Times are changing…are you changing your carbon footprint? Have you even considered the size of your personal footprint? Many people have heard the terminology and don’t quite understand what it means. Realistically there are many ways that your create an environmental impact. Over the course of a lifetime or even just over the course of an average year your lifestyle and daily practices can leave a “footprint” seen in terms of carbon and greenhouse gas production.
For example, the way that you drive or commute, the type of foods that you choose to eat, and the amount of electricity and home heating and cooling supplies that you use will all increase or decrease the size of your print. One of the easiest approaches to begin shrinking your carbon footprint is to supplement traditional energy use with alternatives like solar power instead.
This doesn’t mean that you have to immediately install a full solar power plant on the roof or yard of your home, however. The process of shrinking the carbon footprint can be as simple as choosing to install solar powered lighting inside your home and throughout your yard.
Consider just the lighting on the exterior of your home…you probably have a light or two at the main entry way, you may have lighting in the garage or parking area, and you could also have lighting along the sidewalk or garden as well. If you are using electricity to power all of this lighting you are wasting serious amounts of electricity because there are now highly efficient solar fixtures to meet all of these needs. In fact, traditional “sensor” or “motion detector” lights are more and more often sold strictly as solar powered options because this makes them much more flexible in terms of where they can be installed.
Consider too that many of the solar lighting fixtures (indoors and outdoors) rely on LED bulbs to produce consistent illumination. By now, everyone is aware of the benefits of an LED bulb over the traditional bulbs. They last far longer, consume radically smaller amounts of electricity, and instantly shrink the owner’s carbon footprint.
It is almost mandatory that consumers begin considering how they can reduce their carbon output. This is not just a financial issue, but one more closely connected to the environment. Each year, as more and more greenhouse gases are created, the planet is increasing in temperature and experiencing climate change that is upsetting the entire natural world. It is interesting to note that simply making small changes around your home and yard could help save the planet…but it can!
Using Solar Power to Prepare for an Emergency
Anyone who heads to the Ready America website (www.ready.gov) will find an untold number of tips and recommendations for emergency preparedness. The topics covered include the development of a household emergency kit, a reliable plan for any number of incidents or events, and a link for information about a range of emergencies. For example, a visitor to the site will find information about biological threats, blackouts, fires, floods, tornadoes and much more.
One thing that really stands out about all of the emergency preparedness planning is the fact that traditional “everyday” services are likely to be lost during most issues. For example, telephone services, electrical supplies, and even access to fresh water could all be lost during something like rolling blackouts or even wildfires. While a household emergency kit, when properly prepared, would have enough water, medicine and food for approximately three days, it would never come with enough access to electricity that could keep a family or household informed of the current situation.
Luckily, there are many types of solar powered options that could easily keep a cell phone battery fully charged, a small radio running for days on end, or even a household supplied to keep food stores and heat in full operation.
What this means is that in addition to making the necessary preparations where an emergency kit and plans are concerned, a home owner should really scrutinize the ways that they might incorporate solar power into their emergency preparedness too.
Clearly, one of the simplest things to invest in is solar power supplies for small electronics. There are some flat and easily stored options that are used by hikers to keep GPS units and cell phones charged while far from traditional electrical supplies. Adding something like this to the kit could make it much easier to communicate with family and emergency services.
There are also many different types of lighting fixtures that are capable of receiving a full charge from solar panels too. This could be a great way to keep a home illuminated after dark when no power is available.
Of course using solar power panels in the home could also keep the family supplied with hot water (though a water pump might be unavailable without full electrical service) or with some household electricity. A small solar configuration could easily create enough power to keep the refrigerator and freezer operating, a household furnace running, and even some additional electrical devices too.
No one should believe that their emergency preparedness is complete without first examining their options for solar power to see them through a crisis.
Gama Sonic does it again!
Paying close attention to the needs of the consumer, Gama Sonic has responded to the green energy lighting needs of the public. One of the most amazing entries to the Solar Lamp Post replacement market, has been the Gama Sonic GS-94F series of lights. Originally designed to be placed on the consumer’s individual 3” pole, many had requested a multiple lamp configuration.
Gama Sonic has just released a new series of Victorian Solar Lamp Post fitting over existing 3” poles. These lights are available in Single, Double or Triple Solar Post Lights heads. Each individual head has 6 Super Bright LED bulbs.
These beautiful Victorian period style Solar Lamp Posts will bring years of enjoyment along with the knowledge of harvesting the power of the sun to provide beautiful light all while lowering the carbon footprint.
Either configuration of 2 or 3 lights, use a special patented cone reflector to make the light brighter. The all aluminum construction will illuminate your garden or patio with energy efficient, super-bright LEDs. The gas-light design of our solar lamp is classic and adds an elegant appeal to your front or back yard.
Using efficient solar-powered technology, the solar lamp lights receive their energy from built-in batteries charged daily by the sun, which in turn light the 6 super-bright LED bulbs. Each solar lamp post has real beveled glass panes that add to the late 19th Century appeal. No maintenance is required with the powder-coated cast-aluminum solar lamps that are weather resistant & won’t rust. Worry-free, the solar lamp post turns on automatically at dusk and off at dawn.
Solar Flag Lights Are On Sale For Memorial Day
Memorial Day is almost here, and how better to show your appreciation to those who have fought for our freedoms than to ensure Old Glory is properly lit at night?
We have two great options for lighting your flag. The Liberty Flag Light attaches directly to the flag pole, while the Super Bright High Intensity Solar Spot Light is strong enough to be placed into the ground below your flag (up to 25 feet).
Decide which one fits your flag best and use the following coupon to get 10% off. To redeem, simply enter the following coupon code at the shopping cart page:
Coupon Code: Memorial
The coupon is valid until May 31, 2010. Please share it with your friends and family.
Shop Our Solar Flag Lights
Liberty Flag Light
Your cost with coupon:
$89.95
Super Bright Solar Spot Light
Your cost with coupon:
$80.95 - $89.95
We want to wholeheartedly thank all Veterans, the Men and Women currently serving in the Armed Forces and their families.
We would not be living our American Dream without your sacrifice and for that, we are eternally grateful.
Feel free to contact us via email or by calling 1-888-422-0882 with any questions.
Thank you and remember that the coupon expires May 31!
Gratefully,
YCASolarlightstore.com
Product alert!
Valley Forge Flag Co. has announced a new Commercial Grade Solar Powered Flag Pole Light with a 100 LUX rating. This new product is an upgrade to their existing Liberty Light which has 60 Lux rating (watt). This can be pre-orderd now for shipping in Mid May.
We are giving back to those who are serious about renewable energy. Shop at YCA Solar light Store and save 10% by entering the coupon EARTH DAY in the shopping cart checkout page! Hurry as this is one day only!
You have been asking about this product so we have found this fantastic set of Solar Powered LED Rope Lights. 102 LEDs in 4 different colors of LED: White, Red, Blue and Green. Check them out.
It has become safe to assume that the majority of the world has finally come to realize that there really is a huge problem with the ecosystem, and that this problem has been affected by the decades of ignorance and abuse that human waste and frivolity have caused. Many attempts at turning away the crisis by implementing alternatives and cleaner energy laws have been met with fierce and powerful vetoing by large corporations and special interest groups. Today is anew, however, with a hope that the worlds citizens have seen the light, and begun turning on themselves for the answers, the alternatives, and the much needed change.
Renewal resources are in a constant state of production and are able to increase productivity for the user without negatively impacting the earth, its air supply, and its water systems. Solar power is one of the most highly researched and respected forms of clean energy production in the world today, as scientists and engineers continue to discover and introduce remarkable new ways of implementing this resource for both residential and industrial widespread use. From simplified outdoor solar lighting to the latest micro-cell developments, solar power is set to revolutionize the world with clean, renewable, and infinite energy.
Since the invent and immediate burial of the amazing, gasless electric car in 2003, the world has been clamoring to have it back. We are now seeing highly efficient, low gas models, such as hybrid vehicles, make a stand on the lot. The newest legislature and the green initiative has given manufactures huge incentives toward green car research and development, and we can help this along by consciously purchasing those cars which have been designed for cleaner and more environmentally responsible performance.
The green building industry is also taking the world by storm, as people find that even the most seemingly worthless junk from one man’s house can be altered and fabricated into pure treasure for their own. Wood alternatives, green appliances, repurposed concrete and stone, and low VOC paints and floorings are just a few of the ways that the country is helping to reduce waste, increase resources, and live a better, cleaner life. Wind power is also making a large dent in the current gloom of our worldly situation, giving people an alternative to the electrical power grid and the costly bills that follow.
Springtime Gardening Ideas
Spring has “sprung” which means it is the ideal time to get outside and plant that garden you dreamt of all winter. Before busting out the shovels and trowels, however, you might want to take a last bit of time to draft some new garden plans.
If you spent most of the late winter ordering seeds, bulbs and plants that will be arriving shortly you might have forgotten about garden “design” too. Sure you have thought about the spacing of the rows and how you will use the various beds, but have you considered such additional features as accent lighting, water features, and even simple decorations?
If you answered “Yes, but I don’t have any electricity for such things” then you are in luck! You don’t need any sort of electricity to add a small pond or fountain, nor do you need plugs and cords for a huge array of decorative lighting either. Just like your plants, flowers, and vegetable beds need a constant supply of sun, you can also use this as a means of powering lights and garden elements too.
Let’s just consider a small backyard garden. It contains a nice assortment of shrubs and some perennial beds, but it is “missing” something. That something is the appealing tinkling of a small fountain as it gently splashes into a pond. The owner would love to use such a feature to bring birds, frogs, and even keep some fish in their backyard, but they don’t want to pay someone to run all of the electricity to the area where the pump would be located. They also don’t want to have power cords trailing across the garden either. They don’t have too because there are solar powered fountains that can run all spring, summer and fall without using a single dollar of electricity.
Advancements in solar technologies have also made it easy to add accent lighting all over the garden too. This means that the owner could position a lovely and gentle spotlight to shine on the fountain at night, and which would come on automatically at dusk. They could also use small fixtures to illuminate the garden pathways, and even position a solar powered “motion light” at the back garden gate to scare away raiding raccoons or possums that have come to sneak a few snacks from the many vegetable beds as well.
There are also highly decorative features too, such as floating fixtures, and even strings of lights that can be used to create an entire garden design or theme in the after sunset hours as well.
The LUX of Lighting
What is LUX? Generally it is a measurement of the intensity of the light produced by any lighting fixture. The higher the measurement of LUX the more light available over a specific area. This is usually discussed in terms of “Lumens” per square meter.
Okay, you might then say, what the heck is Lumens? This is something that is also discussed in different terms, but most often means the “foot candles” produced by the source of light.
To simplify and clarify the whole issue let’s just take a single candle to use as an example. If you light that candle in a dark room you would be able to measure the amount of light that it generated one foot away from the flame. This amount of “illuminance”, or the result of using a light of any kind, is how LUX is measured. It is the degree to which an object is illuminated, but not the overall amount of light produced by the light source. This is something referred to in terms of English measurements, which is why LUX is spoken of as one lumen per square meter of illuminated surface area.
So, how does this figure into any sort of discussion about incandescent versus LED lighting? The average household incandescent bulb can usually generate one thousand lumens when brand new. LED bulbs are just now entering the markets with the same capabilities (around 1050 lumens for the cool white lights and 760 for the warm white variants). The biggest differences between the two options are the amount of energy consumed in their usage. The LED produced 72 lumens per watt whereas the equivalent incandescent was able to yield only a 5 to 17.5 lumens per watt maximum.
Not only are the old-fashioned bulbs far less efficient, but they also lose the quality of their lumens substantially faster, produce unnecessary amounts of heat, and require replacement on a much more frequent basis as well. For example, the lumen maintenance on an LED bulb is going to come in at around 70% retention over the standard fifty thousand hour life span of the bulb. An incandescent bulb tends to burn at a constant voltage which quickly evaporates the filament, the speed at which this occurs is usually published on the packaging of the bulb as “rated initial lumens” and “approximate mean lumens”. This data varies, but tends to be significantly lower, averaging 80% for only two thousand hours of life.
