For years the Federal Energy Star program has perpetuated the myth that if you buy appliances (or any electrical device) for the home that uses less energy, you'll see proportional savings in your monthly power bill. This is rarely the case.
Other eco-writers do similar simplistic math to calculate savings in money, energy and carbon. A recent example is Charles Fishman's September 2006 article in Fast Company magazine about WalMart's CFL project, "<a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/108/open _lightbulbs.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">How Many Lightbulbs Does it Take to Change the World?</span></a>".
The claim is made that if a single light bulb using 45 watts less is placed in 100 million homes, 6.57 billion Kilo-Watt-Hours will be saved. The fact is, unless you are cooling your house, there is ZERO savings. Charles focused on the bulb, but forgot about the home. His entire premise is based on a false assumption. The savings are grossly exaggerated for most homes.
"Wasted" energy takes the form of heat. And this heat helps keep you warm, if only just a small amount. For most of America, for much of the year, that 45 watts will be automatically added back in by the home heating system to maintain the same level of comfort. If the home is heated with electricity, the savings in dollars, energy and carbon production is literally ZERO.
The only time energy is actually saved is when the air conditioning is running or you have the windows open to cool the house. With the air conditioning on, the savings can even be a little greater than 45 watts, but for most of America that's a small part of the year. What are the savings for the rest of the year?
ZERO!
If you are not cooling your home, EVERY light bulb and appliance is 100% efficient.
Here's why...
The second law of thermodynamics demonstrates that "wasted" energy tends to disperse evenly. And if this "wasted" energy is in your house, it simply keeps you warm. More importantly, it keeps your normal heat source from turning on. Let's see how it plays out in a real home and why saving energy by turning off the lights is mostly an illusion (pardon the pun).
If you have a home in the northern latitudes which is electrically heated much of the year, you are a net consumer of heat. And the nice thing about heat is that It doesn't matter where it comes from. And that's the key.
Take a light bulb that's only 10% efficient. That means 90% of it's energy is converted directly to heat. So what happens to that heat? It spreads out through your house and slightly delays your normal heating system from clicking on.
And what about the 10% of the energy in the form of visible light? Virtually all of it strikes objects in the house. It too is converted to heat. The ONLY ineffectiveness of a light bulb in a northern home in the winter is the light that escapes through the windows, which is a VERY small amount. Even THAT can be stopped with curtains making ANY light bulb 100% effective at producing heat. Here's how <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_effi ciency"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Wiki explains it... Efficiency versus Effectiveness.</span> </a> Why do I qualify this with northern homes and winter? Because if you have to open the windows to be comfortable, you lose the advantage. And if you have to turn on the air conditioning, this "effectiveness" actually becomes a small liability. So those of you in Florida and south Texas... nevermind.
It's all about heat, where it moves and how we store it. But for most of America, much of the year, energy efficiency is very much an illusion. Effectiveness rules the day because we actual
From my blog post of...
http://suddendisruption.blogspot.com/
Saturday, April 22, 2006
What Ever Happened with H2S Induced Hibernation?
One year ago today...
Mark Roth at Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center in Seattle announced the astounding ability to induced hibernation in mice by having them breathe 80 parts per million (ppm) hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S). Yes, that's the gas that smells like rotten eggs.
Not only did these critters fall asleep for six hours, their heart rate and respiration dropped by 92% - apparently replicating the effects of true hibernation. And their temperature dropped to 2 degrees C above ambient temperature. They in effect became cold-blooded.
It should also be noted, when the gas was removed, the mice awoke with no apparent ill effects. The critters could still run their maze in a normal fashion.
There are hints that H2S Induced Hibernation might be a natural defense mechanism or at least a normal biological process. It appears this H2S gas is produced by the body under certain conditions and may be the key to normal hibernation. This may also be the cause of "Cold Water Shock Reflex" in which those who have "drowned" in cold water come back to life.
At 80 ppm, H2S can not simply be replacing O2 in the blood which exist at 210,000 PPM in typical air. It seems that H2S acts more like a hormone causing ALL cells in the body to slow down at the same time. Is H2S the body's way of adjusting the thermostat?
Hold on! I'm way out of my element here. I'm not qualified to do biology. I'm not even qualified to write about it.
But I DO considered this ASTOUNDING news! And indeed the world reported it. Well at least in a tepid way. From the BBC to the Washington Post they did at least rehash Mark's original work. Even Wikipedia added three paragraphs to the Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) page. I was impressed with that.
But THAT was it...
I'm serious.
Nothing more.
No follow-up questions.
No follow-up answers.
No in-depth reporting.
No detailed analysis.
No flying out to Seattle.
No camping on the lawn.
No helicopter shots.
No checking tax returns.
Hell, Tom Cruise jumps up and down on a couch and the media follows him around for weeks! Where is the coverage for the stuff that REALLY counts? Oh well. I would wait. There was sure to be more news on the topic in a short time. So I set my Google news reader and waited...
And waited...
And waited...
And I'm still waiting.
It's been one year. Other than some comments from an aging blog and one think tank, there has been nothing at all. Nothing! Am I way off base or is this NOT a Nobel class discovery?
Where's the follow-up from Mark Roth?
Where's the H2S Induced Hibernation blog?
Where are the frat boy posts about their flatulent experiments?
Where's the Flatliner crew?
Where's Kiefer Sutherland when we need him?
Where are all the science fiction plots?
When I read the news release last year, I thought follow-up would be like the coverage for Cold Fusion a few years ago - lots of people trying to reproduce the results. Maybe we would even get some quick test with humans.
But no...
Nothing.
Nada.
Zilch.
What's a geek to do? There's only one thing. Ask the questions that SHOULD have been asked a year ago. So here goes.
Does this Roth effect work longer than six hours?
Does it work for days?
Does it work for weeks?
Does it work for months?
Does it work on other larger mammals?
Does it work on humans?
Any obvious side effects?
Any long term side effects?
How long can someone stay under without ill effects?
Does this low-level metabolism consume fat like it does in bears?
Does muscle tone also atrophy?
Does this low-level metabolism extend life?
Is 80 PPM a threshold or is there a proportional effect at 40 PPM? 20 PPM?
What happens at 160 ppm? Is the sleep deeper? (yes, I know H2S is deadly at higher concentration, but so is table salt).
Is this truly a natural feature of mammals? If H2S is produced internally, can the effect be induced by meditation? If so, how does
Slashdot Mirror
It's amazing anyone still using it.
http://www.high-rely.com/index.cfm?action=article
Sudden Disruption
--
Sudden View...
the radical option for editing text
http://www.sudden.net/
http://suddendisruption.blogspot.com/
For years the Federal Energy Star program has perpetuated the myth that if you buy appliances (or any electrical device) for the home that uses less energy, you'll see proportional savings in your monthly power bill. This is rarely the case.
Other eco-writers do similar simplistic math to calculate savings in money, energy and carbon. A recent example is Charles Fishman's September 2006 article in Fast Company magazine about WalMart's CFL project, "<a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/108/open _lightbulbs.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">How Many Lightbulbs Does it Take to Change the World?</span></a>".
The claim is made that if a single light bulb using 45 watts less is placed in 100 million homes, 6.57 billion Kilo-Watt-Hours will be saved. The fact is, unless you are cooling your house, there is ZERO savings. Charles focused on the bulb, but forgot about the home. His entire premise is based on a false assumption. The savings are grossly exaggerated for most homes.
"Wasted" energy takes the form of heat. And this heat helps keep you warm, if only just a small amount. For most of America, for much of the year, that 45 watts will be automatically added back in by the home heating system to maintain the same level of comfort. If the home is heated with electricity, the savings in dollars, energy and carbon production is literally ZERO.
The only time energy is actually saved is when the air conditioning is running or you have the windows open to cool the house. With the air conditioning on, the savings can even be a little greater than 45 watts, but for most of America that's a small part of the year. What are the savings for the rest of the year?
ZERO!
If you are not cooling your home, EVERY light bulb and appliance is 100% efficient.
Here's why...
The second law of thermodynamics demonstrates that "wasted" energy tends to disperse evenly. And if this "wasted" energy is in your house, it simply keeps you warm. More importantly, it keeps your normal heat source from turning on. Let's see how it plays out in a real home and why saving energy by turning off the lights is mostly an illusion (pardon the pun).
If you have a home in the northern latitudes which is electrically heated much of the year, you are a net consumer of heat. And the nice thing about heat is that It doesn't matter where it comes from. And that's the key.
Take a light bulb that's only 10% efficient. That means 90% of it's energy is converted directly to heat. So what happens to that heat? It spreads out through your house and slightly delays your normal heating system from clicking on.
And what about the 10% of the energy in the form of visible light? Virtually all of it strikes objects in the house. It too is converted to heat. The ONLY ineffectiveness of a light bulb in a northern home in the winter is the light that escapes through the windows, which is a VERY small amount. Even THAT can be stopped with curtains making ANY light bulb 100% effective at producing heat. Here's how <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_effi ciency"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Wiki explains it... Efficiency versus Effectiveness.</span>
</a>
Why do I qualify this with northern homes and winter? Because if you have to open the windows to be comfortable, you lose the advantage. And if you have to turn on the air conditioning, this "effectiveness" actually becomes a small liability. So those of you in Florida and south Texas... nevermind.
It's all about heat, where it moves and how we store it. But for most of America, much of the year, energy efficiency is very much an illusion. Effectiveness rules the day because we actual
From my blog post of... http://suddendisruption.blogspot.com/ Saturday, April 22, 2006 What Ever Happened with H2S Induced Hibernation? One year ago today... Mark Roth at Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center in Seattle announced the astounding ability to induced hibernation in mice by having them breathe 80 parts per million (ppm) hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S). Yes, that's the gas that smells like rotten eggs. Not only did these critters fall asleep for six hours, their heart rate and respiration dropped by 92% - apparently replicating the effects of true hibernation. And their temperature dropped to 2 degrees C above ambient temperature. They in effect became cold-blooded. It should also be noted, when the gas was removed, the mice awoke with no apparent ill effects. The critters could still run their maze in a normal fashion. There are hints that H2S Induced Hibernation might be a natural defense mechanism or at least a normal biological process. It appears this H2S gas is produced by the body under certain conditions and may be the key to normal hibernation. This may also be the cause of "Cold Water Shock Reflex" in which those who have "drowned" in cold water come back to life. At 80 ppm, H2S can not simply be replacing O2 in the blood which exist at 210,000 PPM in typical air. It seems that H2S acts more like a hormone causing ALL cells in the body to slow down at the same time. Is H2S the body's way of adjusting the thermostat? Hold on! I'm way out of my element here. I'm not qualified to do biology. I'm not even qualified to write about it. But I DO considered this ASTOUNDING news! And indeed the world reported it. Well at least in a tepid way. From the BBC to the Washington Post they did at least rehash Mark's original work. Even Wikipedia added three paragraphs to the Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) page. I was impressed with that. But THAT was it... I'm serious. Nothing more. No follow-up questions. No follow-up answers. No in-depth reporting. No detailed analysis. No flying out to Seattle. No camping on the lawn. No helicopter shots. No checking tax returns. Hell, Tom Cruise jumps up and down on a couch and the media follows him around for weeks! Where is the coverage for the stuff that REALLY counts? Oh well. I would wait. There was sure to be more news on the topic in a short time. So I set my Google news reader and waited... And waited... And waited... And I'm still waiting. It's been one year. Other than some comments from an aging blog and one think tank, there has been nothing at all. Nothing! Am I way off base or is this NOT a Nobel class discovery? Where's the follow-up from Mark Roth? Where's the H2S Induced Hibernation blog? Where are the frat boy posts about their flatulent experiments? Where's the Flatliner crew? Where's Kiefer Sutherland when we need him? Where are all the science fiction plots? When I read the news release last year, I thought follow-up would be like the coverage for Cold Fusion a few years ago - lots of people trying to reproduce the results. Maybe we would even get some quick test with humans. But no... Nothing. Nada. Zilch. What's a geek to do? There's only one thing. Ask the questions that SHOULD have been asked a year ago. So here goes. Does this Roth effect work longer than six hours? Does it work for days? Does it work for weeks? Does it work for months? Does it work on other larger mammals? Does it work on humans? Any obvious side effects? Any long term side effects? How long can someone stay under without ill effects? Does this low-level metabolism consume fat like it does in bears? Does muscle tone also atrophy? Does this low-level metabolism extend life? Is 80 PPM a threshold or is there a proportional effect at 40 PPM? 20 PPM? What happens at 160 ppm? Is the sleep deeper? (yes, I know H2S is deadly at higher concentration, but so is table salt). Is this truly a natural feature of mammals? If H2S is produced internally, can the effect be induced by meditation? If so, how does