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Could the return of the incandescent light bulb save your business money?

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Thomas Edison created the incandescent light bulb more than 130 years ago…and it was awesome. But Edison’s traditional filament bulb lost street cred in modern times and was overtaken by the more efficient LED and the more eco-friendly fluorescent bulb. Things, however, could be about to change!

Scientists at MIT reckon that they’ve found a way to make the incandescent light bulb more energy efficient. Now, you might be wondering what the big deal is because with LED or fluorescent bulbs an online purchase away, why would any business pay attention to the resurrection of the filament bulb? In a nutshell – the return of the incandescent light bulb save your business money. Here’s how:

The old-style bulb was only considered to be 5 per cent efficient, because it typically lost around 95 per cent of its energy to the air as heat. LED or fluorescent bulbs boosted that efficiency figure to 14 per cent, but the new incandescent bulb marks a potentially huge leap for energy efficiency to 40 per cent. Scientists plan to do this in a two stage process.

The first stage will stop waste heat from the conventionally heated metal filament from dissipating with the inclusion of a secondary structure surrounding the filament, which will capture the excess radiation and reflect it back to the filament to be re-absorbed and re-emitted as visible light.

The second stage will manipulate how efficiently the system converts electricity into light.

Scientists refer to their approach as “light recycling,” since their material takes in the unwanted, useless wavelengths of energy and converts them into the visible light wavelengths that are desired; recycling energy that would otherwise be wasted.

Now check this: The Energy Saving Trust calculates that a 60-watt incandescent light bulb over a year would typically cost £7.64. An equivalent energy efficient fluorescent or light bulb drops the cost to £1.53 per year, and an LED £1.27. The new MIT bulb would be expected to cost just 50p to run for a year (as reported by Bitishgas.co.uk).

In other words, it’s in the best interests of your business for the buffs and MIT to get this incandescent bulb thing right! Little savings add up, especially when there’s lots of light to be used. We’ll keep you posted…

For more on the science and the research of the MIT project, CLICK HERE.

If you’d like further information, feel free to contact the CH Systems team on 0208 302 8149 or info@chsystems.cc.

Source: Britishgas.co.uk – “The return of the incandescent light bulb”

How much do business owners really know about energy saving?

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A new survey commissioned by the National Energy Foundation has revealed what British adults really know about energy. And it’s not all that much.

Of the people surveyed, most say that they would like to reduce their energy consumption, either because of the financial cost of using energy (81 per cent) or because of the environmental impact (70 per cent).

When it comes to business, the first step to improving energy efficiency (and cutting company overheads) is appreciating the dynamic of how light and heat is used in context. Interestingly, although three in five (58 per cent) of British adults say that they feel well informed about energy issues – sourcing information from news and documentary programmes on the TV and radio (42 per cent), searching on the internet (32 per cent) and via energy companies directly (22 per cent) – only 41 per cent of energy users know that the UK’s electricity supply comes mainly from fossil-fuel combustion. This means that the majority (59 per cent) do not know the principal source of the UK’s electricity supply.

Not only that but:

  • Only half (50 per cent) of those surveyed correctly identified which type of light bulb uses the least energy (LED) and 35 per cent incorrectly thought that low voltage halogen lights use the least.
  • Only one in ten (11 per cent) adults say that they know how much energy their workplace uses; while eight out of ten believe that private employers (79 per cent) and the government (76 per cent) should provide training and education to teach the public to use energy more efficiently. This compares to the six in ten (57 per cent) who believe that technology will solve our energy problems.

What the survey results suggest is that individuals and organisations need to up their energy literacy…

…making company owners, with a keen sense of how things work, effective in assisting their businesses in energy efficient improvements; reducing carbon footprints and saving money too.

Kerry Mashford, Chief Executive of the National Energy Foundation, has expressed interest in implementing a number of high-impact projects to improve the energy performance of new and existing buildings, inspiring others to do the same – NEF is currently looking for partners to back initiatives.

In the meantime, whether you’re a small business owner or someone managing a large-scale operation (hotels, hospitals, restaurants, police stations etc.), be proactive! Take energy seriously.

For more information on the National Energy Foundation Energy Poll, CLICK HERE for headline survey findings.

Source: nef.org.uk – “Energy survey raises concerns: people think they know more about energy issues than they really do”

If you’d like further information, feel free to contact the CH Systems team on 0208 302 8149 or info@chsystems.cc.