Efficiency of pump,motor and drive

Source : Courtesy from ABB Review (Special Report)

Dancing With the Dragon

Efficiency of pump,motor and drive depends on various factors. Normally, the larger the output power of the pump, motor or drive, the higher the efficiency of the system. When the same system is operated at a low speed, the overall efficiency of the system also drops.


For a water pump designed to be operated in the 35 to 50 Hz range,the efficiency of the drive and motor system is about 90 percent at the rated operating point.

This drops to 83 percent at 35 Hz. The efficiency of the water pump itself varies between 50 and 85 percent. Generally speaking, the efficiency of pump is affected by its speed and system curve.

Just take a review on fundamental of Motor Pump

Table 1:

As illustrated by Table 1 , the relationship between the efficiency, power, rotation speed, flow rate and lift of a  system can easily be determined.

In moving from working point A to B (upper diagram), the flow-rate is reduced by about 40 percent, on the
other hand, power is reduced by about 60 percent (lower diagram).

You May interested to read the previous post.

Energy Saving-Variable Speed Drives for Motor Pump Control

Energy Saving-Variable Speed Drives for Motor Pump Control

source : Courtesy from ABB Review (Special Report)
Dancing With the Dragon

Generally speaking, AC drives are the most energy-efficient method for the control of pumps. ABB provides

an optional software package for water-pump control in conjunction with its ACS800 industrial drive: intelligent pump control (IPC). In this application, every water pump is controlled by one drive. The power range of the drives can be between 0.55 kWand 5,600 kW (depending on the application). An example with three drives controlling three parallel water pumps is shown in 1 . The adoption of communications between the drives (using fiber-optical cables) eliminates the need for an external PLC1), thus permitting energy savings, shortening repair times, and preventing blocking of the rotation of the water pump and jam (blocking of the flow).The operation of a multi-pump system at efficient speed therefore offers potential for significant savings.

Energy-saving principles

Pump control using general-purpose  drives is mainly implemented through the control of flow rate. As in many  other variable-speed drive applications, this enables notable energy saving

Fig. 2: Power applied to the shaft is reduced significantly when drives rather than valves are used to control speed

a and b = lift flow curve of the pump at different rotation speeds , n1 and n2

c and d= characteristics of pipe for difference resistance.

Reducing flow by reducing the speed is much more energy efficient than reducing it by increasing the pipe resistance using valve.

Explanation:

1. With the pump running at the rotation speed n1, and the pipe resistance set to its lowest value 2c , the working  point of the pump is at A (intersection of 2a and 2c ). The output flow rate Q1 is maximal and the power P1 applied to the shaft is proportional to the area Q1H1.

2. If the flow rate must be reduced from Q1 to Q2, the traditional method is to change a valve setting, increasing the  resistance of the pipe from 2c to 2d .The working point hence changes to B. This increases the pump lift from H1 to H2. The power P2 now applied  to the shaft is proportional to the area Q2H2.

3.Variable Speed Drive Way
The pipe resistance remains at 2c but pump rotation speed is decreased from n1 to n2. The new  head-flow curve is thus 2b and the working point moves to C. The pump head is decreased substantially to H3.The power P3 applied to the shaft is directly proportional to the area  Q2H3. This represents a reduction (compared to P2 ) proportional to the  area Q2(H2-H3 ). The energy savings  achieved will be similary impressive

To be continue...

Experts Fuss Over Cost Of Nuclear Fusion Research

Published: July 27, 2010
by Geoffrey Brumfiel
Courtesy: National Public Radio

What would you pay for a clean technology that could meet all the world's energy needs without producing an ounce of carbon dioxide?

On Tuesday morning, governments from around the world are meeting in France to discuss exactly that. On the agenda is ITER -- Latin for "the way" -- which is a major experiment to harness the power of nuclear fusion.

ITER's promise of clean, nearly limitless power has won support from politicians. But the experiment's multibillion-dollar price tag has critics wondering whether it's really worth the cost.

Nuclear fusion is the process that powers the sun and stars. The idea is simple: If two hydrogen nuclei approach each other quickly enough, they will fuse together. Depending on the isotopes involved, the output consists of helium, some neutrons and lots of energy. Fusion doesn't involve fossil fuels, and advocates claim it is safer than nuclear fission, which splits uranium to make energy.

"Fusion offers the prospect of thousands of years of energy supply without further issues," says Mike Zarnstorff, the deputy director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in Princeton, N.J.

But actually getting fusion to work isn't straightforward. Hydrogen nuclei are positively charged and naturally repel each other. Pushing them together takes incredibly high temperatures and pressures. Researchers have spent so long working on fusion that it's become a bit of a joke in the field.

"The joke about fusion is that it is 30 years away and always will be," says Steve Cowley, head of the U.K.'s Atomic Energy Authority.

ITER hopes to change all that by producing 500 megawatts of power -- 10 times the energy it consumes. The giant reactor's design looks like a big doughnut. It uses superconducting magnets to heat and compress two hydrogen isotopes -- deuterium and tritium -- until they fuse together.

symposium on Energy & Green Technology – Hydrogen & Fuel Cell

Dear Green Energy Lovers,


The rapid economic growth and the threat of climate change have given rise to an upsurge in the development of renewable and efficient energy recovery systems including renewable sources of energy (solar energy and biodiesel), management of efficient energy conversion processes (heat pipes, thermoelectric devices, heat pumps, drying, hydrogen and fuel cell technology) and efficient solid waste management for sustainable resources management and improved economic and social situation.

Savings in Electricity Bill per month for BIPV (Solar) system installed

Calculation for Savings in Electricity Bill Per month for Bulding Integrated PhotoVoltaics(BIPV) system (Residential)

Let say your monthly electricity bill consumption is about 1500kwh (units)......

If your residential plan to install 3.00kwp PV.The PV able to produce approximately 275kWh and total electricity usage from TNB is reduced to 1225kWh and the saving in electricity bill permonth is around RM122.64

You can try and estimate your electricity bill saving  at below download link.:-)

Download
Calculation  for saving in electricity per month for BIPV System Installed (Residential)
More than 400kWh per month electricity consumption
source : http://www.mbipv.net.my/

Tacit Knowledge-How Toyota Transfer Knowledge!

Tacit knowledge (as opposed to formal or explicit knowledge)

 is knowledge that is difficult to transfer to another person by means of writing it down or verbalising it. For example, stating to someone that Tooting is in London is a piece of explicit knowledge that can be written down, transmitted, and understood by a recipient.

However the ability to speak a language, use algebra[1], or design and use complex equipment requires all sorts of knowledge that is not always known explicitly, even by expert practitioners, and which is difficult to explicitly transfer to users.

While tacit knowledge appears to be simple, it has far reaching consequences and is not widely understood.

An example of the tacit knowledge approach to transferring knowledge within a global organization is provided by Toyota. When Toyota wants to transfer knowledge of its production system to new employees in a new assembly factory, such as the factory recently opened in Valenciennes, France, Toyota typically selects a core group of  two to three hundred new employees and sends them for several months training and
work on the assembly line in one of Toyota’s existing factories. After several months of studying the production system and working alongside experienced Toyota assembly line workers, the new workers are sent back to the new factory site. These repatriated workers are accompanied by one or two hundred long-term, highly experienced Toyota workers, who will then work alongside all the new employees in the new factory to assure that knowledge of Toyota’s finely tuned production process is fully implanted in the new factory.

Toyota’s use of Quality Circles also provides an example of the tacit knowledge approach to creating new knowledge. At the end of each work week, groups of Toyota production workers spend one to two hours analyzing the performance of their part of the production system to identify actual or potential problems in quality or productivity. Each group proposes “countermeasures” to correct identified problems, and discusses the results of countermeasures taken during the week to address  problems identified the week before. Through personal interactions in such Quality Circle group settings, Toyota employees share their ideas for improvement, devise steps to test new ideas for improvement, and assess the results of their tests. This knowledge management practice, which is repeated weekly as an integral part of the Toyota production system, progressively identifies, eliminates, and even prevents errors. As improvements developed by Quality Circles are accumulated over many years,Toyota’s production system has become one of the highest quality production processes  in the world (Spear and Bowen 1999).

by Ron Sanchez

Professor of Management, Copenhagen Business School

Malaysia to have feed-in tariff in 2011

15 July 2010

KUCHING: Malaysia will implement the feed-in tariff (FIT) for renewable energy to enable users to sell excess power to the power grid as early as next year, said Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui.


He said the Renewable Energy Act, which will introduce the FIT mechanism, is expected to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat by year-end.

"The FIT is a mechanism that is tried and tested in many advanced countries, notably Germany, as a way to encourage people to use renewable energy such as solar, biomas or wind.

"With the FIT, it will be easier for everyone, whether individual consumers or companies to generate renewable energy and sell their excess power back to Tenaga Nasional Berhad or regional utility companies such as Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation and Sabah Electricity Board," he told reporters after the launch of "Green Technology Roadshow 2010" by Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan here today.

Chin said he believed the incentives to sell excess power derived from renewable energy sources to the grid would encourage more people to adopt renewable energy sources.

"I'm quite sure, like in Germany and many other countries, when there is FIT, the solar panel installation and usage will go up. A lot of usage could bring the price of solar panels down," he said.

Chin said the cost to install solar panels to generate 1KW of power for homes is RM25,000 and the average usage of a detached house is about 2kW.

Working with Idiots can Kill You !!

This is one of the working stress that we are facing everyday in our office.:-(

Sotong (Octopus) Malaysia Predicts the inverter Air Conditioner

Dear All,


Finally, 50% energy saver Inverter based Air Conditioner won "save the World race!"

Sotong (Octopus) Malaysia 23, July 2010

Malaysia to get lighting technology plant

DTC Group Sdn Bhd, which focuses on developing green technology, will join hands with four leading Korean companies to set up a RM150 million lighting technology manufacturing plant in Malaysia.


Executive Director TC Ooi said the investment in the plant, which would manufacture induction lighting systems, an alternative green technology suitable for industrial use, would be spread out over the next three years.


DTC recently signed a memorandum of understanding with a consortium of four South Korean companies, Creative System Co Ltd, Gwang Yeok Jeongi, Kolamp and Fajin Eng Ltd, to introduce the lighthing technology, an electrode-less fluorescent system.

Ooi said the companies were technology leaders and patent owners of the various components in the induction lighting system, namely the ballast, the fixture, the bulb, the control and monitoring system.

"We are targetting an order of 50,000 units annually within the next three years in Malaysia and 100,000 units to cater for the export market in five years," he said in a statement today.

Ooi said the introduction was timely to spearhead the government's initiative to stop all production and sale of the traditional incandescent lighting system by 2014 and reduce carbon emission collectively.

-- BERNAMA

Toyota Prius Fuel Performance

20 July 2010

Toyota Prius filled up the V Power RON 97 from Shell Petrol Station.

Total Mileage =733KM

Total Fuel: 37.05 litre

Total Spending =RM 77.81  for  Petrol RON 97 

(RM2.10/litre-new rate)

Average Mileage=5.05 litre /100km

Road condition=Town Driving


You may interested to read the previous post:
The story of Toyota Prius in Malaysia-Chapter 1

Bakun Hydro Training-Generator

Sarawak Solar Project

Sarawak Need more Solar Hydrib Project Fund  (RM200million) from Federal Government Malaysia

Feed In Tariff (FITting) Method to face Global Warming

The Star, Satursday 3 July 2010

Feed In Tariff (FITting) Method to face Global Warming

You may interested to view similar topic.
FEED IN TARIFF PROPOSAL- For Household Solar Panel Installation

Coal Fired Plant Proposal in LAHAD DATU-SESB

KOTA KINABALU: The Government will take into account the views and concerns of the people, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs), on the proposed coal-fired plant in Lahad Datu. The plant is primarily aimed at boosting electricity supply in Sabah.



"We will take into account their views but whatever we do, it will be based on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, and we will make sure we conform to the EIA report," Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told reporters after attending a luncheon with Sabah Chinese community leaders here Sunday.

He said that currently, the Government's priority was to provide power for the state because incidences of power interruption were still too high.

"For Sabah to be developed, it needs continuous and uninterrupted supply at a reasonable cost. Of course, there are other alternatives but the cost of the alternatives is still higher than through the conventional system.

"People in Sabah are not prepared to pay higher rate...how do we develop alternative energy? And in the short term, there is not much alternative," he said.

Najib said this when asked about the development of green energy in the country, including a proposal to build a coal-based power plant in Lahad Datu on the eastern coast of Sabah.


Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman recently said that the EIA report on the controversial proposed coal-fired plant was expected to be out soon.


In September last year, Najib disclosed Felda Sahabat in Lahad Datu as the proposed site for the construction of the 300-megawatt coal-based power plant.

Currently, the electricity supply capacity in the eastern coast of Sabah is 200 megawatts from a diesel-based power plant.

Environmental groups have protested against the construction of the coal-based power plant, which they consider as "dirty" energy, and called on the Government to scrap the plan. - Bernama

Malaysia Sotong Predicts Future Energy!

Dear All,


3 years from now, I see majority of Malaysian will get grid connected with utility in view of low cost PV!

Now u can easily get 1000Wp PV for just Rm6,000. !

With advancement of technology, Just imagine the cost of PV in next 3 years time!

When the time come, why people need PV? for very simple reason: cost of electricity sky rocketing! Weather will be big problem, people need AC to cool their room, so PV will be best solution to run AC during hot season!



Cheers,

The Malaysian Sotong

Design Life Span of LED LAMP

Today LED LAMP is designed as high as 20 times longer duration  compared to conventional fluorescent lighting (2,500-10,000 hours) and 10 times higher if compare  to compact fluorescent (energy bulb)(~5,000hours).

LED Lamp is optimized to run at least 50,000  hours or equivalent to 5.6 years  for continuous operation in facilities that required 24 hours lightings such  as the underground parking bay,7- Eleven outlet etc. For facility or building that switch on their lightings during evening day, the life span of LED Lamp is greatly improved up to almost 60,000 hours.:-)

Group Photo-Power Plant Electrical Distribution system (SESB_Tawau)

12-14 JULY 2010- Course Participants

Power Plant Electrical Distribution System

What is AT or AF? 100AT,160AF 2 P MCCB 25kA

AF (AMPERE FRAME) & AT (AMPERE TRIP)

On engineering documents that refer to molded case circuit breakers, it is common practice to designate the "Frame" and "Trip" sizes of the breaker.

Modern breakers have adjustable or interchangeable trip units, to allow the trip settings to be adjusted to meet the required protective levels.

Your "100AT" designates that the circuit breaker should be configured with a 100 Amp trip unit, or perhaps a trip unit that can be set at 100 Amps.

Depending on the details of the breakers you are using, this 100 Amp Trip breaker will require a frame size of 100 Amps minimum. So, you might see 100AF/100AT, or 250AF/100AT, for example.

The frame size is the designation of the maximum continuous current the breaker can carry, and also an indication of its physical size. A 100 AF breaker will be smaller than a 400 AF breaker.

Frame sizes are determined by what the manufacturer offers in their breaker catalog. Typical values for molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) frame sizes are 100, 250, 400, 600, and 800. Above this size, they go to low voltage power circuit breakers (LVPCB) which are much larger and more expensive.

LED Lighting-The Future Environment Trend-2 :Bill Saving

Here, i would like to share some info about LED LAMP. Today LED technology keep improving and one of the greatest invention is LED LAMP application. Take an example of Xbrand LED LAMP-9W. Up to date, LED LAMP is achieving as high as 90lumen/watt or total of 810lumens brightness. However, if we intend to compare our conventional fluorescent tubes, the efficacy of conventional fluorescent tubes is fairly poor. It is about 16 lumens per watt for a 4 watt tube with an ordinary ballast. For high end series of fluorescent such as 32 watt tube with modern electronic ballast, it capable to achieve at the range of 50 to 67 lm/W


If the efficacy of the fluorescent is 16lumes/watt, 40W fluorescent only produce about 640 lumens, which is less brighter compared to LED LAMP.

Replacing the existing lightings facilities that required 24 hours lightings such as 7-eleven, Mid Valley Car parks, the saving of electricity bills are very significant. Let us to do some simple calculation. If we have 10,000 units lightings in our facility, we need to pay about RM1.565Million per year for our electricity bills compared to RM313,000 per year if we replacing all Lightings using LED LAMPS. Therefore, more than 80% saving in our electricity bills annually translate to more attractive Return of Investment for those who willing invest in retrofitting their facility with GREENER LIGHTHING (LED LAMP)

Another good point of LED LAMP, it is free from mercury!!

What is the LUX for your Family Living ROOM?

Lux versus lumen

The difference between the lux and the lumen is that the lux takes into account the area over which the luminous flux is spread. A flux of 1,000 lumens, concentrated into an area of one square metre, lights up that square metre with an illuminance of 1,000 lux. However, the same 1,000 lumens, spread out over ten square metres, produces a dimmer illuminance of only 100 lux.

Achieving an illuminance of 500 lux might be possible in a home kitchen with a single fluorescent light fixture with an output of 12,000 lumens. To light a factory floor with dozens of times the area of the kitchen would require dozens of such fixtures. Thus, lighting a larger area to the same level of lux requires a greater number of lumens.
Pls refer to the table of illuminance

you may interest to read previous article

What is LUX

LED's Lifetime and Failure

Lifetime and failure


Solid state devices such as LEDs are subject to very limited wear and tear if operated at low currents and at low temperatures. Many of the LEDs produced in the 1970s and 1980s are still in service today. Typical lifetimes quoted are 25,000 to 100,000 hours but heat and current settings can extend or shorten this time significantly.

The most common symptom of LED (and diode laser) failure is the gradual lowering of light output and loss of efficiency. Sudden failures, although rare, can occur as well. Early red LEDs were notable for their short lifetime. With the development of high-power LEDs the devices are subjected to higher junction temperatures and higher current densities than traditional devices. This causes stress on the material and may cause early light output degradation. To quantitatively classify lifetime in a standardized manner it has been suggested to use the terms L75 and L50 which is the time it will take a given LED to reach 75% and 50% light output respectively.[35]



Like other lighting devices, LED performance is temperature dependent. Most manufacturers’ published ratings of LEDs are for an operating temperature of 25°C. LEDs used outdoors, such as traffic signals or in-pavement signal lights, and that are utilized in climates where the temperature within the luminaire gets very hot, could result in low signal intensities or even failure.[36]


LEDs maintain consistent light output even in cold temperatures, unlike traditional lighting methods. Consequently, LED technology may be a good replacement in areas such as supermarket freezer lighting[37][38][39] and will last longer than other technologies. Because LEDs do not generate as much heat as incandescent bulbs, they are an energy-efficient technology to use in such applications such as freezers. On the other hand, because they do not generate much heat, ice and snow may build up on the LED luminaire in colder climates.[40] This has been a problem plaguing airport runway lighting, although some research has been done to try to develop heat sink technologies in order to transfer heat to alternative areas of the luminaire.

Advantages


Efficiency: LEDs produce more light per watt than incandescent bulbs.[75] Their efficiency is not affected by shape and size, unlike Fluorescent light bulbs or tubes.

Color: LEDs can emit light of an intended color without the use of the color filters that traditional lighting methods require. This is more efficient and can lower initial costs.

Size: LEDs can be very small (smaller than 2 mm2[76]) and are easily populated onto printed circuit boards.

On/Off time: LEDs light up very quickly. A typical red indicator LED will achieve full brightness in microseconds.[77] LEDs used in communications devices can have even faster response times.

Cycling: LEDs are ideal for use in applications that are subject to frequent on-off cycling, unlike fluorescent lamps that burn out more quickly when cycled frequently, or HID lamps that require a long time before restarting.

Dimming: LEDs can very easily be dimmed either by pulse-width modulation or lowering the forward current.

Cool light: In contrast to most light sources, LEDs radiate very little heat in the form of IR that can cause damage to sensitive objects or fabrics. Wasted energy is dispersed as heat through the base of the LED.

Slow failure: LEDs mostly fail by dimming over time, rather than the abrupt burn-out of incandescent bulbs.[78]

Lifetime: LEDs can have a relatively long useful life. One report estimates 35,000 to 50,000 hours of useful life, though time to complete failure may be longer.[79] Fluorescent tubes typically are rated at about 10,000 to 15,000 hours, depending partly on the conditions of use, and incandescent light bulbs at 1,000–2,000 hours.

Shock resistance: LEDs, being solid state components, are difficult to damage with external shock, unlike fluorescent and incandescent bulbs which are fragile.

Focus: The solid package of the LED can be designed to focus its light. Incandescent and fluorescent sources often require an external reflector to collect light and direct it in a usable manner.

Toxicity: LEDs do not contain mercury, unlike fluorescent lamps.

Disadvantages

BASIC LED for DUMMIES

A light-emitting diode (LED) (pronounced /ˌɛl iː ˈdiː/[1]) is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices, and are increasingly used for lighting. Introduced as a practical electronic component in 1962,[2] early LEDs emitted low-intensity red light, but modern versions are available across the visible, ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths, with very high brightness.


The LED is based on the semiconductor diode. When a diode is forward biased (switched on), electrons are able to recombine with holes within the device, releasing energy in the form of photons. This effect is called electroluminescence and the color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photon) is determined by the energy gap of the semiconductor. An LED is usually small in area (less than 1 mm2), and integrated optical components are used to shape its radiation pattern and assist in reflection.[3] LEDs present many advantages over incandescent light sources including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved robustness, smaller size, faster switching, and greater durability and reliability. However, they are relatively expensive and require more precise current and heat management than traditional light sources. Current LED products for general lighting are more expensive to buy than fluorescent lamp sources of comparable output.


They also enjoy use in applications as diverse as replacements for traditional light sources in aviation lighting, automotive lighting (particularly indicators) and in traffic signals. The compact size of LEDs has allowed new text and video displays and sensors to be developed, while their high switching rates are useful in advanced communications technology. IR LEDs are also used in many commercial products such as a TV remote

Lighting Principles and Terms

To choose the best energy-efficient lighting options for your home, you should understand basic lighting principles and terms.

Light Quantity

Illumination

The distribution of light on a horizontal surface. The purpose of all lighting is to produce illumination.

Lumen

A measurement of light emitted by a lamp. As reference, a 100-watt incandescent lamp emits about 1750 lumens.

Footcandle

A measurement of the intensity of illumination. A footcandle is the illumination produced by one lumen distributed over a 1-square-foot area. For most home and office work, 30–50 footcandles of illumination is sufficient. For detailed work, 200 footcandles of illumination or more allows more accuracy and less eyestrain. For simply finding one's way around at night, 5–20 footcandles may be sufficient.

Energy Consumption

Efficacy

The ratio of light produced to energy consumed. It's measured as the number of lumens produced divided by the rate of electricity consumption (lumens per watt).

Light Quality


Color temperature

The color of the light source. By convention, yellow-red colors (like the flames of a fire) are considered warm, and blue-green colors (like light from an overcast sky) are considered cool. Color temperature is measured in Kelvin (K) temperature. Confusingly, higher Kelvin temperatures (3600–5500 K) are what we consider cool and lower color temperatures (2700–3000 K) are considered warm. Cool light is preferred for visual tasks because it produces higher contrast than warm light. Warm light is preferred for living spaces because it is more flattering to skin tones and clothing. A color temperature of 2700–3600 K is generally recommended for most indoor general and task lighting applications.

Color rendition

How colors appear when illuminated by a light source. Color rendition is generally considered to be a more important lighting quality than color temperature. Most objects are not a single color, but a combination of many colors. Light sources that are deficient in certain colors may change the apparent color of an object. The Color Rendition Index (CRI) is a 1–100 scale that measures a light source's ability to render colors the same way sunlight does. The top value of the CRI scale (100) is based on illumination by a 100-watt incandescent light bulb. A light source with a CRI of 80 or higher is considered acceptable for most indoor residential applications.

Glare

The excessive brightness from a direct light source that makes it difficult to see what one wishes to see. A bright object in front of a dark background usually will cause glare. Bright lights reflecting off a television or computer screen or even a printed page produces glare. Intense light sources—such as bright incandescent lamps—are likely to produce more direct glare than large fluorescent lamps. However, glare is primarily the result of relative placement of light sources and the objects being viewed.

Lighting Uses

Ambient lighting

Provides general illumination indoors for daily activities, and outdoors for safety and security.

Task lighting

Facilitates particular tasks that require more light than is needed for general illumination, such as under-counter kitchen lights, table lamps, or bathroom mirror lights.

Accent lighting

Draws attention to special features or enhances the aesthetic qualities of an indoor or outdoor environment.

Courtesy source from :
http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/lighting_daylighting/index.cfm/mytopic=11990

LED Lightings-The Future Green Environment Trend-1

Today, the technology in lighting is so sophisticated and environmentally friendly.It capable of  producing better brightness (measure in Lumens) compared to our grandfather days with less power consumption (watt). Just take a look the brightness of Incandenscent Lamp (or Bulb) as shown as below. The Incandescent lamp is the most inefficient mode of ligting .More 80% of energy is wasted via heat. Just imaging yourself touching a running incandescent lamp, i bet your finger wouldn't last for 3min. It is very "hot" and burning.But the brightness is so poor.Well,according to the manufacturer data, it produces only 10-15Lm/ per watt 

Next, how about our energy compact  lamp or compact fluorenscent lamp (CFL)? This technology is better compared to Incandescent lamp in term of brightness and power consumption. The average brigtness for a typical CFL is about 40-50Lm per watt.
Lately, I found a newly invent  LED from Taiwan. This LED lamp technology is excellence in the perspective of brightness and power consumption. LED produces 90Lm/W equivalent to 2 pieces of compact fluorenscent lamp (CFL) or 9 pieces for incandescent Lamp for the same brightness.
Pls stay with my blog for the next part of the benefits of  LED lamp such as issue addressing to the electricity bills  & design life span of the LED lamp.

Aircraft completes first solar-powered night flight

Thu, Jul 08 14:22 PM EDT

By Vincent Fribault

PAYERNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - A giant glider-like aircraft has completed the first night flight propelled only by solar energy, organizers said on Thursday.

Solar Impulse, whose wingspan is the same as an Airbus A340, flew 26 hours and 9 minutes, powered only by solar energy stored during the day. It was also the longest and highest flight in the history of solar aviation, organizers said.

Bertrand Piccard, the Swiss president of the project, best known for completing the first round-the-world flight in a hot air balloon in 1999, said the success of the flight showed the potential of renewable energies and clean technology.

How much we spend on Induction Cooker?

This is the working principle of Induction Cooker. It acts like a transformer induction effect.Current flows at primary coil and the induction cooker plate acts as secondary winding ,where the eddy current is developed and produced for heating purpose.How much money we can save by using induction cooker in our home?

According to above table, the efficiency of induction cooker is highest among others. Halogen, Electric and even Gas cooker are less efficient compared to induction cooker .Induction cooker takes less time to boil water because  85% of the energy use in induction cooker is converted  to heat :-) I am fully agreed that by using High Efficiency cooking appliance, our household expenditure will be able to reduce dramatically and thus, conserving our depleting natural resource for our next generation :-)

You may  interested to read the previous article.

Using Solar power for induction cooker

How Mercury Gets into Our Dinning Table-Part 2

DO YOU KNOW WHICH TYPES OF FISHES HAVE HIGH LEVEL OF MERCURY?

New England  Journal of Medicine 2002 had found that those with highest mercury levels had double the risk of heart attack compared with those who had the lowest levels.

How much we can eat per week safely for Tuna,Crab, Salmon etc? Find out more on the second article of Mercury  Contamination & selection of fishes for our daily consumption.

You may interested to read the previous article:

How Mercury Gets into our Dinning Table

Group Photo-Bakun Hydro Sarawak

They are the key persons & pioneers  operation staffs from Bakun Hydro Sarawak. They will operate  the biggest hydro power station in Malaysia , with generating capacity of 300MW x 8 units of Hydro Generators.

How Mercury Gets into Our Dinning Table.

DO you know that our fishes today are tainted with mercury in the polluted sea water? Coal fired plants release mercury into the air. Mercury may travel hundred of miles before it falling as a rain in the ocean. Mercury may consumed by micro organisms, and eventually it moves up the food chain toward the ocean. Finally, It Gets into our dinning table. Find out more the interesting article from reader digest about how mercury gets into our dinning table.!!

Obama announces $2 Billion for Solar Power

Courtesy by The Associated Press


President Barack Obama announced Saturday the awarding of  nearly $2 billion for new solar plants that he said will  create thousands of jobs and increase the country's use of  renewable energy sources.

Obama disclosed the funding in his weekly radio and online address, saying it is part of his plan to bring new industries to the U.S.We're going to keep competing aggressively to make sure  the jobs and industries of the future are taking root right  here in America," Obama said.

The two companies that will receive the funds from the president's $862 billion economic stimulus are Abengoa Solar, which will build one of the world's largest solar  plants in Arizona, creating 1,600 construction jobs; and Abound Solar Manufacturing, which is building plants in Colorado and Indiana. The Obama administration says those projects will create more than 2,000 construction jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs.

Renewable Energy-Mini Hydro In Malaysia

This is an up to date information  of Mini Hydro Power Stations in Malaysia. You can find  a total of 35 Mini Hydro stations available in Peninsular Malaysia . Pls refer to the below map and table for the list of Mini Hydro Power Stations.

Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10461048.stm

Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'

Page last updated at 07:01 GMT, Thursday, 1 July 2010 08:01 UK

Finland argues that net access is a fundamental right Finland has become the first country in the world to make broadband a legal right for every citizen.

From 1 July every Finn will have the right to access to a 1Mbps (megabit per second) broadband connection.

Finland has vowed to connect everyone to a 100Mbps connection by 2015.

In the UK the government has promised a minimum connection of at least 2Mbps to all homes by 2012 but has stopped short of enshrining this as a right in law.

The Finnish deal means that from 1 July all telecommunicatons companies will be obliged to provide all residents with broadband lines that can run at a minimum 1Mbps speed.

Broadband commitment

Speaking to the BBC, Finland's communication minister Suvi Linden explained the thinking behind the legislation: "We considered the role of the internet in Finns everyday life. Internet services are no longer just for entertainment.

Cone of Learning

This is an interesting table explains the Cone of Learning . Finding shows that 90% of what we say and do will tend to remember after two weeks if we are involving actively in doing the real thing or simulating the real

experience.