Watt Stopper Introduces Its First Astronomical Time Switch to Help Homeowners Control Lighting for Security and Energy Savings
WattStopper has launched the RT-200 Astronomical Time Switch, augmenting the company’s already extensive line of energy-efficient residential lighting controls. The new user-programmable time switch turns lights, or other electrical loads, on and off relative to dusk or dawn, or at selected times of day, providing energy savings and security both inside and outside the home. It is compliant with the requirements of California’s Title 24-2008 for outdoor lighting control.
The RT-200 is the first astronomical time switch produced by WattStopper, and was developed to give homeowners a wider range of lighting control options. It includes a bright organic LED (OLED) display, hidden programming buttons and a large on/off control button. The time switch may be programmed with up to eight control schedules to activate lighting at different times on one or more days of the week. After entering the local time, date, latitude and longitude, users navigate through simple menus to establish the control schedules. The OLED display facilitates wide-angle viewing of the menus, and the control button allows residents the option of manually switching lighting on or off. Advanced features include an optional audible beep and/or a visible flash to warn of an impending off-time.
When programmed relative to dusk or dawn, the Astronomical Time Switch saves energy by automatically making daily adjustments to on- and off-times throughout the year, so lighting is only turned on when it is needed as the days become longer or shorter. The RT-200 was developed primarily for control of outdoor lighting, spas and entryway lighting, where it also provides security by turning lighting on to make the home feel inviting and appear to be occupied. The internal clock automatically resets for daylight savings time.
The low-profile, decorator-style RT-200 Astronomical Time Switch complements WattStopper’s countdown time switches and residential vacancy sensors, and is available in five colors. It operates most common types of residential lighting, including energy-saving LEDs, as well as motor loads up to 1/6 horsepower. WattStopper’s residential vacancy sensors and controls are available from electrical distributors and retailers, including hardware stores and home improvement centers. WattStopper’s award-winning “Quick Guide to Reducing Lighting Energy Use at Home” and an online multimedia program educate consumers about the benefits of energy-saving lighting controls and how to select the right product for each application
Monday, January 25, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Energy Management
11. Past Decade Warmest Ever, NASA Data Shows
Jan 22, 2010 New York Times
By John M. Broder
WASHINGTON — The decade ending in 2009 was the warmest on record, new surface temperature figures released Thursday by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration show.
The agency also found that 2009 was the second warmest year since 1880, when modern temperature measurement began. The warmest year was 2005. The other hottest recorded years have all occurred since 1998, NASA said.
James E. Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said that global temperatures varied because of changes in ocean heating and cooling cycles. “When we average temperature over 5 or 10 years to minimize that variability,” said Dr. Hansen, one of the world’s leading climatologists, “we find global warming is continuing unabated.”
A separate preliminary analysis from another NASA office, the National Climatic Data Center, found that 2009 tied with 2006 as the fifth warmest year on record, based on measurements taken on land and at sea. The data center report, published earlier this week, also cited the years 2000 to 2009 as the warmest decade ever measured. The new temperature figures provide new evidence in the scientific discussion of global warming but are not likely to be the last word on whether the planet’s temperature is on a consistent upward path.
Dr. Hansen, who has been an outspoken figure in the climate debate for years, has often been attacked by skeptics of global warming for what they charge is selective use of temperature data. The question of whether the planet is heating and how quickly was at the heart of the so-called “climategate” controversy that arose last fall when hundreds of e-mail messages from the climate study unit at the University of East Anglia in England were released without authorization.
Critics seized on the messages as evidence that, in their view, climate scientists were manipulating data and colluding to keep contrary opinion out of scientific journals. But climate scientists and political leaders affirmed what they called a broad-based consensus that the planet was growing warmer, and on a consistent basis, although with measurable year-to-year variations.
The NASA data released Thursday showed an upward temperature trend of about 0.36 degrees Fahrenheit (0.2 degrees Celsius) per decade over the past 30 years. Average global temperatures have risen by about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius) since 1880.
“That’s the important number to keep in mind,” said Gavin Schmidt, a climatologist at Goddard. “The difference between the second and sixth warmest years is trivial because the known uncertainty in the temperature measurement is larger than some of the differences between the warmest years.”
Policy makers at the United Nations climate change summit conference in Copenhagen last month agreed on a goal of trying to keep the rise in average global temperatures to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or 2 degrees Celsius, to try to forestall the worst effects of global warming.
Jan 22, 2010 New York Times
By John M. Broder
WASHINGTON — The decade ending in 2009 was the warmest on record, new surface temperature figures released Thursday by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration show.
The agency also found that 2009 was the second warmest year since 1880, when modern temperature measurement began. The warmest year was 2005. The other hottest recorded years have all occurred since 1998, NASA said.
James E. Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said that global temperatures varied because of changes in ocean heating and cooling cycles. “When we average temperature over 5 or 10 years to minimize that variability,” said Dr. Hansen, one of the world’s leading climatologists, “we find global warming is continuing unabated.”
A separate preliminary analysis from another NASA office, the National Climatic Data Center, found that 2009 tied with 2006 as the fifth warmest year on record, based on measurements taken on land and at sea. The data center report, published earlier this week, also cited the years 2000 to 2009 as the warmest decade ever measured. The new temperature figures provide new evidence in the scientific discussion of global warming but are not likely to be the last word on whether the planet’s temperature is on a consistent upward path.
Dr. Hansen, who has been an outspoken figure in the climate debate for years, has often been attacked by skeptics of global warming for what they charge is selective use of temperature data. The question of whether the planet is heating and how quickly was at the heart of the so-called “climategate” controversy that arose last fall when hundreds of e-mail messages from the climate study unit at the University of East Anglia in England were released without authorization.
Critics seized on the messages as evidence that, in their view, climate scientists were manipulating data and colluding to keep contrary opinion out of scientific journals. But climate scientists and political leaders affirmed what they called a broad-based consensus that the planet was growing warmer, and on a consistent basis, although with measurable year-to-year variations.
The NASA data released Thursday showed an upward temperature trend of about 0.36 degrees Fahrenheit (0.2 degrees Celsius) per decade over the past 30 years. Average global temperatures have risen by about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius) since 1880.
“That’s the important number to keep in mind,” said Gavin Schmidt, a climatologist at Goddard. “The difference between the second and sixth warmest years is trivial because the known uncertainty in the temperature measurement is larger than some of the differences between the warmest years.”
Policy makers at the United Nations climate change summit conference in Copenhagen last month agreed on a goal of trying to keep the rise in average global temperatures to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or 2 degrees Celsius, to try to forestall the worst effects of global warming.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Energy management and control
2010 brings federal rebates for EnergyStar appliances
Jan 3, 2010 Washington Post
Vinnee Tong
SAN FRANCISCO -- This year may be to appliance buyers what 2009 was to car buyers: time for government rebates.
Modeled after the popular "Cash for Clunkers" program, which was intended to get cars with low gas mileage off the road, a federal appliance rebate program is starting in early 2010. It offers a boost to people buying energy-efficient clothes washers, refrigerators and other appliances -- those that qualify for the federal "Energy Star" designation -- and to manufacturers, whose sales fell 10 percent in 2008 and an additional 12 percent through mid-December of 2009.
The program has only $300 million, one-tenth as much money as Cash for Clunkers, or about $1 per U.S resident, so the money could run out fast. States are receiving roughly the same amount per capita, with California getting the most at $35.2 million, but what's eligible varies by state.
Here's what to keep in mind as you decide whether to swap your washer for that supposedly whisper-quiet model or your old white refrigerator for a shapely stainless-steel number.
-- What's my state offering? For state-by-state information, visit the federal Web site http://www.energysavers.gov and click on "State Appliance Rebate Program" on the right.
California residents, for example, can get cash back on three types of appliances: $100 for washing machines, $75 for refrigerators and $50 for room air conditioners. Wisconsin offers rebates on washers and fridges plus $200 for boilers or furnaces, $75 for central air conditioning or geothermal heat pumps, $50 for freezers, and $25 for dishwashers.
(Also in effect through Dec. 31, 2010, is a federal tax credit for 30 percent of the cost, up to $1,500, of equipment for a primary residence.)
-- How do I know it's a deal? Joe McGuire, president of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, said buying Energy Star appliances can mean hearty power savings. But it's important to make sure you save enough in water and energy bills over time to justify paying for a new unit.
"A good example is a 10-year-old clothes washer," he said. "With Energy Star, you could reduce utility costs by $145 a year and save 5,000 gallons of water a year." At that rate, a typical $500 to $700 washer would pay for itself in four years. In larger households that use more power and water for laundry, the payoff can come much sooner.
It's probably not worth replacing appliances less than five to seven years old just because rebates are available, unless you plan to upgrade to a far more efficient model. That's because newer appliances are already more efficient. But switching from a top-loading to front-loading clothes washer could in itself cut water use enough to make a purchase worthwhile.
The older the appliance, the greater the possibility of saving money by buying a new one. McGuire says a 20-year-old refrigerator uses three times as much power as Energy Star-approved units made today, some of which run on less than 60 watts.
"You would save over $250 a year on an average 20-year-old refrigerator if you replaced it," McGuire said. "That's about $1,200 over five years. That is real savings to consumers." The Energy Department estimates Americans saved more than $19 billion on utilities in 2008 using Energy Star products.
-- When will it end? Rebates will be available until February 2012 or until the money's gone. And Jen Stutsman, a spokeswoman for the Energy Department, expects the funds to run out fast.
-- Associated Press
Jan 3, 2010 Washington Post
Vinnee Tong
SAN FRANCISCO -- This year may be to appliance buyers what 2009 was to car buyers: time for government rebates.
Modeled after the popular "Cash for Clunkers" program, which was intended to get cars with low gas mileage off the road, a federal appliance rebate program is starting in early 2010. It offers a boost to people buying energy-efficient clothes washers, refrigerators and other appliances -- those that qualify for the federal "Energy Star" designation -- and to manufacturers, whose sales fell 10 percent in 2008 and an additional 12 percent through mid-December of 2009.
The program has only $300 million, one-tenth as much money as Cash for Clunkers, or about $1 per U.S resident, so the money could run out fast. States are receiving roughly the same amount per capita, with California getting the most at $35.2 million, but what's eligible varies by state.
Here's what to keep in mind as you decide whether to swap your washer for that supposedly whisper-quiet model or your old white refrigerator for a shapely stainless-steel number.
-- What's my state offering? For state-by-state information, visit the federal Web site http://www.energysavers.gov and click on "State Appliance Rebate Program" on the right.
California residents, for example, can get cash back on three types of appliances: $100 for washing machines, $75 for refrigerators and $50 for room air conditioners. Wisconsin offers rebates on washers and fridges plus $200 for boilers or furnaces, $75 for central air conditioning or geothermal heat pumps, $50 for freezers, and $25 for dishwashers.
(Also in effect through Dec. 31, 2010, is a federal tax credit for 30 percent of the cost, up to $1,500, of equipment for a primary residence.)
-- How do I know it's a deal? Joe McGuire, president of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, said buying Energy Star appliances can mean hearty power savings. But it's important to make sure you save enough in water and energy bills over time to justify paying for a new unit.
"A good example is a 10-year-old clothes washer," he said. "With Energy Star, you could reduce utility costs by $145 a year and save 5,000 gallons of water a year." At that rate, a typical $500 to $700 washer would pay for itself in four years. In larger households that use more power and water for laundry, the payoff can come much sooner.
It's probably not worth replacing appliances less than five to seven years old just because rebates are available, unless you plan to upgrade to a far more efficient model. That's because newer appliances are already more efficient. But switching from a top-loading to front-loading clothes washer could in itself cut water use enough to make a purchase worthwhile.
The older the appliance, the greater the possibility of saving money by buying a new one. McGuire says a 20-year-old refrigerator uses three times as much power as Energy Star-approved units made today, some of which run on less than 60 watts.
"You would save over $250 a year on an average 20-year-old refrigerator if you replaced it," McGuire said. "That's about $1,200 over five years. That is real savings to consumers." The Energy Department estimates Americans saved more than $19 billion on utilities in 2008 using Energy Star products.
-- When will it end? Rebates will be available until February 2012 or until the money's gone. And Jen Stutsman, a spokeswoman for the Energy Department, expects the funds to run out fast.
-- Associated Press
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