If you must use incandescent, try using low voltage halogen instead.
As the name implies, it use less electricity but still has the nasty byproduct of heat. Remember in the 90’s when torchiere lighting was all the rage. They really raged when you stood them close to your curtains and poof, up in smoke because of the heat of the bulb. Low voltage halogen lighting is best used for track, recessed and landscape lighting.
If you currently have your home listed for sale or are considering doing so, take a look at what your potential buyers are looking at…or in this case what they are “feeling” as they tour your home. A hot house = An uncomfortable house.
Next time I will talk about what to replace incandescents with. Until then. Peace – Out.
theenergymi$ser
Justin - Head Web Head
March 2, 2010
I replaced a majority of my bulbs florescents. Was this the right choice or do I need to do something else?
Justin - Head Web Head
March 2, 2010
I replaced a majority of my bulbs florescents. Was this the right choice or do I need to do something else?
Ken Molina
March 2, 2010
CFL’s are the best solution for now. Newer and not yet proven technology is LED (light emitting diodes). These lamps are cool looking. They look like shower heads. I will go into these later but CFL’s are amazing.
Ken Molina
March 2, 2010
CFL’s are the best solution for now. Newer and not yet proven technology is LED (light emitting diodes). These lamps are cool looking. They look like shower heads. I will go into these later but CFL’s are amazing.
Tobi Fisher
March 2, 2010
You Rock!! Great information. I did the same as Justin, what is your take on it? Tobi Fisher R(S) HawaiiLife.com
Tobi Fisher
March 2, 2010
You Rock!! Great information. I did the same as Justin, what is your take on it? Tobi Fisher R(S) HawaiiLife.com
Ken Molina
March 2, 2010
CFL’s are great. You can now get them in various ranges from brite white, cool white to daylight. My electric bill dropped by about $15 after the first month. New LED technology coming around the bend. Still new so don’t spend the money now. That’s for a later blog.
Ken Molina
March 2, 2010
CFL’s are great. You can now get them in various ranges from brite white, cool white to daylight. My electric bill dropped by about $15 after the first month. New LED technology coming around the bend. Still new so don’t spend the money now. That’s for a later blog.
Justin - Head Web Head
March 3, 2010
After I bought my home I took my electric bill from $250/mo down to $90/mo. I installed a solar water heater (tax credit), replaced all kitchen appliances, replaced washer and put up a line to dry clothes, and replaced all my light bulbs with CFL’s.
Unfortunately I’ve been getting a $100 (roughly) overage charge from Kauai Electric for the past 3 months. I don’t know what that’s about but I’m guessing it would have been much bigger if I didn’t make the changes.
Next I want to replace my attic fan with a solar fan. Ken, how do those work?
Justin - Head Web Head
March 3, 2010
After I bought my home I took my electric bill from $250/mo down to $90/mo. I installed a solar water heater (tax credit), replaced all kitchen appliances, replaced washer and put up a line to dry clothes, and replaced all my light bulbs with CFL’s.
Unfortunately I’ve been getting a $100 (roughly) overage charge from Kauai Electric for the past 3 months. I don’t know what that’s about but I’m guessing it would have been much bigger if I didn’t make the changes.
Next I want to replace my attic fan with a solar fan. Ken, how do those work?
Ken Molina
March 3, 2010
You are doing the best you can. You may want to consider pv. It’t not for everyone..yet. Something to work on is phantom loads. Anything plugged into an outlet that draws power while not in use. Cell phone chargers, tv’s dvd’s stereos, etc. Put as many on a power strip with on/off toggle and turn off when done. It’s only a few dollars a month but if you are looking for additional savings that is one overlooked area.
Ken Molina
March 3, 2010
You are doing the best you can. You may want to consider pv. It’t not for everyone..yet. Something to work on is phantom loads. Anything plugged into an outlet that draws power while not in use. Cell phone chargers, tv’s dvd’s stereos, etc. Put as many on a power strip with on/off toggle and turn off when done. It’s only a few dollars a month but if you are looking for additional savings that is one overlooked area.
Kia Kamauu
March 24, 2010
Thank You! Thank You!
You are right on with this. In fact I took a temperature reading of the surface of a 65 watt flood lamp and after 10 mins it was over 225 degrees! Room temperature was 75 degrees and the Cree LR6 12 Watt LED that produced more light was only 82 degrees.
I also tested an 18 Watt CFL that put out less light then either of the above and it was 119 degrees.
People are really baking their houses and burning a lot of energy not only because they are more watts but also because they then run fans or A/C to cool the room they are heating.
CFL is a good choice for homes right now as I don’t see a very good 360 degree LED choice out there right now. And even though the ROI over the life of the LED is good because you don’t use your lights as much as a business the payback period on the LED will be 5-7 years. But there are very good LED PAR lamps with Cree diodes at low watts and good light if you have a security light you leave on all the time.
As for business there are excellent LED options faster payback periods and great ROI’s especially if they are open 7 days a week or 24/7 like a parking garage. DOE hasn’t tested any quality LED tubes yet, actually they have only tested 11 total, but there are quality tubes out there backed by manufactures that have been around for longer then they warranty their products.
Cheapest home to live in is not the cheapest to buy. So a few way to pay for the up front cost for green and clean energy upgrades.
– Look into PPA’s with a PV company most do it like Hawaiian Energy for one.
– Also the PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program where you pay back the cost through your property tax, so your home gets the loan not you and it says with the home. You sell your house and they new owner pays while also getting the benefit. This is a very short summary, more at pacenow.org
– And there are “Green Mortgages” out there too
Got a little wordy sorry. Great blog, thanks!
Kia Kamauu
March 24, 2010
Thank You! Thank You!
You are right on with this. In fact I took a temperature reading of the surface of a 65 watt flood lamp and after 10 mins it was over 225 degrees! Room temperature was 75 degrees and the Cree LR6 12 Watt LED that produced more light was only 82 degrees.
I also tested an 18 Watt CFL that put out less light then either of the above and it was 119 degrees.
People are really baking their houses and burning a lot of energy not only because they are more watts but also because they then run fans or A/C to cool the room they are heating.
CFL is a good choice for homes right now as I don’t see a very good 360 degree LED choice out there right now. And even though the ROI over the life of the LED is good because you don’t use your lights as much as a business the payback period on the LED will be 5-7 years. But there are very good LED PAR lamps with Cree diodes at low watts and good light if you have a security light you leave on all the time.
As for business there are excellent LED options faster payback periods and great ROI’s especially if they are open 7 days a week or 24/7 like a parking garage. DOE hasn’t tested any quality LED tubes yet, actually they have only tested 11 total, but there are quality tubes out there backed by manufactures that have been around for longer then they warranty their products.
Cheapest home to live in is not the cheapest to buy. So a few way to pay for the up front cost for green and clean energy upgrades.
– Look into PPA’s with a PV company most do it like Hawaiian Energy for one.
– Also the PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program where you pay back the cost through your property tax, so your home gets the loan not you and it says with the home. You sell your house and they new owner pays while also getting the benefit. This is a very short summary, more at pacenow.org
– And there are “Green Mortgages” out there too
Got a little wordy sorry. Great blog, thanks!
Solar Systems
September 2, 2011
Tims Solar Panels Install…
[…]Are Light Bulbs Turning Your Hawaii Home Into An Easy Bake Oven? « Hawaii Real Estate Market[…]…
Solar Systems
September 2, 2011
Tims Solar Panels Install…
[…]Are Light Bulbs Turning Your Hawaii Home Into An Easy Bake Oven? « Hawaii Real Estate Market[…]…