November 13th 2011
Posted under Alpenglow Lighting Design News
The cycling communities at VeloNews and RoadBikeReview seem to like the shop.
Archive for the 'Alpenglow Lighting Design News' Category
November 12th 2011
Posted under Alpenglow Lighting Design News
We are still installing some lamps, a few minor details, but the store was open for their targeted Grand Opening. The reaction from customers has been very positive and everyone is looking forward to an excellent winter of riding in Tucson.
November 6th 2011
Posted under Alpenglow Lighting Design News
From the Huffington Post:
China will phase out power-draining light bulbs within five years in a move to make the world’s biggest polluting nation more efficient but also certain to impact the global market.
China will ban imports and sales of 100-watt-and-higher incandescent bulbs from Oct. 1, 2012, in an attempt to save energy and curb climate change, China’s main planning agency said Friday.
Bans will also be imposed on 60-watt-and-higher bulbs from Oct. 1, 2014 and 15-watt-and-higher old-style bulbs from Oct. 1, 2016. The time frame of the last step may be adjusted according to an evaluation in September 2016, the National Development and Reform Commission statement said.
State-run Xinhua News Agency quoted Xie Ji, deputy director of the NDRC’s environmental protection department, as saying China is the world’s largest producer of both energy-saving and incandescent bulbs and so the plan will also “have a significant impact” in reducing the use of incandescents worldwide.
Last year, 3.85 billion incandescent light bulbs were produced in China and 1.07 billion of them were sold domestically, the agency said. Power consumption for lighting is estimated to be about 12 percent of China’s total electricity use, it said.
The statement said China will save 48 billion kilowatt hours of power per year and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 48 million tonnes annually once the bulbs are phased out.
Several countries plan to phase out traditional light bulbs. The United States will ban the making and sale of incandescent light bulbs beginning in 2012. The 27-nation European Union agreed in 2008 to phase out the bulbs by 2012.
September 27th 2011
Posted under Alpenglow Lighting Design News
Alpenglow is excited to be working with ProBike in Tucson, Arizona to design their new store. Along with lighting and controls design, Alpenglow has branched out into interior and casework design. The new store is located at 6540 E. Tanque Verde and should be open in mid-October. Construction is progressing, and every day they seem to add more bicycles and services. If you’re in Tucson this fall, come down to visit the shop as you prepare for El Tour.
Other fun and interesting projects due to wrap up soon include a collaboration with Crystal Glass Studio and Design Project for a pair of custom pendants, and the renovation of New Castle Branch Library with A4 Architects and B&H Construction.
June 16th 2011
Posted under Alpenglow Lighting Design News
The Energy and Security Act of 2007 has gained attention recently (despite its age, people seem to have suddenly discovered it), and while there has been a great deal of teeth gnashing and lightbulb hoarding, no one has addressed the approaching death of a cultural phenomenon: the lightbulb joke.
When we switch over to long-life LEDs for our light sources, we will extend lamp life from about 1,000 hours to 50,000 hours. Commercially, this is over 10 years, and residentially, over 20. My 4-year-old son will be out of college before my new LEDs burn out, so he will rarely, if ever, change a lightbulb.
He just won’t get jokes like:
Q: How many telemark skiers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: 4. One to do it, the others to say, “Sweet turns, bro.”
Q: How many ski instructors does it take to change a light bulb?
A: 4. One to do it, the others to tell them how they did it wrong.
Q: How many union stage hands does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Straight show or musical?
As we leave Edison’s 1880 invention behind in history’s dustbin, and we replace it with light bulbs that no longer waste 90% of their energy as heat, we will lose this most cherished part of our culture. Sadly, the lightbulb joke will soon seem as dated and quaint as “You Might be a Redneck” and Saturday Night Live’s Belushi Era. All we’ll be left with is LOLZCats and Justin Bieber jokes.
Oh, the humanity.
June 6th 2011
Posted under Alpenglow Lighting Design News
Recently, people have discovered that a Federal Law enacted in 2007 is going to eliminate 130-year-old technology. An article in the New York Times Magazine this weekend discusses the matter. What amazes me is how a visionary like Howard Brandston, one of the greatest lighting designers, is so opposed to the end of incandescence. His innovative imagination is hampered by his inability to move on from old technology.
Here at Alpenglow, we welcome new technology, particularly when it offers huge energy and money savings. As the NYT article points out, the patent on the incandescent light bulb dates to 1880, and it’s replacement can save 200 MILLION tons of CO2 per year. Although the cost of LED bulbs is relatively high ($30-80), consider that Edison’s bulb cost the equivalent of $10 in its day, and lasted 1/50th as long as an LED. Even today, a 25-cent incandescent lasts the same as edison’s bulb, about 1,000 hours. Edison also did not care about energy efficency when he designed the bulb, since he also owned the utility.
The cost of electricity is continuing to climb, with our local utility about to raise residential and commerical rates next month. Now is a great time to consider upgrading your lightbulbs to new tachnology. Contact Alpenglow to ask how we can help you.
June 2nd 2011
Posted under Alpenglow Lighting Design News
Alpenglow’s good friends at Greenline Architects have completed a wonderful Net-Zero Energy House in Lenado, Colorado. Alpenglow was pleased to contribute to the project. By using a combination of high-quality comact fluorescents and LEDs, lighting power consumption is under 1W/square foot. Today, the local electric utility announced residential and commercial rate increases effective July 1, 2011, energy efficiency is critical.
Currently, Alpenglow is working on energy retrofits for commercial projects, with power reductions of over 40% from the existing system. Contact us today to see how we can help you save energy and money.
More information: CohenLenadoPR 6-1-2011 V8
May 26th 2011
Posted under Alpenglow Lighting Design News
Recently, Alpenglow was contacted to evaluate a lighting control system in a private residence. The residence is at the base of one of the premiere ski areas in the country and is about 10 years old. We discovered that the house contained a small system which controls only the kitchen and parts of the living room, and it does not have the capability to control other areas, integrate with AV, HVAC, blinds, or anything else.
Here is a Control station located adjacent to a light switch
Here is a Control Station in another residence.
Quick Quiz: which is easier to operate?
Controls actually simplify lighting, but only if they are designed properly. Alpenglow can help you create an easy-to use, stable, and upgradable system. Contact us today!
January 10th 2011
Posted under Alpenglow Lighting Design News
Last week Alpenglow re-lamped the display rooms at the Aspen Historical Society, using the existing track fixtures and replacing 50W halogen MR-16 lamps with 9W LED MR-16s. The new LEDs are available in 30, 45, and 60 degree beam angles. The connected lighting load was reduced by 80%, and the lamp life extended from 2,000 hours to 50,000 hours. This will not only help AHS save money in electricity use, but also reduces labor for relamping. Photos are posted in the Educational Portfolio. Contact Alpenglow today to lean how LEDs can help save you money and energy.
October 26th 2010
Posted under Alpenglow Lighting Design News
If you listen carefully, you can hear my forehead slamming on the desk.
From Treehugger.com
Banning old lightbulbs seems like low-hanging fruit, an easy way to significantly reduce energy usage with little to no loss of lifestyle comforts. But the bulb bans persistently promote protest, and bring out the curmudgeons resistant to change.
European regulators jumped aboard the bulb-ban bandwagon in 2009. Since 1 September of that year, it has been illegal to sell light bulbs that do not meet “eco-design” standards. In short: no more incandescent light bulbs. But a decision celebrated for saving enough electricity to power a small country has met its match. The incandescent bulb is back. But this time it’s not a light. So what is it?
It is Not a Light, It’s a Heater
The incandescent bulbs back on the European market are offered for sale at a German website, heatball.de, that delivers Europe-wide. According to the Heatball website: Heatball is the “best invention since the lightbulb. Heatballs are technically similar to incandescent bulbs, except that they are not intended for lighting, but for heating.”
The incandescent bulbs back on the European market are offered for sale at a German website, heatball.de, that delivers Europe-wide. According to the Heatball website: Heatball is the “best invention since the lightbulb. Heatballs are technically similar to incandescent bulbs, except that they are not intended for lighting, but for heating.”
Are they serious? Dead serious. It appears the bulbs are selling so well, that the orders page warns of delivery delays due to strong demand.
How do they live with themselves? Well, the matter is more complex than first meets the eye. Allegedly, Heatball is more than just a marketing gimmick aimed at people who lined up to hoard 100 Watt bulbs before they faded into oblivion.
First, Heatball donates 0.30€ from every bulb purchased to projects for the protection of the rain forest. (Conscience compensation?) Second, Heatball aspires to be “protest art”. The home page elucidates:
“A Heatball is an electrical resistance, that serves to heat things up. Heatball is Protest Art. Heatball is resistance against regulations that are enforced outside of all democratic and parliamentary procedures, reducing citizens to wards of the State. Heatball is also a resistance against the disproportionality of measures to protect the environment. How can someone honestly believe that we can rescue the global climate by using energy-saving light bulbs, and simultaneously allow the rain forests to wait decades in vain for protection.”
Could Heatball Help?
And there is one final question: could the Heatball concept help to kill the incandescent bulb? Could the ironic suggestion that incandescents are more suited to heating than to lighting finally convince the consuming public that the waste of energy is real?
We seriously doubt it. The truth is not hard to find: lighting consumes a large percentage of electrical supplies, for example. The amount of mercury (which can be recycled) in compact fluorescent lightbulbs is less than the amount released from generating the added electricity needed to power incandescents. And heating with an electric lightbulb is not efficient.
More to the point: Heatball is selling lightbulbs. Not art. There are better ways to drum up support for the rain forest. And better ways to educate the public, in both peaceful protest, as well as environmental protection. And, well, better art.