Going dark?

... Just to confirm, because I don't see much context... are we talking about earth hour?

Anyway, I don't think it's so much about explicitly trying to save power as trying to raise AWARENESS of power.

You won't see too many people do the math to see whether bulbs or candles or whatever are better.

However, if you choose to participate, you WILL realize how much power everything around you uses. Especially if you, say, refuse to (actively) use anything that consumes electricity.

Oh, no computer to go on TOTJO. No TV to distract yourself. Oh, and no cell phone. ... and no lights. ... and... not a whole hell of a lot, actually. Reading a book by candlelight?


Hopefully, we'll also make people more concious of the power they use - and, potentially, conserve it in the future.

ren wrote: A 10 watt coal powered CFL pollutes less than one 13 lumen candle. And it makes more light too. Sorry.

In use, yes....

Already constructed, ready to use, yes....

However, in the production of each, and reverse engineering both items, the bulb requires more effort, making it less efficient....



Paraffin, the main ingredient in wax candles, does come from bees wax, and plants too... But mostly from crude oil as a by-product, or water, before it found a use...

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4965651_how-paraffin-wax-made.html

kriel wrote: ... Just to confirm, because I don't see much context... are we talking about earth hour?

Anyway, I don't think it's so much about explicitly trying to save power as trying to raise AWARENESS of power.

You won't see too many people do the math to see whether bulbs or candles or whatever are better.

However, if you choose to participate, you WILL realize how much power everything around you uses. Especially if you, say, refuse to (actively) use anything that consumes electricity.

Oh, no computer to go on TOTJO. No TV to distract yourself. Oh, and no cell phone. ... and no lights. ... and... not a whole hell of a lot, actually. Reading a book by candlelight?


Hopefully, we'll also make people more concious of the power they use - and, potentially, conserve it in the future.

Yea, this started in shout earlier...

I have trouble keeping up in the shout as i browse by phone...

So i started the thread... lol...

Just talking... lol...

Reliah wrote: I wonder what would happen if we suddenly had to use candles for light all the time. How many buildings would burn to the ground in the first month? No deep thought there, just day dreaming.

I actually just bought a bunch of light bulbs.. People probably thought I was being ridiculous..

:laugh:

That's funny...both paragraphs.

Kinda funny...it was about 93F (about 34C for my non-US Jedi) at my house yesterday. I didn't want to have to turn the A/C on so I turned off all the lights, closed the blinds and used the curtains to shade the windows. I did this throughout the whole house.

Prior to that though, we left all the window screens open during the night to cool the house down as far as we could. It only got to 75F (24C). Practically the whole day I was out doing yard work and replacing dead plants. The house eventually got up to 87F (31C) but no A/C, and no light bulbs were used.

I totally forgot about the Earth Hour or going dark yesterday...that was the funny part.

I went dark for no reason other than to avoid starting my A/C sooner than I wanted. Luckily, the next two days are supposed to be in the mid-70'sF (mid-21'sC) so I'll have a break for another 48 hours.

Its more an awareness campaign then any effort to save power. I know most people have lights on in almost every room in the evenings around where I live, but I prefer lower levels of light... and think burning candles is a fire risk (have a cat), pollutant, wax goes everywhere and can blow out.

Solution;

We've got ten little $2 outdoor solar garden lights which I put out in the sun everyday. When the sun sets I bring them in and put them around the house in different spots like staircase, bathrooms etc and so in the evening the only power I'm using is the TV, computer, phone, fridge and two outdoor lights for security. Its a lot like having candles in the old days I guess, and they last until about midnight with an average charge. Still need to use normal lights from time to time like at the beginning and end of cooking. Its a bit weird I guess but I like it.

the bulb requires more effort, making it less efficient....

No. I single bulb lasts many years. A candle does not. the man hours required to create candle light compared to electric light are somuch greater than just taking the human pollution into account discredits candles as a viable source of light. even thousands of years ago they'd use oil lamps.