Tram Town
Sunday, May 27, 2007
| Category: Electronics With the push for the use of Compact Fluorescent Lamps over the incumbent General Service incandescent lamps, a bloke by the name of Rod Elliot has written an article entitled "Should There be a Ban on Incandescent Lamps?". It's a touch long but it is worth reading to get a well rounded view of the issue. I found the following point especially illuminating: [...] lighting is normally used at night (this will surprise no-one). In Australia, electricity companies offer very cheap rates at night, because they have MegaWatts of capacity just spinning around with not much to do ("spinning reserve"). The lights that we use domestically offer very little loading, so where's the saving in greenhouse gases? The alternators aren't just shut down, because it takes up to 12 hours to get a large coal-fired alternator on-line. |
