Photo c/o: Chuck Coker

Have you been in the light bulb aisle lately? I recently spent more than 30 minutes trying to find a replacement bulb for my exhaust system amazed at all the different bulbs I had to choose from.  Light bulbs as we know them are changing.  Government is mandating that the hundred watt light bulb is to be eliminated and I have read talk of eliminating the old tubular fluorescent as well. The goal is to get people to switch to bulbs that use a fraction of the energy to produce the same amount of light.

Timeframe
The original date of the change was January 1, 2012. On Jul 15, 2011 the House  to Save Traditional Incandescent  for 2012.

What is next?
Bigger issues are coming.
I suggest we start learning about the new lighting options that will allow us to use less energy while still lighting our homes for all of our different needs. You may be able to skip the compact fluorescent. I have heard the most complaints on the coloring of this bulb. The LED’s available today have a warmer color which is very close to the old incandescent we are used to.

Future of lighting
We will be seeing a change in lighting, bulbs and fixtures. Not only will we be prevented from buying bulbs that we can currently, but at some point the fixtures themselves will be changing.  I have noticed a lot of post sockets in the bulb section. These are replacing the old twist in socket. The Seagull lighting representative I work with has confirmed that the industry is changing. Even if the government regulations don’t mandate the use of more energy efficient bulbs you can expect lighting manufactures to introduce more energy efficient bulb and fixture options.

What can you need to change within your home to become more energy efficient and stay ahead of this trend?

I want to use this section to share information for different classes that I take.

Raised floor living is the program I just attended. Given by A.P.A., a group that represents engineered wood manufactures, the primary reason they offered the program was to tell us why crawl space construction is a better way to build than on a concrete slab. I don’t think any one in the seminar thought differently.

They also had a presenter speak on “closed” crawl spaces which was very informative and it is becoming a more popular approach as a way to construct crawl spaces.

As a concerned designer about the air quality I am surrounding myself, family and clients with, I think that the science behind this concept is very applicable to my concerns.

They had a short segment on “Green” building – a topic I am a sponge for but it can become a little repetitive. I liked this approach because it discussed the life cycle costs and environmental impact of manufacturing, distributing, installation, use and disposal of  wood, concrete and steel for building a residence.

Last but not least an expert on framing presented on Advanced Framing. The ultimate goal of the approach was to build a stronger structure and use less material. As a designer I thought is was a no brainer but the implementation of the different approach will be a lot harder to accomplish.