> From: Robert Bruninga via EV <[email protected]> > > ... the demand on our > electric grid in the eastern seaboard Maryland and Wash DC has actually > gone DOWN by 20% not up as predicted. And most of it is due to the simple > step of switching from incandescent bulbs to CFL and LED's.
I agree that it’s good to get demand down, but I don’t think the big “emergy” picture is so simple. CFBs and LEDs are inherently more complex and costly than old incandescents. But we’ve “externalized” those costs (and their carbon footprint and energy of production) to China, which is using cheap coal for goods production (along with a “closed” currency that keeps their exports unnaturally cheap), while the US is moving away from coal. Hey, I’m not trying to rain on your parade — I use CFBs and LEDs, too. It’s amazing how cheap they are (with FREE shipping, even!) from Hong Kong on evilBay. But I suspect their total impact on the total planet is negligible. Then there’s the Jevons Paradox*. Now that LED holiday lights are common, it’s amazing how many more of them there are than when each bulb sucked up 7 watts! (* making resource use more efficient speeds up use of that resource) Jan, de N7JDB _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
