Human Factors of XR: Using Human Factors to Design XR Systems
CFL Memo
1. Camilla Chodkowski<br />Executive Summary:<br />Incandescent bulbs are too inefficient and must either be made more efficient or replaced with more efficient light bulbs, such as CFLs or LED lights. Efficient lighting conserves energy, is environmentally friendly, and can potentially save over 600 million dollars.<br />Efficiency:<br />Compact Fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) use 3x less energy than traditional incandescents to make the same amount of light. Increasing requirements for light bulb efficiency ensures that America becomes more environmentally friendly, as light bulbs with higher efficiencies use less and waste less.<br />Incandescent light bulbs are very inefficient- it takes a lot of energy to heat up the contained filament until it glows. However, fluorescent bulbs do not need to heat up as much, and less energy is lost as heat.<br />Cost Effectiveness:<br />Because incandescent bulbs are so inefficient, CFL use should be encouraged. CFLs save a lot of energy, which in turn saves a lot of money. Preference should be given to Energy Star qualifying bulbs, in order to conserve even more energy. According to Energy Star, a qualified bulb can save up to $40 in its lifetime through lowered energy bills. If one incandescent light bulb was replaced with a CFL in each US household, it could save up to $600 million in energy costs, enough energy to light 3 million homes for a year, and prevent the equivalent of 800,000 cars’ worth of greenhouse gasses.[1] <br />What if every light bulb was replaced with a CFL? The average US household has about 40 light bulb sockets, with even more in larger homes.[2] The savings would be about $24B per year, or about 10% of the nations total residential energy costs![3]*<br />Enviornmental Impact:<br />The use of CFLs is also much better for the environment. They use less energy and waste even less, which means less pollution. One Energy Star qualified CFL prevents 570 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime, the equivalent of keeping 270 pounds of coal from being burned.[1] The average household emits 16,290 lbs of greenhouse gases per year.[4] If half of the home’s light bulbs are switched with Energy Star bulbs, household emissions could be reduced up to 10%!**<br />Even though CFLs contain mercury, increased use would actually reduce mercury emissions. Over its lifetime, one CFL bulb will save 8mg of mercury from entering the atmosphere because it saves energy and coal from being burnt.[5] This is significant- about 50% of the United States electricity comes from coal-fired plants [6]. Burning coal releases mercury and other toxic heavy metals, including uranium and arsenic.<br />Alternatives:<br />Incandescents can also be replaced with LEDs (light emitting diodes), which use 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs and produce very little heat. They can last about 25x longer than incandescents.[7] However these are still being developed for optimal efficiency and have a higher initial cost (around $15-25). <br />This is not to say that incandescent bulbs will ever be completely phased out or banned. In fact, more efficient incandescent bulbs are being developed. But in order to encourage CFL use, there could be a tax on inefficient incandescents, to make buying a CFL even more appealing to the consumer. This way, those who still preferred incandescent bulbs could have them, though at a cost.<br />Citations:<br />1) Energy Star, Enviornmental Protection Agency<br />http://www.epa.gov/oncampus/pdf/energystar.pdf<br />2) Energy Star Partner Resource, 2006<br />http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/manuf_res/CFL_PRG_FINAL.pdf<br />3) Home Energy Saver, US Department of Energy, 2011<br /> http://hes.lbl.gov/consumer/learn<br />4) Enviornmental Protection Energy, Last Updated April 15, 2011 http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_home.html<br />5) Erika Engelhaupt, “Do compact Fluorescents Really Reduce Mercury Emissions?” Enviornmental Science & Technology, 2008<br />http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es8025566<br />6)Energy Star, Last updated November 14, 2008<br />http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and-you/index.html<br />7)Energy Star, EPA<br />http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=find_a_product.showProductGroup&pgw_code=LL<br />* 1 bulb per household- $600M savings; 600M x 40= $24B<br />**This assumes a lifetime of 7 years. Yearly CO2 savings- 580 ÷ 7 = 81.43; 81.43 x 20 = 1628.57; 16900 ÷ 1628.57 ~ 10%<br />
![Camilla Chodkowski<br />Executive Summary:<br />Incandescent bulbs are too inefficient and must either be made more efficient or replaced with more efficient light bulbs, such as CFLs or LED lights. Efficient lighting conserves energy, is environmentally friendly, and can potentially save over 600 million dollars.<br />Efficiency:<br />Compact Fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) use 3x less energy than traditional incandescents to make the same amount of light. Increasing requirements for light bulb efficiency ensures that America becomes more environmentally friendly, as light bulbs with higher efficiencies use less and waste less.<br />Incandescent light bulbs are very inefficient- it takes a lot of energy to heat up the contained filament until it glows. However, fluorescent bulbs do not need to heat up as much, and less energy is lost as heat.<br />Cost Effectiveness:<br />Because incandescent bulbs are so inefficient, CFL use should be encouraged. CFLs save a lot of energy, which in turn saves a lot of money. Preference should be given to Energy Star qualifying bulbs, in order to conserve even more energy. According to Energy Star, a qualified bulb can save up to $40 in its lifetime through lowered energy bills. If one incandescent light bulb was replaced with a CFL in each US household, it could save up to $600 million in energy costs, enough energy to light 3 million homes for a year, and prevent the equivalent of 800,000 cars’ worth of greenhouse gasses.[1] <br />What if every light bulb was replaced with a CFL? The average US household has about 40 light bulb sockets, with even more in larger homes.[2] The savings would be about $24B per year, or about 10% of the nations total residential energy costs![3]*<br />Enviornmental Impact:<br />The use of CFLs is also much better for the environment. They use less energy and waste even less, which means less pollution. One Energy Star qualified CFL prevents 570 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime, the equivalent of keeping 270 pounds of coal from being burned.[1] The average household emits 16,290 lbs of greenhouse gases per year.[4] If half of the home’s light bulbs are switched with Energy Star bulbs, household emissions could be reduced up to 10%!**<br />Even though CFLs contain mercury, increased use would actually reduce mercury emissions. Over its lifetime, one CFL bulb will save 8mg of mercury from entering the atmosphere because it saves energy and coal from being burnt.[5] This is significant- about 50% of the United States electricity comes from coal-fired plants [6]. Burning coal releases mercury and other toxic heavy metals, including uranium and arsenic.<br />Alternatives:<br />Incandescents can also be replaced with LEDs (light emitting diodes), which use 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs and produce very little heat. They can last about 25x longer than incandescents.[7] However these are still being developed for optimal efficiency and have a higher initial cost (around $15-25). <br />This is not to say that incandescent bulbs will ever be completely phased out or banned. In fact, more efficient incandescent bulbs are being developed. But in order to encourage CFL use, there could be a tax on inefficient incandescents, to make buying a CFL even more appealing to the consumer. This way, those who still preferred incandescent bulbs could have them, though at a cost.<br />Citations:<br />1) Energy Star, Enviornmental Protection Agency<br />http://www.epa.gov/oncampus/pdf/energystar.pdf<br />2) Energy Star Partner Resource, 2006<br />http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/manuf_res/CFL_PRG_FINAL.pdf<br />3) Home Energy Saver, US Department of Energy, 2011<br /> http://hes.lbl.gov/consumer/learn<br />4) Enviornmental Protection Energy, Last Updated April 15, 2011 http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_home.html<br />5) Erika Engelhaupt, “Do compact Fluorescents Really Reduce Mercury Emissions?” Enviornmental Science & Technology, 2008<br />http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es8025566<br />6)Energy Star, Last updated November 14, 2008<br />http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and-you/index.html<br />7)Energy Star, EPA<br />http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=find_a_product.showProductGroup&pgw_code=LL<br />* 1 bulb per household- $600M savings; 600M x 40= $24B<br />**This assumes a lifetime of 7 years. Yearly CO2 savings- 580 ÷ 7 = 81.43; 81.43 x 20 = 1628.57; 16900 ÷ 1628.57 ~ 10%<br />](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/memo2nddraftchodkowski-111006224017-phpapp01/85/cfl-memo-1-320.jpg)
