Going Green Memphis 6-13-10

8/8/2019 Going Green Memphis 6-13-10

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Greener choice in dry cleaningThough still largely dependent onhazardous chemicals, some local drycleaners are cleaning up their act

Earthtalk: Oil spillMeasuring the fullenvironmental impactof the leak will take time

Green gift ideasFor Fathers Day thisyear, try somethingwith an eco-spin

Generating a fashion buzzScientists at UC-Berkeley looking to spinnanofiber technology into little generators

Geothermal energysmart alternative

2010: Year of the60-watt LED bulb

On the cover

Photo by Brandon Dill/Special To The Commercial Appeal

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!Going Green is a special online publication ofThe Commercial Appeal. We welcome your commentsand suggestions. Follow Going Green on Twitter atw w w .t w i t t e r .co m /G o G r e e n M e m p h i s.

Ed i t o r : Kim Coleman, 529-5243,goi n gg r e e n@co m m e rci a la pp ea l .com

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http://www.twitter.com/GoGreenMemphismailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.twitter.com/GoGreenMemphis


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The Commercial Appeal S u n d ay , June 1 3, 2010| GOING GREEN 3

The Green Page

On TVLive Green Tennessee airs the second Monday of

the month at 7 p.m., with an encore broadcast thefollowing Friday at 8 p.m.

The episode explores the Upper Cumberland region,talking with local farmers, gardeners and neighborsabout how our agricultural heritage and local wisdomcan help all of us lead greener, more prosperous andhealthier lives.

A family spending as little as $10 a week on locallyproduced fruits and vegetables would bring revenue of$5 million for farmers from the 10,000 families inCookeville. More money would be circulated in the localcommunity, which would help it thrive in both healthand wealth. Considering that there are 21 farmersmarkets in the Upper Cumberland region, theeconomic impact is significant.

According to The Leopold Center for SustainableAgriculture, a tomato that you buy at your local grocerystore, or any fresh produce, has typically traveled 1,500miles to reach you. With oil prices reaching $125 abarrel, making increasing food prices inevitablebecause of shipping costs, where are we going to getthe farm products that are now being transported fromplaces like New Zealand and Chile? Local farms,including Tennessees small and medium-sized farms,might just hold the answer.

Green awardsNASHVILLE Gov. Phil

Bredesen and Environment

and ConservationCommissioner Jim Fyke haveannounced the winners of the2010 GovernorsEnvironmental StewardshipAwards. The 14 winners will berecognized for theirachievements and positiveimpact on the states naturalresources in an awardsceremony to be held in

Nashville on June 24.Tennesseans continue tomake tremendous strides toprotect and preserve ourenvironment, said Bredesen.This years roster of honoreesis exemplary. Their efforts areraising the bar whiledemonstrating environmentalstewardship can come fromevery facet of our communities

from dairy farms andeducational institutions to thehospitality and musici n d u st r i es .

The GovernorsEnvironmental StewardshipAwards program recognizesexceptional voluntary actionsthat improve or protect ourenvironment and naturalresources with projects orinitiatives not required by law orregulation. This marks the 24thyear for the awards program.

For more information aboutthe Governors Environmental

Stewardship Awards program, visit tn .gov/environment/ aw a rd s / 1 0 aw d s /1 0 w i n n e rs _ 1 . p d f.

Everything from the traditional selection oftomatoes, green beans and corn to berries,peaches and apples is sold at the FarmersMarket in downtown Cookeville, Tenn.


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4 GOING GREEN| S u nd ay , June 1 3, 2010 co mm er cia l a pp ea l.co m

Greener cleaners PERC-free process reduces environmental, health risks

By Jim Coleman Special to Going Green

For three generations a Palvado hasprovided dry cleaning services from thefamilys store on Central Avenue. Whilethe faces behind the counter dont oftenchange, one thing has: the process usedto make stained and soiled clothes as

good as new.In mid-2008 owner David Palvado in-vested $50,000 in new, environmentallyfriendly equipment, in an effort to be-come greener and to stay ahead of anEPA that applies more and more pressureon dry cleaners to clean up their business.

Its a DF 2000, and its petroleum-based, said Palvado. Its not as haz-

Photos by Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal

David Palvado, owner of Palvado Cleaners at 2607 Central Avenue, has made theinvestment in time and money to steer his familys business to greener pastures.


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It costs about $200 to dispose of three canisters of the filters (using PERC). My machine will pay for itself.

The new filters have almost no waste.In the time that Ive owned it, I

h ave n t changed the filters in the ma-chine. When you do, you drain themand then you dry them. All that is left isa clay-like filler. Ill call a waste com-pany and ask them to take it away eve n t u a l l y, said Palavado.

In addition to making Palvados busi-ness a healthier place to work, the newequipment has been an upgrade interms of performance.

It think that it is better, said Pal-vado. It occasionally will melt a buttonbut not like with the PERC. It is a lotsofter cleaner than PERC.

He also said the customer reaction hasbeen positive, which is important in acompetitive, low-profit-margin industry.

The customer reaction has been re-ally phenomenal. Everybodys businessin this industry is off.

Alternative approachMike Cooper, owner of Midtown

cleaners Mercury Valet, has also gottenpositive feedback from environmentally

Photos by Dave Darnell/The Commercial Appeal

Mercury Valet Service at 1798 Madison Avenue has been certified as a green drycleaner. Owner Mike Cooper explains the solvent recycle system the businessu s es .


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The Commercial Appeal S u n d ay , June 1 3, 2010 | GOING GREEN 7

concerned customers.He has managed to do that while

continuing to use PERC as his maincleaning solvent.

We use PERC. But we recycle andreuse it as much as possible, s aidCooper, whose store shares a strip withthe Barbecue Shop, among other busi-nesses, on Madison Avenue.

Only, our equipment is run so tightlythat we are able to reduce the amountof dry cleaning wastes. We lower theamount by running the solvent conden-sation through a carbon filter, headded, while offering an analogy.

Its like a computer. If you dont doanything with it for awhile see howit will work then with all those cookiesits dragging around.

He also said that he regularly teststhe air quality in his business to makesure that PERC levels are almost nonex-istent .

The dry cleaner has also looked atother ways to become green.

We use environmentally friendly liq-uid soaps. They are biodegradable andwe only need to use a small amount.

Mercury Valet has taken further stepsbeyond reducing the amount and typesof chemicals used to make the operationenvironmentally friendlier.

I focused on recycling and reducing the amount of garbage that came out,which has reduced our Dumpstercosts.

They also focused on packaging as away to reduce their amount of waste.

These efficiencies have only helpedthe business become more financiallyst able.

As a result, I stay in business during these trying times, said Cooper.

TipsWear an undershirt. Having something

underneath your dry-clean-only items will

allow you to wear them longer betweenc l ean i n gs.Air out. If you do get your clothes dry

cleaned, keep in mind that they can releasePERC into your home. While the levels arehighest in the room in which the clothesare stored, PERC will spread throughoutyour home for as long as a week. So youmight want to hang your clothes in thegarage or outside before bringing them in.

Those plastic bags you get at the dry

cleaners arent particularly friendly tothe environment. Reuse and recyclethem. Better yet, if you have a lot of drycleaning, purchase a reusable clothgarment bag for your dry cleaner to use.

And what about those wire hangers?Take them back to your dry cleaner to bereused. Or ask your dry cleaner to useyour own hangers. Or try hangers madefrom 100 percent recycled paper.

Mercury Valet attendant SusanMesser waits on customer Dale Tuttlein the lobby area, which has plants

and a recycle receptacle for coathangers. They also have washingmachines which use liquid detergentsthat are precisely measured by pumpsto prevent waste.


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8 GOING GREEN| S u n day, June 1 3, 2010 co mm er c ia l a pp ea l.co m

FAT H E R S DAY:

Green ideas for DadBy Margaret Hoff E x a mi n e r. co m

Fat h e r s Day is a wonderfultime for families coming to-gether to celebrate Dad.

Fathers can be notoriouslydifficult to buy presents for. If yo u re still searching for thatperfect gift, here are somegreen gift ideas that mighth el p .

Outdoor games are the per-fect green Fathers Day gift. Agame is something that will beused over and over again. Itbrings everyone outside andcan bring all ages together.Croquet, bocce ball and corn-hole are good examples of games that work from the wee-little ones all the way up tograndparents. Softball, football,soccer, volleyball and bad-minton are all great games forthe more active family (and

perhaps those with older chil-d re n ) .Gardening tools and plants

are also great green gifts. If your dad likes to work outsidein his yard or garden, considergiving him a tree that will lastfor years; he can always thinkof you while he is working out-
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side. Berry plants or grape vines arealso good ideas for the gardening father. If you continue every year togive him the same gift, before long hell be able to make his own wine orblueberry pie.

Books and magazines are great forthe dad who likes to read. We oftenforget that books and magazines canbe passed on, essentially reused andrecycled. If you think hed be in-terested in g re e n literature, orlearning more about the environmen-tal movement, there are many goodchoices out there.

Gift certificates to farmers mar-kets, restaurants and stores that spe-cialize in selling local and organicfoods are a great way to introducehim to the green food movement.

If you are out buying the presentyourself, make sure you try to buylocally and as green as possible. Andalways remember that if you have achoice between plastic and nonplas-tic presents such as games, toys,tools, etc., be sure to buy the non-plastic, even if it is more expensive.

An interesting fact that comesfrom the book The World WithoutUs is that plastics chemical natureis not able to biodegrade in anypractical time scale. In fact, every bitof plastic manufactured in the world

for the last 50 years or so still re-mains. Its somewhere in the envi-ronment. And it now surpasses 1billion tons.

Handmade gifts, especially by you,are perfect green gifts for a dad. If you made some extra jam from thefruit at the farmers market, give thatto your dad. Not only does hand-

Ten green gift ideas1. Solar chargers: With our power supply atrisk and running lower all of the time, everyperson can do his part by using solar chargerswhenever possible.2. Kindle E-readers: No matter if he reads thenewspaper, magazines, novels or textbooks,he will find a lifetime supply on the KindleE-reader, and all without having to cut down asingle tree!3. Speaking of books and reading, there is aset of books out today that are titled,H o m es t ea d i n g and Back to Basics thatare filled with information about living withoutmany of the very things that the green dad istrying to avoid.

4. There are many shop and garage cleanersthat are formulated organically and withoutusing dangerous chemicals. They would besuper additions to the eco-friendly dadscleaning kits.5. If the dad in your life enjoys workingoutside, you could make him a gardeningsupply basket with eco-friendly yardproducts, seed packets and gardening tools.6. For the city-dwelling green dad, make his

day with some public transportation vouchersthat he can use to get where he needs to go.7. Solar lights are great gifts for the eco-dadand they come in tons of different shapesand sizes. He will be able to place themwherever he wants to enhance his yard.8. There are companies today that makeorganically based and recycled clothing anda cces s o r i es .9. If he has something that he really loves,such as sports, theater or music, why nottreat him to tickets? To make the gift morespecial, get a set so the two of you can sharethe experience.10. If you are looking for something to knockhis organic socks off, you could opt for a newhybrid car. Or, if you cant swing that one,how about a new bike to get around on whenhe needs to go somewhere or just wants toget some exercise and fresh air?


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made require time and specialthought, but it also shows theextra effort you were willing to put into his gift.

If he likes music, make hima CD of special songs that jog your memory of him or of new music that he might en-

joy. One of my favorite hand-made gifts is to get a blank

journal and write in your fa-vorite quotes, or quotes thatfit your father. Ask him to fillit with his memories and lifestories; if you have a story

that youd like him to writeabout, ask a question about itat the top of the journal page.It will be a family treasure forgenerations to come.

The most important thing isto combine green gifting withyour dads likes and dislikes. If your dad loves to carryaround water at all times, Iwould suggest an aluminumwater bottle. If your dad likesdistinct and local beer, per-haps a growler of beer wouldbe a great gift idea.

Another idea is to donatemoney in his name to his fa-vorite cause. Oftentimes justknowing that his kids pay at-

tention to his interests andcare about his causes willbring a smile to his face.

Or spend some time withDad: tickets to a sports game,a show with dinner and drinksor planning a camping trip all of these things are greenand create great memories.

Use these tricks toremember to BYOBBy Morieka Johnson

Mother Nature Network

Q: My husband is totally into recycling and has no problem toting those ugly reusable bags around. Once I find one that I like, I keep forgetting to actually shop with it. Any tips to help me keep up with that thing?

I try to resist the convenience of plastic, butIll admit that it isnt easy. Dog owners knowthat those darn bags do a great job scooping pet poop. But with every empty-handed trip tothe grocery store, I think about the time ittakes a plastic bag to break down in a landfill,if it breaks down at all.

Its way past time for our reusable tote bagsto get some hang time. With a little orga-nization, both of us can do better for theplanet. Here are a few tips to get started:

Stock up: Reusable tote bags have replaced T-shirts as the ubiquitous freebie at festivals,conventions and even concerts. Stock up, andstore your bags in the place you associate withshopping. There is strength in numbers be-cause you are likely to have at least one aroundwhen you need it. I have one folded up in myweekend bag (yes, I have more than one hand-bag). I also keep one in the car that holdscoupons and a calendar showing when localproduce is in season. For good measure, placeone in the same area where you store thoseplastic bags. A little guilt goes a long way inmy house.

Follow the money: Finally, it actually pays toBYOB. Target stores offer discounts of 5 cents


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per bag when you use their reusabletotes, which happen to be made fromrecycled PETbottles. Thechain also hasin-store recy-cle bins foryour old plas-tic shopping bags, emptybottles, ink car-tridges, cellphones and mp3p l aye rs .

CVS drugstore chain

offers cold, hard cashwhen you BYOB. Buytheir corn-based Gre e nBag Tag for $1, attach itto your reusable tote andscan it at the register.You earn a $1 couponwith every fourth visit.Of course, Whole Foodshelped kick-start thereusable bag movement. In 2008, thegreen grocery chain stopped offering plastic bags. That translated intoabout 150 million plastic bagsavoiding a landfill. I dont ex-actly load up on goods fromWhole Foods, but its nice toknow they will give me a 10-cent discount for bringing my own bag to purchasesushi and bottled water. Aboutique in my neighbor-hood even offers a 10 per-cent discount when shop-pers BYOB. Next time Ineed a new accessory, Illstop there first. I plan toseek out other stores for

the same incentives. It never hurts toask.

Get a cute bag: Since the standard99-cent reusable bag doesnt

meet your sartorial standards,invest in a cute fabric totethat works with every outfit.Cost per wear means a lot inmy fashion circles, so I wouldhave no problem remembering to grab a $24.95 organic hempshopping bag from Envirosax.Of course, an aspiring greenfashionista like yourself mayprefer a $42.99 cotton version

from Marc by Marc Jacobs. Ill just stick with the freebie I gotat a Sweetwater festival.

Make a date with your bag:If you own a smartphone, suchas an iPhone or BlackBerry,then use that device to youradvantage. Make sure thatTOTE BAG tops every shop-ping list, whether its a trip to

the grocery store, the drugstore oryour favorite boutique. It takesa little effort, but eventually

BYOB will become a wayof life.

Happy shopping!Look for me, and mytote bag, at a storenear you.

Got a question? Submit a question to Mother Na t u re(mnn .com/askmothernature?

destinationadvice) and one of our experts willtrack down the answer.Visit our advice a rchives( mnn.com/advice ) to see

if your question has already been tackled.

Target encouragesguests to use theirreusable bags atcheckout to receivea 5-cent discountoff their totalpurchase perreusable bag.

A fashion forward shoppermight be more likely tograb this design-savvy bagfrom Envirosax.
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the Mississippi River. While huge Gulf of Mexico algae blooms help to nat-urally clean up the Midwests factoryemissions and wasted fertilizer, such aprocess doesnt come without a cost tothe ecosystem. Every spring, in a con-dition known as hypoxia, this fast-growing algae depletes large sectionsof the gulfs water column of the oxy-gen crucial for other life forms to sur-vive there. The BP oil spill is likely toexacerbate this problem, as natural oil-eating microbes swarming over under-sea oil plumes could cause or add tohypoxic conditions in otherwise teem-

ing swaths of the gulf.According to NOAA researcherSamantha Joye, the undersea oil posesa direct threat to large marine wildlife,such as fish, sharks and cetaceans, andalso to the tiny stuff, including zoo-plankton, shrimp, corals, crabs andworms. By endangering these latterpopulations, the foundation of the ma-rine food chain, the oil could havechronic long-term effects on the widergulf ecosystem, including the indus-tries more shrimp and oysterscome from thegulf than anywhere elsein the world that rely on them.

Another worry is how the chemicaldispersants being used to break up theundersea oil will impact the gulfs

ecosystems and inhabitants. The dis-pers ants ingredients are a trade secretclosely held by the company thatmakes it, and therefore have not beenvetted by marine biologists to deter-mine their safety for use in such alarge application. It also remains to beseen what impact the tiny oil dropletsleft in the dispersants wake will have.It could actually be worse for the un-dersea environment to break the oil upinto tiny droplets (which is done totry to make it easier for microbes todigest them).

Beyond all these undersea environ-mental effects, the oil is also starting towash up into coastal wetlands alreadybesieged by overdevelopment, pollu-tion and the lingering effects of Hur-ricane Katrina. If there can be any sil-ver lining to this catastrophe, it may bethat it is the wake-up call weve neededto start moving more rapidly awayfrom fossil fuels to a clean, renewableenergy future. For starters, we can allbegin to reduce our own oil consump-tion and opt for clean and green energysources whenever possible.

Send your environmental questions to: EarthTalk., c / o E The Environmental Magazine, P. O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; or to [email protected] .

Just do one thingPick up a bottle of essential oils, available in health food stores and some bea u t y

supply shops, and place a few drops of the oil into the sink when washing dishes. As thewarm, sudsy water hits the oils, itll diffuse into the air. Choose scents you love.Lavender is a good option to help soothe the soul. Who wouldve thought washingdishes could be so zen, too?
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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All juiced up

By Tiffany Hsu

Los Angeles Times

BERKELEY, Calif. Need juice for adying iPod? You may soon be able toplug the gadget into a shirt, dance theelectric slide and be good to go.

Researchers at the University of Cal-ifornia-Berkeley are perfecting micro-scopic fibers that can produce electricityfrom simple body motions such as bend-

ing, stretching and twisting. The fil-aments, which resemble tiny fishing

lines, may soon be woven into clothing and sold as the ultimate portable gen-e rat o rs .

It could take three years or morebefore it hits the store shelves, but thetechnology is already being hailed as ab re a kt h ro u g h .

The so-called nanofibers will havevery significant implications, said Mi-

UC Berkeley researchers are perfecting microscopic fibers that can makeelectricity from simple body motions. The nanofibers may soon be woven intoclothing, creating the ultimate portable generator.

Nanofiber project aims to turn clothes into generators


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hail Roco, senior adviser for nanotech-nology with the National Science Foun-dation, which recently gave a $350,000grant to the project.

In addition to helping reduce electric-ity demands on local utilities, new in-dustries could spring up to manufacturethe tiny personal generators, he said.

Researchers are envisioning hikerspowering up their digital cameras whiletrekking up a mountain or a joggercharging up her cellphone in mid-run.

The Pentagon is hotfor it, too: Soldiers

would no longer haveto carry heavy batter-ies to power their gear.Along with the Nation-al Science Foundation,the Pentagons secre-tive advanced researchagency is helping fundthe project.

For now, the smartpower suit is still alab experiment, said UC-Berkeley me-chanical engineering professor LiweiLin, who is overseeing the developmentof the fibers.

Lin and his team, including re-searchers from Berkeley, Germany andChina, recently were able to demon-strate the fibers capacity to harness theenergy from minute body movements.

Working in a small, two-room lab onthe Berkeley campus, the researcherswere able to convert energy from fingermotions into electricity using fibers at-tached to a surgical glove.

At roughly 500 nanometers thick, astrand is barely noticeable to the humaneye. Its one-tenth the width of a cloth

fiber and one-hundredth the width of ahuman hair.

It would take about 100,000 fibers toproduce enough power for an electricalwatch and 1 million fibers to generateenough current to power an iPod. But abundle of 1 million fibers would be onlyabout the size of a grain of sand.

Lin said the fibers can soak up theuntapped energy produced by the hu-man body, a remarkably efficient natural

generator. The morevigorous the motion,the more power can beharvested, making

knees and elbows andother joints primespots for the strands.

The strands take ad-vantage of piezoelec-tricity, which producesenergy through applieds t re s s , similar to theheat generated whenrubbing hands together.

Multiple dips in thewashing machine wont hurt the fibersare flexible and resistant to heat andchemicals. Theyre also small enough toblend unobtrusively into most garments.

And static shouldnt be a problem,Lin said.

Generating electricity from tiny com-ponents has been a distant dream forscientists for decades, said Roco, whoalso leads the National NanotechnologyI n i t i at i ve .

Up until now, there were too fewways to effectively do this, too far awayto really have a discussion, he said.Now, theres finally a technical solu-tion. Now, people may finally start tothink more seriously about it.

Now, theres finally atechnical solution.

Now, people may finally start to think moreseriously about it.

MIHAIL ROCO

Senior adviser for nanotechnology with the National Science Foundation


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Geothermal systems get tax

credits, pay for themselvesThe Associated PressKNOXVILLE As summer ap-

proaches and temperatures begin to rise,consumers should evaluate their currentcooling system and consider smart re-placements. New geothermal heating

and cooling systems present not only anenvironmentally friendly approach, butalso offer financial incentives.

Thanks to the Energy Improvementand Extension Act of 2008, residentialground loop or ground water geother-mal heat pumps installed after Dec. 31,2007, that meet or exceed EnergyStarrequirements qualify for a one-time taxcredit. This credit could be as much as30 percent of the total investment forhomeowners, and 10 percent for com-mercial systems.

This tax credit, however, represents just one of the many benefits now avail-able to people who install geothermalheating and cooling systems at theirhomes and offices.

Geothermal heating and cooling units

are the most energy-efficient systems onthe market. Not only do they offer im-mediate savings of 50 percent to 70percent on monthly heating and cooling costs, but they also can pay for them-selves in just a few years. They alsoboast a reduced ecological footprint,longer life cycle, higher comfort levelwithin affected buildings and the re-

duction of noise associated with othertypes of systems.

The only problem is that so few peo-ple know about the long-term financialrewards. Intimidated by the seeminglyexpensive installation, many consumersopt for less-expensive, less-efficient sys-tems. Most people dont know much

about geothermal heating and cooling.Educating them takes a little more time,but we all have to do our part to pro-mote renewable energy, said GordyNoe, president of Pioneer Heating &Air Conditioning in Knoxville. Eve r yperson who chooses geothermal is aperson choosing to contribute to mak-ing a healthier planet.

What is geothermal energy?The word geothermal comes from the

Greek words geo (earth) and therme(heat). So, geothermal energy is heatfrom within the Earth. People around theworld use geothermal energy to heattheir homes and to produce electricity bydigging deep wells and pumping theheated underground water or steam tothe surface. We can also make use of thestable temperatures near the surface ofthe Earth to heat and cool buildings.Geothermal energy is a renewableenergy source because the heat iscontinuously produced inside the Earth.


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BRIGHT IDEABy Eric A. Taub

New York Times News Service

The prospects of replacing todays in-efficient incandescent light bulbs withlong-lasting, low-power LEDs are get-ting brighter.

Two of the lighting industrys three

biggest manufacturers, Osram Sylvaniaand Philips, plan to sell energy-efficientLED bulbs this year that can replace a60-watt bulb, the most commonly usedincandescent lamp.

The third company, General Electric,will sell an LED equivalent to a 40-wattbulb this year, but it will not have a 60-

These new LED bulbs are the equivalent of a 60-watt bulb, come in both warmerand cooler whites, and last up to 25,000 hours. They use 20 percent of thepower of an incandescent bulb.

Ubiquitous, highly inefficient 60-watt bulb gets makeover


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The Commercial Appeal S u n day , June 1 3, 2010 | GOING GREEN 19

watt replacement ready until 2011.Beginning in January 2012, federal

law will require that light bulbs, orlamps as the industry calls them, willneed to be 30 percent more efficientthan current incandescent bulbs. Stan-dard incandescent lamps will most like-ly not be able to meet those require-ments. LED makers hope their bulbswill.

Compact fluorescents have been un-popular with consumers, and LEDbulbs have been too dim. But OsramsUltra bulb, available in August, andPhilips EnduraLED, which will be in

stores in the fourth quarter, will use just 12 watts of power to equal thelight output of a 60-watt bulb.

The 60-watt lamp is the most-soldbulb in America, said James R. Bro-drick, the manager for solid-state light-ing at the U.S. Department of Energy.These new bulbs should give con-sumers something to thinkabout .

The LED bulbs use 20 per-cent of the power of a cur-rent incandescent bulb andlast up to 25,000 hours,compared with 2,000 hoursfor a standard bulbs and8,000 for a compact fluores-cent. Thats 17 years if thebulb is on four hours a day.

The companies say that,unlike compact fluorescents,these new LED lights com-pletely mimic standard bulbs.

They can be dimmed, c re at elight in all directions anddisplay virtually the samewarmth and range of colorsas incandescent bulbs. And

most important, they work.In our research, we mixed up these

new LED lamps with regular bulbs,and when asked which was which,most selected the wrong lamps, s aidGuido van Tartwijk, a Philips groupm a n a ge r.

With the major players about to en-ter the LED market with productsaimed at consumers, the big questionshifts from quality to price. GE expectsits 40-watt equivalent to cost $40 to$50, while both Osram Sylvania andPhilips think initial retail prices couldbe about $60.

A lesser-known maker based in Satel-lite Beach, Fla., the Lighting ScienceGroup, has said that its new 60-wattequivalent, Definity LED, will also beavailable later this year and costaround $30.

All three major companies say theyare working with regional utilities to

offer rebates that could lower theprice to something that could

immediately be affordable.By 2012 or 2013, wellget the price down toaround $20, van Tartwijks aid.

Philips has announced thatit will begin selling a 60-watt equivalent LED lightbulb by the end of the year. The companys newlight-emitting diode bulbactually draws 12 watts,but delivers the equivalentof 60 watts in equivalentlight, for a total of 806lumens.

Documents

Going Green Memphis 6-13-10