ENERGY BOOMER

Review Smoke Pencil for Locating Energy Wasting Drafts

Finding and sealing off cold air flowing into your building is one of the most effective ways to save money on your heating bill. Finding the source of cold drafts can be frustrating. We often know it is there but can’t feel it well enough to pinpoint the source.

The engineering word for air leaking into a building is “air infiltration.” Sealing off the air infiltration can cut the energy cost of heating by as much as 30 to 40% in industrial, commercial and residential buildings.

Locating and sealing air leaks saves money during both the heating and air conditioning seasons. Finding drafts is much easier when you use something to make the airflow visible.

Smoke Can Help

Over the years, I have used many different tools to locate the source of drafts that cause expensive energy waste. They range from low-tech cigarette smoke to high tech electronic ultrasonic listing devices.

Way back in the olden days, 30 years or so ago, cigar, cigarette or pipe smoke was one of the best ways to make air movement visible. It was cheap, available and effective. Now days, tobacco smoke is banned in most facilities and is considered a health and fire hazard.

Making a cloud of smoke and watching how it moves helps you to “see” where that cold draft is coming from. Slowly moving a smoke source around the frame of a window will quickly show you exactly where the air is flowing in or out at the window.

Inexpensive smoke sources may not be as effective as ultrasonic listening devices or infrared cameras. But, they are cost effective when you consider that the high tech tools can cost $1,000 or more.

Smoke Pencil

My friends at ChimneyBalloons.us set me a product that they market called “Smoke Pencil.” I spent an hour playing with it and was impressed.

The name “Smoke Pencil” is descriptive of what it does, but not how it looks. It looks more like a Smoke Chimney. It stands about 10 inches tall, so it is a bit bigger than a pencil.

First, you put some of the magic liquid in the unit. Then you squeeze the trigger. In a few seconds, a column of smoke flows out the top of its smoke stack.

The smoke flows out in a lazy cloud that reminds me of the smoke from my childhood Lionel train locomotive. Except this smoke is sweet smelling and there is plenty of it.

Some smart person recognized that a toy called Wizard Stick was a great tool for tracking down drafts. The renamed Smoke Pencil is made of bright blue plastic. The weight of 6 AA size batteries in a large flat base makes it very stable when you set it down.

The liquid in the supply tank does not spill, even when you hold the unit upside down and shake it. Good design.

I had trouble finding air leaks when I first started fussing with it because our house is well sealed. Out on the sun porch I made some air leaks by opening windows just a crack. The Smoke Pencil did a great job making the airflow visible.

Using the Smoke Pencil, I actually did find a draft around the back door that I need to fix.

You can use the smoke pencil just about anywhere, as the liquid is non-hazardous. The liquid is a blend of food grade chemicals so the vapor it produces is non-hazardous. A Material Safety Data Sheet is available so it can be used in buildings where the owners are fussy about safety paper work.

The Smoke Pencil is available through ChimneyBalloons.us for about $25 plus shipping. Batteries not included. The low voltage battery power makes it safe from a fire hazard point of view.

Other Trade Secrets

Some of the more unusual items I have used to find leaks are, incenses sticks, baby powder, candles, soap solutions and shaving cream.

Insence sticks smell nice to some folks, and make enough smoke to do the job. I hate them because the smell is burned into my mind associated with that Crazy Asian War.

Making a cloud of baby powder by squeezing a plastic bottle of the stuff works OK and smells much better than tobacco or incense smoke. It does leave a white dust trail showing where you have been. You get tired of it very quickly.

Soap solutions are good for safely finding compressed air or gas pipe leaks when they make bubbles in the applied liquid soap. It is a good way to find air leaks in your car tires.

Candles are great for jobs where you can safely use an open flame. They work best when you are doing a detailed search for small leaks.

By watching the candle flame you can see when it gets blown by the airflow.

Bring lots of matches or a lighter. Candle flames blow out easily. Dripping hot wax is a problem.

Candles really shine at finding vacuum leaks. I’ve used them in industrial situations where there are vacuum leaks at pipe flange connections and similar equipment. The air being pulled into the equipment makes the candle flame point right at the leak.

When you can’t use a candle due to safety concerns, the next best tool for finding vacuum leaks is spray foam shaving cream. You coat the area where you think the vacuum leak might be, with shaving cream from an aerosol can. Vacuum leaks will suck the foam into the leak revealing its location.

I think that the Smoke Pencil (aka Wizard Stick)is a good replacement for all these methods.

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Black & Decker Lights Out AutoSwitch Review

The other day my loving wife shoved a magazine ad in my face for the new Black & Decker Lights Out AutoSwitch. After reading it a couple of times, I lit up my computer and ordered one through Amazon.com to try out.

Cost is about $30 plus shipping. The in stock delivery was a couple of days at the cheap rate.

It really is easy to install and it works as advertised. It fits well over an existing wall switch with an adapter using the existing cover plate screws.

It Works with CFLs

There is one feature that that just jumped at me as I thought about how it works. Many home use motion detector switches do not work with compact fluorescent light bulbs. Read about my frustration in learning about it the hard way here. Motion Detector Lighting Control Problems

This Black & Decker motion detector switch will work with any kind of light bulb, including CFLs. It does not rely on electric leakage through the light bulb to power the sensor. It physically shuts the existing light switch on or off as needed.

Other Features

Motion activated sensor automatically turns lights on or off, just like a wired in motion sensor.

Easy to install – no wiring required. It is installed by taking the two cover plate mounting screws out. Adding an adapter plate on top of the wall cover plate and putting the two screws back in. The only hard part is picking the screws up off the floor after dropping them. The switch unit snaps in place on the adapter plate. That is it.

Adjustable timer lets you turn off the lights 1, 5, 15 or 30 minutes after the room is empty. Set it and try it. If the time seems wrong for you, it is easy to reset.

 Runs on 3 AA batteries (not included); no need for any electrical connections. Yes, you will have to replace the batteries once in a while. The batteries power the electronics of the motion sensor and power a little motor that moves a spring loaded device that snaps the wall light switch up and down as needed.

The unit has a manual slider switch on the outside face so you can turn the lights on or off passing the motion detector. I suspect the manual switch is needed when the three AA batteries give out. You can manually turn the room lights on to see what your are doing when you change the batteries.

Negative features

One negative is the bulky appearance, especially when it is used on one switch where there are several mounted together. It fits fine and works fine, it just is very noticeable visually.

The other negative is that it is noisy. The light switch that it is attached to loudly snaps on when it detects motion. Then you hear a buzzing sound as the little motor inside cocks the spring mechanism. Then silence until it snaps off followed by the few second of motor buzzing while it cocks the spring again.

Will it save money?

Let’s say you can buy one for $30 and your next kilowatt of electricity costs about 12 cents. You would need to save 2,500 hours of lights “on” time for a 100-watt bulb to payback the cost. There are 8,760 hours in a year so that is possible. A two-year pay back is more likely, making it a good investment.

If you are using a 23-watt CFL, it will take 11,000 hours of savings to pay back the cost. That is possible in a few years if you have been real lazy about turning off lights. 4 or 5 years to pay back makes it a poor investment.

When you use one, you can feel good about using less electricity if that is a motive for you.

Where can you use it?

It is made for indoor use only so that rules out a few places it could be used.

There is value in increased safety when the lights come on automatically. You will have fewer slips, trips and falls. Avoiding a trip to the emergency room will save you money.

The unique feature of it mounting on an existing switch makes it something a renter can use and then take with them when they move out.

I recommend the Black & Decker Lights Out AutoSwitch model # SW100 for bathroom, laundry room and entryway lights. I would like to use one in the kitchen but my wife says no way.

The other place to use one is where the light switch always seems to be on the wrong side of the room. That is if you have to cross a dark room to turn the lights on. Or, where you have to escape across a room that you just blacked out.

If you have a safety or security need for a motion detector, the energy savings helps to justify the purchase.

Where do you use motion detectors? Does it save you money? Leave a comment to share your experience.

Click here for a free money saving report written by the Energy Boomer titled HOW SAVE MONEY ON YOUR NEXT HEATING BILL

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Touch ’n Foam Spray Insulation Sealant Review

The reason I picked Touch'n Foam MaxFill spray sealant to test was the review I read on Amazon. I was looking for a crack sealer to block the bees from getting to their nest in the space above my garage.

The can label included the words “Interior/exterior use” and “Blocks insects and pests.” Just what I was looking for!

I next checked out a product review, which read as follows:

By Paul Smith (Jacksonville NC)

I had my mom mail this to me in Iraq. I sealed the walls, window, and doorframe of an old building that would become my sleeping area for a year. I regard it as a miracle product. It even sealed the large 1" gaps that spiders, ants, mice, lizzards, and scorpions would crawl through. I used 2 cans to do my room. I had a third can and nearly caused a riot when I offered it up to my neighbors. Just wear gloves like it says to. I didn’t at first thinking "I know how to use an aerosol can". One of the cracks wasn't as deep as I thought and I tried to guide the over flow with my finger. My hand was "adhesive" for a couple days. I'd highly recommend this product.

I am sure that DAPtex and Do It Best from Dow Chemical are good spray foam sealants too, but after reading that review I had to try Touch'n Foam MaxFill.

It worked great sealing the bee passageways into the bees nest above the garage. No more bee problem without using poison.

I went around the house squirting foam into anything that might be a crack or opening. It not only seals it also insulates. Both help save money on heating bills.

Once I got started using the can of spray foam I was worried that I would have to use up the whole can in one session or waste the left over’s due to a clogged nozzle. That turned out to not be a problem.

There are instructions on the can on how to keep the nozzle from clogging up between jobs. I ignored the instruction and used a tapered plastic plug in the end of the nozzle extension tube.

The next weekend I couldn’t get the plastic plug out of the extension tube. I had to cut about an inch off the end of the tube. After a good shaking, the rest of the foam came out of the can just fine.

The nozzle is well designed. It uses a replaceable drinking straw as an extension tube. When the tube clogs up just replace it with the one that hid under the seat of your car from that fast food place. Or, cut it off like I did.

It is a good idea to scout around your home, ahead of time, to locate enough areas that you can use up the can on the first go round.

Keep your receipt because this material qualifies for the 2009 tax credit if you use it as insulation. You will need your receipt and a copy of the Manufacturer's Certificate Statement that is available on the Touch'n Foam web site.

A couple of comments about my battle with the bees

I first tried clear silicone caulk from a squeeze tube. It was a little awkward to use up a ladder with a flashlight in one hand and the squeeze tube in the other. I worked after dark when all the bees, except for a few delinquents, were in their nest.

The next day I discovered that the bees had dug out the partly cured silicone to reopen their doorways into the garage attic.

Next, I used polyurethane caulk that worked just fine. The bees could not dig it out and it did the sealing job. The only problems were it looked ugly due to my poor workmanship and I ran out before the job was done. The bigger cracks needed more caulk to seal than I planned on. Being cheap, I had bought only one tube.

Always buy more than you think you need, that way you will have some left for the next job. It hurts my head when the Energy Boomer thinks about the gasoline I wasted on three trips to buy bee sealer. Actually, I just added a stop on my way home from work each time so it wasn’t too bad on the fuel account.

I recommend Touch'n Foam MaxFill

Click here for a free money saving report written by the Energy Boomer titled HOW SAVE MONEY ON YOUR NEXT HEATING BILL

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Review: 7 Watt ZetaLux LED Light Bulb

The sample ZetaLux LED light bulb that I received from EarthLedlooks good. It is solidly made to last for the ten years or longer that it would take to wear it out.

It is shaped like an ice cream cone. It has an aluminum cone that has a sparkling white ice cream dome on top. The inside of the translucent plastic dome is frosted with something that sparkles. I guess the sparkles are to spread out the light coming from the LED itself.

The LED that makes the light is located down inside the top of the cone a little ways so it cannot shine directly out to the sides. The light intensity readings that I took confirmed the low level of light going out sideways.

In the direction up away from the base, the light intensity is similar to readings for a 60-Watt incandescent and the 7-watt GeoBulb brand LED. The upward light readings were actually better than for a 13-watt CFL bulb. Take a look at this chart for the foot-candle readings.

 

Where to Use a ZetaLux LED Bulb

Because of the highly directional light from LED bulb, the best place to use them is where the base is up and the globe is down. Ceiling mounted lights in home entryways and hallways come to mind.

Reading lamps, where the light can be focused right where you need it is another good application. If you used them as closet lights, they would never burn out with the low number of hours of use.

You might consider them for bathroom lighting too.

These bulbs are not weather proof so you don’t want to use them as porch lights. A little water inside the base will short out the electronics package hidden in there. They would work in a garage or shed, but might not be bright enough to do the job.

I sent the ZetaLux bulb to my friend Mike to try out. Mike has very acute hearing and catches things that I don’t. Here is what he had to say about it.

I like this bulb for the applications you mention, particularly task lighting and possibly hallway lights or in the shop.  I have a light over the kitchen table with a large downward bell shaped shade/reflector and it worked well there. 

I didn't hear any noise from this one, hurray!  I also thought the warm light was the best of the ones tested.  It is still not quite as warm as an incandescent yet.

I did notice that the bulb is a bit longer than the usual incandescent, so some of my ceiling fixtures that have a reflective focusing element did not work well.  However, another ceiling fixture with the reflective element was acceptable.  The light was not completely even because the light doesn't come out of the sides; however, the combination of the reflector and the white glass cover on my fixture made this acceptable for me.  Unfortunately, my wife likes 100-Watt equivalent in the hallways, so until they put out more light, I won't be putting it in the hallway.  Also, I usually don't have my hallway lights on for 4 hours a day either, so the payback would be very very long.

I too liked the look of the design.  It also fit in all the fixtures that I tried it.  It also comes on instantly like all the LED bulbs so that's an advantage over some of the CFLs.

Low Price Makes ZetaLux an Economical Choice

The ZetaLux bulb costs about $50 as compared to the GeoBulb at $120 each. $50 each still sounds like an awful lot to pay for one light bulb that gives you about the same amount of light as an old 60 cent Edison bulb. But, when you graph out what happens to the total cost over time the old style Edison bulb costs the most.

 

 

For the first 500 hours, the 60-Watt Edison bulb is the least costly. Beyond 500 hours, the 13-Watt CFL is the low cost choice, up to 17,500 hours. Beyond 17,500 hours, the ZetaLux is the low cost choice. Given enough time, the ZetaLux bulb will pay for itself with the savings on your electric bill. If the increasing cost of electricity is factored in, they are an even better investment.

Recommendations

For cost savings, I strongly recommend the ZetaLux LED light bulbs, if you don’t plan to move soon and have places that you can use them to shine down from the ceiling or in reading lamps.

For applications, like table lamps, where a lot of light shining out the side of the bulb is needed, I recommend a Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL).

In applications where color fussy folks work, go with what every light bulb gives you the color rendering you need. My wife likes real day light from a window or reveal GE Revel light bulbs or Daylight CFL bulbs. She also needs enough light to see to thread her quilting needles. That rules out the smaller light bulbs.

Maybe someday soon someone will make a LED efficient lamp that gives as much good color light as an old 150-Watt incandescent. All at an economical price. 

by Birney Summers – 2009 All Rights Reserved

Click this link for a SPECIAL REPORT: HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON AIR CONDITIONING

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Review of Kintrex and Raytek Infrared Thermometers

Hand held infrared (IR) non-contact thermometers are one of my favorite tools that I use in my Energy Conservation Engineering “Day Job.” If you are not familiar with what they are, think of them as an industrial version of the fever thermometers that came on the market about ten years ago or so.

The easy and quick to use electronic thermometers have replaced mercury thermometers in mom’s medical kit. You aim them in your child’s ear and instantly know whether to send them to school that morning or to keep them home.

The version, I use is the low price industrial strength unit that is lightweight and easy to carry. They are shaped generally like a pistol. 

What are they good for?

They are great for quickly taking the temperature of any solid object. They do not measure air temperature.

You need to point them at something and squeeze the trigger to see the temperature of that object. As example if I am walking through a building I can check the room temperature and know what the ventilation equipment is doing with just a few quick aim and trigger pulls of my thermometer.

I look for objects that heat up or cool off quickly to match room air temperature. By taking the temperature of a metal filing cabinet, I know what the temperature of the room is.

By aiming at the return air register, I get another check on the room air temperature. By shooting a temperature of the supply air grill, I can tell if the air conditioner or furnace is working. And, I can collect some information about how well it is working.

They are very good for easily getting temperature information from a safe distance.

·        You can get the temperature of hot material or equipment without risking a burn.

·        You can find hot spots on electric apparatus without getting close enough to risk a shock.

·        You can take the temperature of machinery, while it is running, without getting your finger pinched.

These are just a very few of the many uses.

Why Did I Buy Two?

I had been using a borrowed Infrared Thermometer so I decided to buy myself a new one and ended buying two. Why two?

Two reasons, first when I get just one of something I usually lose it very quickly and have to buy another one. It has also been my experience that if I buy two, I never lose either one. The second one is not a spare, it is insurance so I don’t lose one.

The other reason for buying two is I couldn’t make up my mind which one to get. I bought two different brands to compare.

Kintrex IRT0421 and Raytek MT6 are Very Similar

Both brands have a very good “laser” pointer built in so you can see what you are aiming at. Both are made in China.

I really had to search the Raytek to find the CHINA mark hidden inside the battery compartment. Raytek is a US company and they don’t seem to want the customer to know that their product is made in China.

 Both have a good digital read out window that gives the temperature readings in degrees and tenths of a degree. Like many digital instruments, they mislead the user about accuracy. I don’t understand why they show the temperature in tenths of degree when the best they can do is an accuracy of plus or minus 1 degree C or 2 degrees F.

The accuracy of both brands is very similar and plenty accurate for the work I do. They give reasonable readings when the target you are aiming at is between minus 20 and plus 932 F.

They work as longs as they are in a location where the temperature is between freezing and 120F. If you can stand being there, in normal work clothes, it will do a fine job.

IR thermometers have a limited field of view. That is a good thing. The cone of vision of the Kintrex is a little more focused than the Raytek unit. Why is that important?

If you shot a real gun at a wall, 10 feet away, the area the bullet hits is the same size as the bullet. If you stand ten feet away from a wall and shoot the Raytek at it, you will hit a 12-inch diameter area. It measures the average temperature in that 12-inch diameter area.

If you shoot the Kintrex from ten feet away from a wall, it will hit an area that is 10-inches in diameter and gives you the average temperature of that 10-inch diameter area.

The father away you are, the bigger the area that the IR thermometer views. If you are 20 feet away, the Raytek will “see” a 2-foot diameter spot on the wall. At a 20-foot distance, the Kintrex “sees” a 20-inch area. The smaller view area of the Kintrex is better.

The bigger problem is that the laser pointer on both brands just shows you a very small dot of red light. The small red dot at the aiming point gives folks the idea that the instrument is just measuring one small area when it may actually be taking an average of a large area.

An example is if you are taking the temperature of a hot water pipe at the ceiling of a room, you get the average temperature of part of the pipe plus some of the ceiling. If you think of the temperature as being just the pipe, you are wrong, unless you are holding the IR thermometer up close to the pipe.

The Kintrex has a little longer battery life. If you use either one of these a lot you do need to carry the right spare batteries, or risk a black out at an inconvenient time. Another reason to have two of them.

The Kintrex allows you to switch between Centigrade and Fahrenheit with ease using a thumb button. On the Raytek, you have to open the battery compartment and hunt for the little switch to make the change over.

In my current job, I work and think in Fahrenheit and never change. When I used the Kintrex, I had to look at the display to make sure I was in the right mode.

I used to work in the chemical industry, where I worked with engineers who worked and thought in Centigrade. I used Fahrenheit while working in the powerhouse and around the boilers. I had to be bilingual in the language of temperature. The ease of switching between C and F is important in that kind of job environment.

During on the job tests, both brands did what I needed done very well. No functional problems with either one.

Recommendations

If I were to buy another one now, I would buy the Raytek for purely personal preference reasons.

I like the trigger on the Raytek better. It is a traditional index finger trigger. The Kintrex has a button for a trigger. Remember I said it was a personal preference.

I like the shape of the Raytek better it has a more traditional pistol grip handle and better balance. The graceful taper of the Kintrex grip handle makes it feel top heavy and it tends to slip out of my hand too easily. It does have holes in the end of the handle to add a lanyard to loop around your wrist.

The curved shape of the Kintrex housing makes me aim high. I had to use a ready fire aim method of getting on target with it on every reading.

The straight top on the Raytek housing let me get on target with the first shot. The Marine in me that knows good control is hitting the target with the first shot. Getting on target temperature readings quickly is a time saver, especially when your are taking many readings, during a tour through a building.

Both brands come with a carrying case, both are good. I like the Raytek carrying a little better.

I would recommend either brand, because they both do the job very well.

If you switch between C and F temperature scale, in your work, the Kintrex is definitely a better choice.

The Kintrex may be more accurate, for some types of work, with its smaller field of view.

I like the very clear pictorial Raytek instructions. The do a great job of showing how to use it and what to use it for.

The Price of the Kintrex Beats Raytek

As with most electronic items, the price for IR thermometers has dropped. The quality and features have improved over a very few years. I remember buying a similar Raytek several years ago. It was bigger and heavier with about the same performance; it cost about $160 then.

I ordered both of the new ones from Amazon with normal delivery.

The delivered cost of the Model MT6 Raytek was $68.18

The delivered cost of the Model IRT0421 Kintrex was $54.16

by Birney Summers – 2009 All Rights Reserved

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Review: GeoBulb LED Light Bulb for Home Use

My first impression when I opened the package to get a look at a GeoBulb was this thing is heavy. I would speculate the GeoBulb weighs three times as much as a regular Thomas Edison style light bulb. Also, it is much heavier than a CFL with the same light out put.

It is well made using a thicker glass globe than a standard light bulb. It is shaped and looks very much like a standard light bulb except for the cooling fins.

The cooling fins artistically reach upward from the base, like flower pedals holding the glass globe. The fins are made of white perforated metal, likely aluminum, to give a large surface area for air-cooling.

Unlike the EVOLUX LED bulb, there is no cooling fan in this bulb. No fan and no noise.

The fins do get warm. Not skin scorching hot but too warm to hang onto for long. When I scanned the GeoBulb with my infrared thermometer, I got readings between 130 and 148 F. Nowhere near as hot as an incandescent bulb.

When I get a new product, I read all the sales literature that is provided because it helps me set up standards to check the product against. The claims made for the GeoBulb are not exaggerated.

The box says it is intended to replace a 60-Watt incandescent using only 7.5 Watts. It puts out plenty of light to do the job. My Kill-A-Watt meter says it uses 7.0 Watts.

The color quality of the light from the GeoBulb is a little more bluish white than the light from the standard light bulb. The bulb I received is labeled “Cool White” indicating that the cool blue light is by design. The GeoBulb is available in Soft White or Warm White. They tend more toward neutral or yellow light. Some folks don’t like the blue white light so I would suggest trying a Soft White bulb first for more natural color appearance.

Like other LED bulbs, this one sends more light straight up from the bulb than it sends out side ways. However, the GeoBulb sent almost twice as much light out to the side as the more powerful EVOLUX bulb that I reviewed before.

 

Does the GeoBulb save money?

Yes, if you are comparing it to an old fashion incandescent 60-Watt light bulb.

No, if you are comparing it to a 13-Watt Compact Fluorescent (CFL) bulb.

I checked the math on the press kit information and it all checks out, so I’ll use their data. Over a 30,000-hour usage time, the total cost for energy plus the purchase of the bulbs. The numbers look like this.

60 Watt incandescent  $231.96

13 Watt CFL                 $104.73

7.5 Watt GeoBulb        $145.76      

From a home money saving point of view, the clear winner is the CFL.

For commercial and industrial applications it is easy to justify the investment in high cost LED lamps with the maintenance labor cost savings alone. The very long service life of LED bulbs makes changing them very infrequent. Any time a company is paying someone to change light bulbs, the cost of labor becomes the dominate cost factor, not the price of the bulb.

Using the data provided by C. Crane Company I graphed out the total cost for each type of bulb over the 30,000-hour life of one GeoBulb to help visualize what happens.

 

In order to match the cost effectiveness of the CFL the GeoBulb would have to get its selling price below $80 each. Less than that, if it were to save folks money at home. Currently the GeoBulb costs about $120 each

 

Who would pay so much for a bulb that looses them money?

I believe that there are two basic reasons for folks to buy and use the GeoBulb.

First, there are people who are willing to pay more for products that have a very low environmental impact. The GeoBulb has a very low carbon footprint because of its low power consumption. It is a green product because it does not contain lead or mercury. The green GeoBulb is well suited for reading lamps that point down toward the work area.

The second group is folks who live “off the grid.” They generate their own electrical power instead of buying it from a utility company. Folks living off the grid usually have a very limited amount of electric power that they make themselves using solar cells, wind turbines, water wheels or a combination of these. The GeoBulb with its very low power draw is just what these folks need to help them stay off the grid.

 

The GeoBulb is the best LED lamp for home use that I have seen so far.

The GeoBulb is a product of the C. Crane Company and comes in an easy to open box that does a great job protecting this valuable bulb. They are to be commended for very truthful labeling and advertising of a good product.

 

Will I buy them for my Home?

No. I use bulbs that are 100-Watt or 150-Watt “size” because our old eyes need the more intense light. We use a mixture of CFL’s and special color incandescent. CFLs to save money and the special color incandescent bulbs to keep my wife’s color sensitive quilter’s eyes happy.

I am hopeful that the technology will continue to develop so that brighter LED bulbs become available for home use that will save money for folks who pay the utility bills.

by Birney Summers – 2009 All Rights Reserved

Click this link for a SPECIAL REPORT: HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON AIR CONDITIONING

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EVOLUX LED LIGHT BULB REVIEW

WHY USE LED LIGHT BULBS ANYWAY?

LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. Diodes are a small solid-state electronic device that only let electrons pass in one direction. They are used in many electronic devices like radios and TVs.

Some diodes are designed to give off light when electrons pass through them. The amount of light given off is very high compared to the amount of power used.

The photo at the right is an enlarged shot of a single LED before it is wired up and put in a housing.

 Several readers have been asking me about the very energy efficient LED light bulbs that are designed for home use. I have been putting it off because the very high purchase cost of LED bulbs seems to rule out any money savings.

I ordered an EvoLux warm white LED Bulb to try it out. The delivered cost from Amazon was a couple pennies less than $90. That is for one light bulb!

For testing, I took the shade off a table lamp and tried several different light bulbs to see the pros and cons of each. The testing was done with all other room lights out and the shades drawn.

HOW MUCH LIGHT WAS THERE

The EvoLux literature offers it as a replacement for a 100-Watt old fashion light bulb. Based on the rated light out put of 1,000 lumens it is more like a 75-Watt incandescent. Unfortunately, I did not have 75-Watt bulb on hand to measure.

I was curious how directional the light from the LED bulb was so I measured the light out put using my light meter at a distance of 3 feet above and 3 feet to the side of the different bulbs.

My meter reads in foot-candles. A foot-candle is light the light your eye would see one foot from a single wax candle.

Foot-candles are the unit of light intensity that many engineers use in designing installations and checking existing lighting for commercial and industrial applications. Any way I used the meter that I had on hand.

Light intensity is very dependent on how far from the light source the measurement is taken. I used a common wood yardstick to get the meter the same distance away from each bulb.

As I expected the light from the old fashion, 100-Watt bulb was close to the same in both the upward and sideways directions. Since they send light out well in all directions, they make a good all around light source. That is why we have used them everywhere.

A 23-Watt Compact Fluorescent Lamp sent more of its light out sideways than it did upward. Because of the high amount of light going out sideways, they are a good light source for table lamps.

The EvoLux LED bulb sent very little light out to the side but did send a lot of usable light upward. In the up direction, it actually put out more light than the 100-Watt incandescent bulb.

LED’s make very good spotlights. Using them in recessed fixtures build into the ceiling would be a good choice. They are also good for reading lamps where a gooseneck fixture allows you to aim the light where you need it.

HOW ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE LIGHT

I had my resident color expert look at a variety of quilting fabrics using the three different light sources. According to her color sensitive eyes, the light from the LED bulb did not show the colors well. She gave it a POOR rating. To me, the light was gray not white.

The CFL got a FAIR rating and the incandescent a GOOD rating.

THE UNEXPECTED PROBLEM

I sent the EvoLux LED bulb on to one of my readers, Mike in California, to get another opinion. He pointed out something with the LED bulb that I had not noticed.

It makes noise!

According to my friend Mike, “the noise is a bit like a computer fan although not as loud. It's a medium pitched whine along with the whir of a small high speed fan moving air.” 

Here are the rest of his comments about the EvoLux LED light bulb.

I really wanted to like this light. And while the light output was quite good for an LED (it seems about the same as a 75 watt incandescent) I was a disappointed in several important ways.

First, it makes a noise that is not acceptable for most indoor applications for my wife and I. I believe it has a fan in the base of the bulb to keep it cool.  However, this makes a hum which is very distracting for reading etc. So, it limits the number of applications to noisy locations, little used locations or outside (including the garage). Some people may be able to overlook this, but it was very distracting for me. I even tried it in a light fixture with a glass enclosure, but I could still hear the noise.

Second, even though the light has a bulb like enclosure, the light mainly comes out in one direction. For example, when I put it in a desk lamp, most of the light when up to the ceiling. Even when I tried it in a downward hanging ceiling light fixture with a 2 foot broad reflector designed to light a table area, it didn't produce a broad enough light to feel comfortable. The light output was acceptable in the ceiling light fixture with a glass enclosure and a downward focusing reflector, although the noise made this application unacceptable overall. I did try it as a replacement for a floodlight outside and that works pretty well.

Third, the quality of the light was not as warm as the CFLs or incandescent bulbs. It was not a blue light, but it was not as warm as we prefer. Also, the light is quite bright if you look directly into the bulb. This is worse than a CFL or incandescent as well. For most applications, this isn't an issue, but it's worth noting. For example, the hanging ceiling fixture mentioned above has no cover etc, so it can be annoying since you occasionally glace at the light.

So as I said, I really really wanted to like the EvoLux, but at this point, it will be relegated to the garage or used outside. One other great application will be when we are out of the house on a trip, I put lights on a timer to give that lived in look. Because of the energy efficiency, this will work great for that application. In fact, we have a second home that could benefit as well.

Here is a link to a video review that comments on the sound and puts the microphone by the bulb, so you might be able to hear it. EvoLux review at ecogeek.org

I missed the noise because I don’t hear so good. I wear hearing aids to help my explosion battered ears, but often miss hearing things. Mike has very good hearing and found that the noise from the LED bulb was irritating to him.

The LED bulb has a very long life expectancy, (50,000 plus hours of rated life) but needs to be cooled to last that long. The very small diode has to be hit with a large amount of power to give off the amount of light needed to be useful in home applications. 12-Watts isn’t all that much power, but because of the very small pathway, that it needs to squeeze through, it gets hot right where the action is.

The EvoLux LED bulbs have a built in fan to cool them. The outside of the plastic bulb housing stays cool to the touch.

I wonder how many Watts the cooling fan uses.

DOES IT SAVE MONEY?

The LED bulb used about one-eighth the amount of power that a 100-Watt Edison lamp uses. It used about one-half the amount of power used by the CFL so it really is efficient for light it gives out.

It has a very long life that helps it to overcome the high price. It lasts at least 8 times longer than a CFL and 80 times longer than that old Edison bulb.

It is made of durable plastic, not glass. It will take a lot of abuse without breaking and wasting your investment in it.

The answer is yes it will save you some money over the long haul of its long life. If you can tolerate the noise and if you have a place to use it where the color quality is not an issue it will pay for itself. Most homes do have such places.

Here is a chart to compare the numbers. The cost numbers show that CFLs and LEDs are money savers.

 

	23 Watt CFL	EvoLux LED	Incandescent
Ligh Bulb Measurements	Cool White	Warm White	Cool White
Measured Watts	23	12	101
Foot Candles at 3 ft above	9.0	19.0	14.4
Foot Candles at 3 ft sideway	13.0	2.2	19.7
color perception	fair	poor	good
relative purchase cost	$4	$90	$1
rated life hours	7,000	60,000	750
Rated Lumens	?	1,000	1,600
burn outs in 60,000 hours	8	1	80
replacement cost	$32	$90	$80
energy kWh in 60,000 hrs	1,380	720	6,060
energy cost at 12 cent / kWh	$165.60	$86.40	$727.20
Total cost	$197.60	$176.40	$807.20

 

It is my hope that the science and engineering of LED light bulbs will continue to improve so that they will soon give better light and be available at a substantially lower cost.

LEDs have a bright future.

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TWIN DRAFT GUARD REVIEW

I saw an ad on TV for the Twin Draft Guard and knew that I wanted to see one. I looked up their web site and saw they looked like they could do the job but that delivery was 3 to 5 weeks. Too long.

I then looked them up on Amazon and found that the folks who marketed them there did not show instant availability. It must be a popular item this winter.

On the same Amazon page, I spotted an ad for a Door Draft Protector that looked just like the Twin Draft Guard except it was navy blue instead of brown. The ad from Stack and Stacks indicated that it was “in stock,” so I ordered one.

I receive a confirmation email the next morning that it had been shipped. Good it was in stock.

How much did it cost?

I requested the standard shipping because that was the least expensive. The shipping still added almost 50% to the cost.

Price plus shipping made a 20-dollar bill disappear.

The two for one deal for the Twin Draft Guard would have driven the cost per each down below $15. But, I only wanted to try one.

Delivery

A full seven days from the date of shipment FedEx brought it to our home. I looked up the tracer information at the FedEx web site and found that it was shipped in California and that it took 7 days to reach Ohio. Back in 1969, I took 10 days to drive from California to Michigan but I drove it to enjoy the trip not to deliver the goods.

Faster delivery is available but why pay more when you are trying to save money?

Interesting first discovery, both the label on the item and the enclosed instructions identify it as a Twin Draft Guard not a Door Draft Protector. Apparently, the Twin Draft Guard has at least one alias.

So how well is it made?

My wife, the quilt maker, looked it over and commented that the 35% cotton and 65% polyester fabric was a good choice for the job. It will dry fast she said.

Her next comment was that it looked like it has been machine sewn by a beginner. The stitches were set up a little long on the machine, no doubt for speed. There was minimal back stitching at the end of the run, so the stitches could unravel after some heavy use.

Yes, it is made in China.

How can I cut it to length when it is already short?

The printed instructions said to measure the doorway opening and cut the two tube shaped plastic foam inserts ½ inch shorter than the door opening.

Ok I measured the front doorway. No surprise it is 36 inches. The most common doorway size. I then measure the foam tubes and fount them to be 34-1/2 inches. According to the instructions, I need cut them down to be 35-1/2 inches.

I am skilled at cutting things too short, but no way can I cut things again and make them longer. I know because I have tried it before.

Time to Test drive it

Well I decide to try it on our front door any way. We have a tile floor inside the entryway so it is easy to slip the draft stopper under the door ready to use.

When I closed the door, the Twin Draft Guard rolled right out from under the door. The gap between the bottom of the door and the tile floor was too big. We have a rather high threshold so it will not work at the front door.

Our back door out to the sun porch is also 36 inches wide. Here we have carpet flooring. It was a little more work to slide the Twin Draft Guard under the door. A tug here, pull there, and it was ready. The door opens and closes just fine. It really is an inch too short but it does seal the gap under the door ok. It looks like it has found a home.

Will it save 20 bucks on the heating bill?

Maybe not right away since it is starting out half way through the heating season. I do think it will pay back more than the cost in a year because it will help save energy in the air conditioning season too.

It is making the living room more comfortable and that is worth a lot to us.

Click here for Twin Draft Guard aka Door Draft Protector from Amazon

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Review; The Home Energy Diet book

Title: The Home Energy Diet or How to Save Money by Making Your House Energy Smart by Paul Scheckel, about 300 pages, published by New Society Publishers.

The first third of the book is general information about energy, how it is made, how to count it, how to work the numbers. It should be a required class textbook for High School seniors. This background information is very well written and easy to understand. But, that is not why folks should buy this book.

The real meat starts at about page 93 with some very important electrical power safety tips, followed by an appliance-by-appliance list of items that use energy in a typical North American home. It is alphabetical and organized like an index.

Each item listed includes information about the amount of energy it uses and tips on how to save money using it. The “what to do” information is very specific and easy to put into practice. It starts with Air Cleaners and goes right through to Well Pumps.

Some items get just a sentence or two and others get a whole chapter. The biggest energy users get the most page space. Hot water, heating and air conditioning get their own chapters, as they should.

Like most grouchy old engineers, I read the book looking for details to disagree with. That approach was rewarded with frustration. In fact, there is so much good stuff in this book that I put it on the shelf next to my desk where it will be a handy reference.

I am forever getting questions from folks wanting to know how much they save when they shut off the item in question. The book has a handy chart, as appendix C, which does a good job answering that question.

More importantly, it provides focus for action by letting you identify the big energy users in your home. I get too many questions from people worried about the cost of running a computer when they should be focused on their heating, cooling and kitchen energy use.

The book is targeted at folks who own a house, but renters should read it too. If you pay the energy bill at your home this book will pay back the cover price many times over.

I am not sure I really want to promote this book. If everyone read it, I would have far fewer folks visiting my blog for information.

I bought my copy at Amazon. Click on the ad below to get yours delivered directly to your home.

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SAVE YOUR ENERGY MONEY WITH A DRYER VENT SEAL

Outside air enters your home through the exposed dryer vent, and that means higher heating bills in winter, higher cooling bills in summer.

Your clothes dryer is connected to a 4" diameter exhaust duct that is open to the outdoors. In the winter, cold air leaks in through the duct, through your dryer and into your house, while your heated air just pours right out!

Many common discharge vents use a flapper to try to reduce this air leakage. This very primitive technology does not provide a positive seal to stop the air leakage.

Over time, lint clogs the flapper, causing it to stay open. This is like leaving a window open! In addition, rodents and insects can enter you home through your open dryer vent.

The Battic Door brand Dryer Vent Seal will reduce unwanted air infiltration, and keep out pests, bees and rodents as well.

This Dryer Vent Seal is made of high impact ABS plastic, able to withstand both high and very low temperatures. It will mount easily on the side of your house.

The Dryer Vent Seal keeps out that outside air until dryer discharge air pushes up the floating shuttle. This allows warm air, lint, and moisture to escape from the vent. When the dryer stops, gravity makes the shuttle drop back down, keeping wind, birds, bugs and rodents outside. The top may be removed for easy cleaning.

The ABS plastic Dryer Vent Seal mounts easily over existing 4" vent pipe. The vent can be painted to match your house. Mounting screws are included.

Click on this image to order yours today.

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SAVE MONEY USING A SCANGAUGE

ScanGauge II is an Ultra Compact 3-in-one Automotive Computer.

It is a Trip Computer, set of Digital Gauges and a Scan Tool all in one.

The integrated Trip Computer provides feedback while simultaneously tracking three sets of trip data.

The Digital Gauges give you real time data for your vehicle. The built-in Scan Tool allows you to read trouble codes and diagnose potentially expensive problems before they get out of hand.

All this in a small and simple to install unit that can be easily moved from vehicle to vehicle. The compact read out unit just plugs into your car’s computer.

Make a game of saving money

The digital gauges include a real time fuel economy read out that lets you know just how efficiently you are driving. You can change the way you drive and know instantly whether it is giving your better or worse mileage.

The trip modes in the ScanGauge II can be used to save gas. Improved driving habits can improve fuel economy by up to 30% according to a US Government source. The ScanGauge II lets you try different driving techniques and routes and gives quick feedback on how they affect fuel use.

Trying to beat your best score for the commute to work will make you a winner by keeping more cash in your pocket.

Why is my CHECK ENGINE light on?

ScanGauge will let you know what is wrong before you take your car in for service.

ScanGauge II can check for Diagnostic Trouble Codes and can display how many there are and the Trouble Codes themselves. Using the internet or repair manuals, you can find out which component failed so repairs can be made.

Engine operating data is captured when the Trouble Code was set to help troubleshoot the problem. The ScanGauge II can be used to clear the trouble codes and data, which will turn off the Check Engine light.

The ENERGY BOOMER recommends ScanGauge II.

Click this link to order your ScanGuage II.

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DO NOT FLUSH AWAY TOO MUCH WATER

One of the most used restroom fixtures is the flush valve. They are one of the most reliable items that we use in commercial or industrial buildings. They do need to be checked and fixed to prevent the waste of water.

If the flush valve does not shut off the flow of water in under 5 seconds, it is flushing money down the drain.

Take a tour of the restrooms in your facility and time the flushes.

If the flush water is flowing for more than 3 seconds for a urinal or 5 seconds for a water closet corrective action is indicated.

1. The most likely cause is dirt plugging the by pass hole in the flush valve, clean it

2. The diaphragm is damaged, replace it

3. It has the wrong diaphragm for that model of flush valve, install the correct one

4. A damaged inner cover needs replacement

Automatic flush valves, with active infrared sensors, have a different set of problems.

A flashing red light, when the visitor approaches, indicates that the battery is low and needs to be replaced.

The most common problem is getting the sensor range adjustment right. It adjusts the distance at which it will detect a person or object like a door. Start with a setting toward the minimum end of the scale make small adjusts as needed until it works correctly.

If the valve flushes more than once per customer, the range needs to be adjusted more toward the maximum.

Remember, small adjustments only. The sensor range screw only has a ¾ turn total adjustment.

If it does not flush when it should:

1. If it had been working, the battery is dead and needs to be replaced

2. The range adjustment has been set at its maximum or minimum setting. The adjustment has to be off the end stops to work.

3. The electronic sensor is bad and needs to be replaced

I really like the new Sloan, Uppercut model. It is a manual valve that gives the user a choice of how much water to use. Pulling the handle up results in a little flush. Pushing the handle down gives a big flush when needed. http://www.sloanvalve.com/

That way the user has control over the amount of water used. It also can prevent using multiple flushed to get the job done.

You can help save on the water bill by noticing what happens in the restroom. Report a need for repairs to stop wasting water.

Click here for a free money saving report titled HOW SAVE MONEY ON YOUR NEXT HEATING BILL

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SAVE ENERGY WITH SEAL 'N'PEEL

Removable weatherstrip caulk

A friend of mind asked, “I have been looking for a window/door crack sealant that gets applied with a caulking gun. Supposedly there is one that can be easily removed after the winter months. Have you ever come across this type?”

After a quick search, I found DAP Seal ‘N’ Peel.

I used Seal ‘N’ Peel at home for the first time this fall. It has been in stores for three years. DAP Products Inc. has a reputation for selling good stuff. I bought a cartridge of Seal ‘N’ Peel for $5 to test.

It worked as advertised.

It has a slight solvent odor that goes away in a couple of hours.

Safety comment: I would think twice about sealing a door or window closed if there is a possibility that it might be needed as an emergency fire exit.

The following is edited from a 2003 news release from the DAP web site:

DAP® Seal ‘N Peel™ removable weatherstrip caulk is for homeowners who need a temporary watertight and weatherproof seal, especially when looking for extra insulation in the wintertime.

This unique, removable weatherstrip caulk is easy to apply with a standard caulk gun and helps keep homes warm in winter, reducing heating bills. You can seal around drafty windows, seasonally used doors, around air conditioners, vents or fans, and when removal is desired it peels away just as easily without the need of any special tools or solvents.

“DAP’s Seal ‘N Peel is a temporary solution to unwanted air leaks around air conditioners, windows, unused doors or rooms in wintertime,” said David Fuller, vice president of marketing for DAP. “It goes on easy and when you want to take it off, it’s easy to remove.

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SMARTBUTTONS TRACK ENERGY

Smartbutton temperature data loggers

Inexpensive easy to use temperature recorders. They are about the size of a pair of nickels (US coins) stuck together. I’ve hidden them around the facility to track and remember the temperature every 15 minutes over a period of several days. The data can be presented as a graph using either their software or a spread sheet program. It helps to have the facts when talking with folks about the temperature being too hot or too cold in the work place.

You can pre set them to take a temperature reading on any schedule that you need.

The only problem that I’ve had with them is finding them when it is time to retrieve the data. Take good notes about where you put them. Draw your self a treasure map.

Try their SmartButton starter pack. They send you a SmartButton, the software, computer interface device and manual all together in one little box. You will want more SmartButtons.

From ACR Systems Inc.

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