Sanctuary: Modern green homes

LED into the Light

This is an excerpt from an article in Sanctuary magazine issue 16.

LED lights have taken a huge leap into the mainstream in the last few years.

Words John Knox

We all know that incandescent lighting is inefficient – as a light source they make great heaters! But if you don’t like the light provided by fluorescent lighting – compact (CFL) or otherwise – or the delay in getting to full brightness is an issue, what are the alternatives?

You may have heard “light emitting diode” or LED mentioned as the new kid on the block in lighting. Well, they aren’t so new – they were initially developed in the 1950s and were first produced as products in 1962 – and you have been seeing them for years every time you stop at a set of traffic lights. They are used as traffic lights because they are energy efficient and long lasting, which reduces maintenance costs.

If you’d like to read the rest of this article you can buy this issue here.

Secondary Glazing

This is an excerpt from an article in Sanctuary magazine issue 15.

Secondary glazing is second best to double glazing, but it’s cheaper and it can provide good results.

Words Michael Green

Windows are wonderful for transmitting natural light. The only trouble is they’re also great at transmitting heat. In a typical insulated home, windows allow more heat gain and loss than any other part of the building fabric.

No matter what climate you live in, double glazing can vastly improve the insulation performance of your house. There are a few ways to get double glazing into an existing dwelling: you can remove and replace the whole window frame; replace just the glazing unit; or install some form of secondary glazing – either a dual window system (an extra glass window on the inside or outside) or “add-on” double glazing (an extra pane within the existing window frame on the inside).

Unfortunately, all these measures can tear a hole in your hip pocket in the short term (though you’ll save on active heating and cooling costs over the long term).

If you’d like to read the rest of this article you can buy this issue here.

Lighten up!

From Sanctuary issue 10. More articles like this

By Michael Green

Excerpt: The days of old-fashioned incandescent light are numbered. Incandescents work by heating an electrical element to white hot, and as light sources they make great heaters! They’re cheap to buy, but expensive to run. And being very inefficient, they come at a huge cost to the environment. So much so that in February 2007 the Australian government announced it would phase out standard incandescent light globes.

Since November 2008, Australian shops have only been allowed to sell their preexisting stock. Not included in the first stage of the phaseout, however, is the common halogen downlight – though the writing is on the wall for these too. Halogen manufacturers are working hard to improve the efficiency of their lamps, but it seems likely that these too could succumb to regulation – as well as be outcompeted by a host of rapidly developing, high-efficiency counterparts. The downsides of halogen downlights are so numerous one can only wonder how they became so ubiquitous. They use a huge amount of electricity, producing a lot of heat in the process. Because downlight fittings and their transformers must be able to cool themselves, they can’t be covered by roof insulation, so they reduce the effectiveness of the roof insulation. They are also a notorious fire hazard: in the first nine months of 2009 in New South Wales there were 26 house fires attributed to halogen downlights.

When it comes to low-energy lighting technology, there are two main kinds to choose from: fluorescent lamps – both old-style tubes and newer compact fluoros (CFLs) – and light emitting diodes (LEDs). David Baggs, technical director of Ecospecifier, an eco product database (www.ecospecifier.org), says that when choosing lights it’s wise to remember both colour and brightness. Most people prefer the yellowish glow given off by incandescent globes. “To get a light that has the warmth we’re comfortable with, ask for ‘warm white’ CFLs or LEDs,” Baggs says. Halogen downlights are also very bad at one of the main things they’re asked to do: light whole rooms. Halogens are task illuminators: they create bright pools of light rather than general illumination; hence designers misdeploy row upon row of halogen downlights to light a single room – sometimes 12 or more – where one or two pendant lamps would have done the job. Most rooms require two types of lighting. General lighting gives all-over illumination. Task lighting is for specific areas, such as desks or work benches. If you know what kind of lighting you require for a particular situation – general or task – you are halfway to efficient lighting. The other half of the equation lies in choosing the right lighting product for your general and task lighting needs.

Bright ideas

This is an excerpt from an article in Sanctuary magazine issue 1.

Good lighting isn’t just about the level of light; it’s about creating ambience and enhancing the look and feel of a room. It’s about providing bright light where you need it, at workspaces and in the kitchen, and softer lighting for entertainment areas. Household energy use in Australia is increasing, with many new homes installing inefficient lights or more light fittings than they need.

Outdoor Options

Coloured party lights, path lighting, Christmas decorations, feature garden lighting — outdoor lighting can be just as varied as indoor lighting, if not more. Selecting energy efficient lights is particularly important if your outdoor lights are left on for hours at a time. Use movement-sensing devices for security spotlights and path lights, so that entrances and paths are only illuminated when necessary. And what could be more appropriate in your garden than solar powered garden lights?

LEDs

The hottest thing in the lighting world are LED lights — tiny lights made from light-emitting diodes that are much more energy efficient than the old-fashioned light bulb. You may have seen them used in traffic lights. They produce far less heat, have longer lifetimes (up to 100,000 hours) and are much more robust than the common bulb as they come as a solid chip. Their small size provides an unobtrusive source of light and enables dramatically different lighting designs.

Natural light

Of course, the most energy efficient form of lighting is free, natural light. Any good design will use windows and skylights to maximum effect, but also ensure your home is protected from excessive summer heat and winter cold.

The low-down on downlights

This is an excerpt from an article in Sanctuary magazine issue 4.

Halogen downlights were first designed to spotlight wall paintings but are now used to light up hallways, kitchens and every kind of room to create a “modern” look. But halogen downlights are not only an environmental hazard but can also pose a fire risk if not installed properly.

Energy efficiency

Halogen downlights are a type of incandescent lamp, which works by heating a small piece of metal to white heat to produce light. More than 90 per cent of the energy that goes into common halogen lights turns into heat; as a result the lights use more electricity than needed making them very inefficient.

While halogen downlights are good for direct task lighting as they provide bright pools of light rather than general illumination. Their popularity has exceeded their purpose as they are now being used to light entire rooms. This is achieved by installing a number of lights instead of just one central light source. In fact four halogen downlights are needed to provide the same effective general lighting levels as one 100 watt globe in the middle of a room.

Halogen downlights also use additional energy as they require the use of a transformer that is usually located up in the ceiling above each light fitting. The transformers can use an additional 10 to 30 per cent of the bulb energy, reducing the overall efficiency of the light fitting even further. As the transformers produce heat, if they are installed in the roof cavity, insulation can not be placed near the transformers as it may pose a fire risk. This decreases the effectiveness of the insulation in your roof.

Fire danger

In New South Wales, halogen downlights were linked to 75 house fires in five years. In Victoria there were 57 house fires caused by halogen downlights in 18 months. The fire begins in the roof as the insulation is ignited by the 300 plus degrees Celsius temperatures produced by the light fitting. As the fire is in the roof it often goes undetected by smoke alarms, and residents can be unaware of the fire until it crashes through the roof.

‘Blow-in’ insulation can create dust in the attic space that can act as a accelerant if it comes into contact with high temperature light fittings. Roof space litter or light fittings that are located too close to timber roof members can also start fires.

The wiring rules have changed in response to the number of domestic house fires caused by halogen downlights. New rules require insulation of combustible materials to be kept 200mm from lights and their associated transformers. The distance has increased from 50mm. The new edition of the wiring rules will be published in late 2007. Standards Australia said the new rules should reduce the number of house fires.

Save energy

This is an excerpt from an article in Sanctuary magazine issue 6.

Get a solar hot water system. A solar water heater can reduce the greenhouse emissions of an average family by as much as four tonnes of carbon dioxide per year – the equivalent of taking a large car off the road.

Buy energy-efficient appliances, particularly big-ticket items such as fridges, washing machines, dishwashers and TVs (choose LCD over plasma). For a comparison of appliances, see www.energyrating.gov.au.

Replace your incandescent lights with compact fluorescent or light-emitting diodes. Shun “low-voltage” halogen downlights – these are major users of electricity and require you to put gaps in the ceiling insulation to let their heat dissipate.

Turn off appliances with standby power (evident from the little lights that shine on them even when they’re “off”) at the plug. The “phantom load” these consume while idle can add up to as much as 10 per cent of your total energy bill.