Light tech to drive big efficiencies over 20 years
I forgot to post this yesterday, but my Clean Break column in Monday’s Toronto Star takes a look at the Ontario Power Authority’s recently released Ontario “load forecast” discussion paper and its assumption that new lighting technologies — i.e. compact flourescent lights — will only offer a slight increase in lighting efficiency in the residential sector over the next two decades. I found this difficult to believe, and used the column to point out the many innovations around compact fluorescents, LEDs, silicon-based lights, and lighting systems based on fibre-optic cabling.
Tyler Hamilton is senior energy reporter and columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the cleantech market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper. Tyler can be reached at tyler@cleanbreak.ca
September 20th, 2006 at 12:37 am
Organic LEDs! I hope they can figure out how to make them efficient & cheap. This will probably be driven by the computer industry in search of cheaper, less power consuming screens.
September 20th, 2006 at 5:59 am
Why aren’t the big hydro companies pushing people to downsize their electric hotwater tanks to save the HUGE demand for power during the summer. I moved into a townhouse recently and absolutely had no need for a 60 gallon tank for one person. How much hot water can I possibly use. Our cottage has a 20 gallon and is more than enough for 2 or 3 families to get by on.
I asked them to remove the tank when I moved in. They said it would cost me $125 FOR THEM TO COME AND REMOVE THEIR TANK SINCE they don’t rent 20gal. What a joke. I refused, but that’s another story.
I’m no mathimatician (or speller), but how much energy savings for Ontario would be had by these energy pigs being downsized for families. Probably more than the lightbulbs. Why have 60gal of hot water on standby 24/7 ?
September 21st, 2006 at 3:07 pm
Despite all the innovations you mention in your column I wouldn’t be surprised at all if their load forecast is correct. Why? As near as I can tell innovation in the home building sector occurs at a glacial pace. Are any builders putting CFL lights into new homes? Not that I’ve seen. Low flush toilets? Only if mandated by the municipality. (Most plumbers seem to still think the low flush toilets are horrible — though the first ones were bad they now seem to be quite good but the stigmatism remains.) Efficient appliances? Nope… the cheapest money can buy.
So while the innovations exist home builders will never use them unless they’re cheaper than the alternatives and if no new skills are required to install them.
And what about all our existing homes & buildings? It’s unlikely that retrofitting fiberoptic lighting is going to be feasible. Among the people I know our old house is the only one with CFLs.
PS: I’m not sure why LEDs are bragged up so much as CFLs are currently more efficient?!?