Sometimes the biggest challenge in saving energy is knowing where to start. Your monthly gas and electric bills come in big lump sums, so how can you identify the best opportunities to reduce your consumption? One of the smartest ways to get a clear idea of your energy consumption is to break it down appliance by appliance.

Disaggregation Technology

You can get a general idea of how much electricity your household devices use by reading the wattage labels and tracking how much time they are in use. However, to get an accurate picture of your household energy consumption, you need advanced technology that can break out and analyze exactly how much energy is being consumed by each appliance and device.

That's the gist of a recent report prepared by the energy startup Bidgely in cooperation with Pacific Gas & Electric. They teamed up to study 850 customers who were given a device that provided real-time readings on how much electricity their various appliances were using. The device used information it pulled from the home's smart meters to break down consumption for things like air conditioners, refrigerators and clothes dryers.

The data then allowed homeowners to make changes as to how and when they used their equipment, and the results were dramatic – households reduced their consumption by an average of 7.7 percent.

More Savings to Come

Most impressively, those gains came solely through behavioral changes. There remains much room for improvement if homeowners use the system to identify energy hogs in their households and replace inefficient appliances with newer, more efficient models.

Furthermore, the test was limited to people who already use time-of-day energy pricing, who tend to be savvier consumers when it comes to energy use.

“By definition, these people have already optimized some of their energy consumption in the home,” Bidgely CEO Abhay Gupta said to Greentechmedia. “We were able to demonstrate 7.7 percent energy savings on this time-of-use customer base. Imagine what we could do with a non-optimized home.”

Make Disaggregation Work for You

Bidgely is not the only company getting into the energy disaggregation game. Greentechmedia identifies others, like PlotWatt and Smappee, who are pushing into the market to provide the technology to help people save.

If you're interested in learning more about disaggregation or to find out if any of the companies are offering programs in your area, contact your local electrician, who can steer you towards the option that works best for your family.

Switching from a traditional fuel-powered vehicle to an electric car or hybrid can save you money and reduce harmful emissions, reducing not only your carbon footprint, but also the amount of money you spend on gas. Electric and hybrid-electric cars can travel an average of 100 miles on just 25-40 kWh before requiring a recharge.

One of the misconceptions associated with electric cars is that it can be difficult or inconvenient to find a charging station. With an electric car home charging station, you don’t have to search for a place to recharge your car. Bryant Electric Service can install your home charging station and show you how to use it; we also install office and commercial charging systems.

Electric car charging stations aren’t one-size-fits-all; our Austin electric service professionals will help you choose the best volt level for your needs. Options include:

The biggest benefit of having an electric-car home charging station is the convenience. You will not need to travel anywhere to charge your car and you will beat the lines for electric vehicle charging stations. As electric cars become more popular electric vehicle charging stations are becoming more crowded with cars.

Bryant Electric Service is your residential electrical services expert in Austin, Texas. If you’re interested in smart home technology for your house, contact us today! We can help you learn more about your home electric vehicle charging options!

LED foyer fixture from Artcraft

Saving on energy costs and outfitting your home or office environment with new lamps and light fixtures should be at the top of your home improvement project list.  Not only do new light sources deliver a superb quality of light, they are the key components in decorative and energy-efficient lighting design.

It is an exciting time in the lighting industry.  New products are being developed every day, and LED (light emitting diode) and SSL (solid-state lighting)*  lamps and light fixtures are at the core of future illumination.

What’s more, the integration of LEDs into building and electronic communication systems is bringing everything together and enabling total control with the ease of a smart phone!

Here are some guidelines to help you answer those questions and invest wisely toward one of the greatest home improvement projects of the decade:

WHAT YOUR LIGHTING DESIGN CAN AND SHOULD DO FOR YOU…

In addition to providing optimum levels of brightness, good lighting design must also…

•Eliminate glare

•Increase comfort

•Provide continuity

•Deliver good color rendering

•Allow for adjustability

•Instantaneously make you ”feel good” with an inviting luminous appeal

Because LED lamps require so little energy to provide a great deal of illumination, the energy consumed by the bulb will not be your main concern; your main concern will be getting the desired level of brightness and light appearance.

*NOTE:  LEDs, also referred to as SSL, provide the most energy-efficient and durable illumination because they are composed of “solid state” semiconductor light emitting diodes.

1.    Familiarize yourself with labels on new bulb cartons.

Brightness (in lumens)

Estimated Yearly Cost (depends on rates and use, $)

Lamp Life (based on 3 hrs/day use, rated in years)

Light Appearance (CCT)  (warm-cool, rated in degrees Kelvin (K))

Energy Used (in watts)

Color Rendering (CRI) (measured on a scale of 0-100)

BRIGHTNESS

Brightness levels are measured in lumens to give the amount of total light created by the light source.  Beyond the lumen count, “useable” light and brightness levels are also affected by fixture housings, lenses, filters and shades.  There are clear standards set to measure the lumen output of each LED chip.  ↓

LIGHT APPEARANCE  

Light appearance or correlated color temperature (CCT) helps determine the quality of illumination.  Designated on the Kelvin (K) scale, CCT for decorative interior spaces should be in the warm white (2700-3000K) range.  Sometimes lighting in the neutral white (3500-4000K) is preferred for certain areas, such as bathrooms and kitchens.

LAMP LIFE AND THE LED

Lamp life refers to how long a light source will last once it is installed and used on a daily basis in a typical application. Lamp life ratings, based on estimates from testing,  convey the time that half the bulbs in a sampling have burnt out or dimmed below fifty percent.

COLOR RENDERING AND THE LED

The color rendering index (CRI) measures the ability of a light source to bring out the true colors in décor, objects and surfaces.  Based on a scale of zero (no color rendering) to 100 (perfect color rendering),  a minimum of 80 CRI is acceptable for interior lighting applications.  A CRI of 90+ is even better.

However, because the standard CRI measurement does not always yield true results for some LED light sources, a new standard measure of color quality is in the works:  The Color Quality Scale (CQS) may soon replace CRI for a truer account of color rendering provided by the LED light source.-www.ledlightingexplained.com, Philips Solid-State Lighting, 2010

2.    Match light fixture to light source to ensure peak performance.

LEDs small size, low-temperature emissions, and focused uni-directional beam patterns make them perfect light sources for undercabinet lighting, track lighting and pendant fixtures.

LED general and flood lighting replacement bulbs are composed of clusters of diodes to provide broader beams of light.  General service LED bulbs that are multi-directional with 360-degree angle capacity are doing an excellent job of replicating the desired illumination of old incandescent bulbs. These LED  lamps include A19, PAR, BR and candelabra light sources that are providing more light with the added benefit of tremendous energy-saving, maintenance-free illumination.

Due to their long life and durability, LEDs are excellent in hard to reach places like foyer, attic and cathedral ceiling fixtures.

*Check for compatibility with all new light sources to make sure lamps, light fixtures, dimmers and automated controls are a suitable match.

3.    Compare “apples to apples”; diodes to diodes to ensure top quality.

 Many factors contribute to the quality of the LED light bulb.   Advancements in diode technology and mass production of LED light sources are bringing costs down to make these bulbs more affordable.  However, be wary of “cheaper” LED light sources.

•COB (chip on board), the diode itself is composed of a chip that largely determines  the quality of the bulb.

Prior to being marketed in appliances, fixtures or light bulbs, LEDs are sorted into bins according to their light output (lumen output) and color temperature.  Due to the process of “binning,” LED chips vary in their quality—especially in relation to their lumen output and color, so it is important to purchase LED light bulbs and LED light fixtures from a reputable dealer.

LEDs chosen from bins with higher lumen output are of better quality.  Color temperature is determined by matching up each LED according to a chromatic line grid for a specific color temperature.   LEDs chosen from larger bins contain more color variation , so they deliver an inferior quality of light.

•LPW (lumen per watt), this measurement helps to determine energy-efficiency and efficacy

•IC (integrated circuit) drivers, the quality of the LED lamp is also dependent on the type of driver installed.  LED bulbs contain “drivers” that can fail just like the ballast of a CFL (compact fluorescent). Better driver components make for a higher quality LED light source.

ENERGY STAR-ratings ensure that the LED has met stringent testing procedures.  ENERGY STAR-rated lamps clearly identify characteristics on LED light sources to guarantee that they consistently and reliably meet the desired brightness (lumens), energy-efficiency (lumens per watt), color temperature (CCT), color rendering (CRI), and dimmability requirements.

New ENERGY STAR Regulations include:

•Consistency Control:  More standardized testing methods to improve consistency.

•Dimmability Ratings:  A lamp is either dimmable or not dimmable.  If a lamp claims to be dimmable, testing is required and it must dim down to at least 20 percent.  If it is not dimmable, it must say so on the package.

•Greater Energy Conservation:  Efficiency requirements have increased for specific lamp wattages and types.

NOTE:  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with ENERGY STAR offers rebate programs as an added incentive to help you spring into action and upgrade with LED.  Check out rebate programs in your area or contact an American Lighting Association (ALA)-affiliated showroom for more details.

LED chandelier “Niagara” from Lladro

1800lighting’s Top LED Bulb Pics:

Bulbrite’s  LED  MR16 lamp

Philips medium base LED

Philips dimmable LED

Satco’s PAR38 indoor-outdoor LED lamp

Satco’s Kolour One A19 omni-directional LED lamp delivers 820 lumens and excellent color consistency.

Satco’s Ditto PAR LED lamps are available in 25- and 40-degree beam angles and either 3000K or 4000K.