What is a LED Tube Light?

Consumer electronics and appliances are staples in the lives of modern consumers. From DVD players to refrigerators, the American household is awash with electronics that perform a plethora of tasks, says industry analyst Justin Waterman. Prior to the recession, the Consumer Electronics Stores industry benefited from increasing household wealth and falling product prices.

However, the collapse of the US housing market, the subprime mortgage crises and the subsequent recession dealt a blow to the industry near the end of 2008. Unemployment reached near-historic levels and household wealth declined. As such, consumer confidence fell to an abysmal level, decreasing demand significantly in 2009. The demise of former major player Circuit City illustrates how reduced demand has impacted industry. In light of these conditions, IBISWorld estimates that revenue will fall at an average annual rate of 2.6% to $80.9 billion over the five years to 2012.

In addition to falling sales, rising competition with retailers outside of the Consumer Electronics Stores industry has initiated price battles among companies over the five-year period. In order to drive consumer traffic, many consumer electronics stores have been forced to lower their price markups on merchandise, Waterman says. As a result, industry profitability has declined.

With falling margins, many underperforming firms have exited; IBISWorld estimates that the number of enterprises has declined 1.9% per year on average over the past five years to roughly 39,354 businesses. Current major companies include Best Buy Co. and RadioShack Corp. Because of Circuit Citys exit, these companies earned a greater share of the industry and overall market share concentration has been slightly diluted.

Through 2017, the projected economic recovery that will underpin renewed consumer spending is expected to spur the industry's comeback. While spending is not expected to immediately reach prerecession fervor levels, renewed confidence in the economy is expected to drive retail sales. In fact, the industry has already shown signs of recovery; revenue is estimated to bounce back in 2012 as spending conditions improve.

Demand for electronics accessories and peripherals is projected to rebound even quicker because these items are relatively inexpensive and can enhance existing technology. Demand for advanced products, including Blu-ray players, light-emitting diode (LED) TVs, 3-D TVs and smartphones, will also likely drive growth. For more information, visit IBISWorlds Consumer Electronics Stores in the US industry report page.

Peavey Plaza does need help. I know because, as I've written before, M. Paul Friedberg and I were on the team led by the Minneapolis-based landscape architecture firm Oslund and Associates the city selected to develop plans for the site. Unfortunately, Paul and I were shut out of the process before we could propose solutions that would maintain the integrity of Peavey's design while meeting contemporary demands and requirements, such as accessibility.

The city seems to have skillfully stacked the deck against Peavey by creating a false set of choices; essentially, restore Peavey to its original condition or create something new. Strangely, the only people insisting complete restoration is an option are city officials.

Friedberg and I never advocated that, as we explained in an October 27, 2011 Minneapolis Star Tribune commentary, and preservation organizations locally and nationally have all endorsed the idea of adapting Peavey to address accessibility and other issues, while maintaining the integrity of its major design elements. Indeed, Friedberg has offered to share design solutions that address these concerns with Mayor RT Rybak, the City Council and others who have been pushing to demolish Peavey.

Unfortunately, the city seems determined to get its way and has come up with some head-spinning lines of reasoning. For example, the city's Department of Community Planning and Economic Development (DCPED) in a recent report supporting demolition has implied that adding an accessibility ramp to Peavey's existing design is a bad idea. Why? Because DCPED says it "would substantially alter the original design." Their solution? Destroy Peavey altogether.

Can someone explain the logic of this argument? That's about as sane as saying the light bulbs in your house aren't energy efficient, so we're tearing down your house to solve the problem.

The city also says complete restoration of Peavey Plaza, which they claim is the most expensive option, would cost $8.7 million. However, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, in their editorial endorsing a new park design, estimates the total cost for the new park at $8 to 10 million, which means the complete restoration false choice is comparable or possibly less expensive. Setting aside that complete restoration false choice thing, if the city insists on pushing this argument, someone needs to check the math. How did the city come up with this number? What's it based on? And, more importantly, against what other budget is this being compared? Where's the budget for the new park?

The city has also said: "Any rebuilding/renovation scenario will require millions of dollars in donations/private dollars." Shouldn't we ask those potential donors what they think? Let's go through the likely candidates, starting with those on the Orchestra Hall board: Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp, General Mills, and RBC Wealth Management, or maybe their neighbor Target. OK, but the city has also said, "potential funders will not contribute millions of dollars to restore the plaza to its original design because it cannot address accessibility, safety, and sustainability issues adequately."

When Tracy Mehaffey's son, Donovan, was 18 months old, he was not talking nearly as much as he should have been.

"He had no words at all," Mehaffey said. "He was saying 'Mama' and 'Dada.' That's it."

A questionnaire Mehaffey filled out at her doctor's office indicated that her son might have autism. At the time, she said, she did not know much about autism.

"I think a lot of people hear it, but they don't quite understand it," she said. "I don't feel that you get a complete understanding of something until it touches your life. I think I have a better understanding of it now that it has touched my life."

These days, Donovan, now 4, is talking much more. In fact, Mehaffey said, he does not stop talking.

"He has a lot of words, he just doesn't know how to communicate those words, and his wants and needs," she said.

Despite her son's talkativeness, Mehaffey continues to raise awareness of autism. She will do so on Monday by participating in Autism Speaks' Light It Up Blue campaign.

In its third year, Light It Up Blue is a global initiative organized by Autism Speaks to help raise awareness of autism by encouraging homeowners and businesses to shine a blue light that night. The event coincides with World Autism Awareness Day, which is held each year on April 2.

Iconic landmarks around the world like the Empire State Building in New York City will be lit up with blue lights to show support. Locally, the lobby of the city/county municipal building

on South Eighth Street will shine blue lights as well.

"All children are special, and in the case of autism, children need the public's understanding and acceptance," said county commissioner Jo Ellen Litz, who lives near Mehaffey in West Lebanon Township. "A blue light may seem like a simple thing, but it lights the world toward understanding for these children and their families."

Last year, Mehaffey tried to spread the word about the Light It Up Blue campaign on Facebook and by buying blue light bulbs for the people who live on her block to install in their porch lights. This year, she wanted to do more, so she bought 150 blue light bulbs that she has distributed to other West Lebanon residents.

Mehaffey is hoping other local communities will participate as well.

"I would love to see all of Lebanon County lit up blue," she said.

Autism spectrum disorder and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development that are characterized by difficulties social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behavior.

Autism affects one in 88 children in the United States, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.

Mehaffey said many people have heard of autism, but they don't quite understand what it is. Often, she said, people want to know more about it, but they don't know how to ask about it.

A half-dozen North Charleston police officers walked hurriedly down the middle of Kimbell Road. One broke into a jog. Yards along the cracked roadway were littered with abandoned vehicles, discarded beer bottles and shattered windows.

The Midland Park neighborhood near Interstate 26 suffers some of the area's highest crime rates. On Friday, a man was shot on an unincorporated property along the roadway and showed up bleeding at a stranger's doorstep.

On this day, officers from the North Charleston Police Department branched from their pack, scurried down driveways and pounded on doors: "North Charleston police!" Dogs barked on the end of taut chains. Residents hesitantly opened doors.

But the officers didn't have search warrants Thursday. They were making no arrests.

Instead, they carried fluorescent light bulbs. Giving residents a cost-effective way to light their entryways is one of the police department's ideas for stemming a recent tide of burglaries in the community.

"It's nice to see the public on good terms," said Pfc. Maria Leahy, the officer directing the effort. "We're having that interaction we wouldn't have otherwise, to let them know we're here."

It's operations like this one, which distributed nearly 1,000 bulbs last week, that Police Chief Jon Zumalt partly credited for reducing the city's violent crime rate to its lowest level since 1985, the first year for which complete statistics are available. The rate has fallen by 75 percent since its peak in 1996.

With a 3 percent increase from 2010, burglary was the only crime that North Charleston saw more of last year. But with the city's drop in violence, Zumalt said he could dedicate more resources to property crimes, which he sees as surging amid a continually depressed economy.

"Violent crime in this city is a perception that developed over a long period," said Zumalt, who has led the department for a decade. "That's one thing that challenged us. But violence has subsided significantly, and we've been able to do that without alienating our community."

To deflect North Charleston's stereotype as one of the Lowcountry's most crime-ridden cities, Zumalt has focused on aggressively reacting to crime in recent years.

Every two weeks, at the department's headquarters, commanding officers gather for "CompStat" meetings in which they map out computer-tracked crime trends and discuss how to address them. It's a program modeled after similar ones in Miami and Newark, N.J.

Their response methods range from increasing patrols in problematic areas to distributing the lights bulbs.

After a shooting, for example, a team of detectives, chaplains and victims advocates are sent into the neighborhood and stays there for 14 days in hopes of stifling retaliation.

The purpose of the committee is to advise the Board of Selectmen, other town boards and committees, Town Administrator Fred Turkington and Public Buildings Director John Moynihan on all issues related to energy conservation, both from a cost savings and "reducing our carbon footprint" perspective.

Since inception, the EIAC has proven to be a hardworking group of professionals who have looked for opportunities and taken advantage of improvements for the town.

For example, the EIAC's first goal was to have Wayland designated by the Massachusetts Department of Energy and Resources as a "Green Community." This is a lengthy process involving much paperwork and a number of town bylaw changes.

In 2010, the EIAC received notice our town had been selected as one of only 74 cities and towns throughout the state to be so designated. This has allowed us to receive energy efficiency grant funds.

So far, Wayland has been awarded over $130,000 for initiatives in the schools and municipal buildings. The initial projects to be funded – an upgrade to the lighting at the Middle School and at Loker School – are under way.

As part of the Green Community process, the EIAC spearheaded efforts to pass the "stretch energy code." This additional section of the building code increases the energy efficiency requirements for all new residential and many new commercial buildings, as well as for those residential additions and renovations that would normally trigger building code requirements.

Many contractors in town already adhered to the code and recommended our adoption as an important step going forward. The code was approved at last year's annual Town Meeting. It will help ensure that Wayland stays at the forefront of energy efficiency.

The Building Department staff is working to educate the public on the implications, requirements and benefits of the stretch code.

Next, the EIAC completed an energy use baseline, which outlines plans to achieve a 20 percent energy reduction in town buildings within five years. If the plan is successful, it would reduce the town's energy costs by up to $300,000.

In another project, Wayland has secured an agreement with NStar to replace its inefficient streetlights with more efficient light bulbs, saving the town an estimated $39,000 per year. More than 100 of the estimated 700 lights requiring upgrades have been replaced to date.

In 2011, the EIAC engaged both NStar and National Grid in talks for Wayland to become the pilot town for a program called "Energy Forward." This initiative started at MIT where it resulted in significant energy savings. It entails our town and the utilities working collaboratively to fund high quality energy audits to identify building infrastructure projects throughout town and school buildings, and to utilize utility funds as seed money for initial projects. The town would then reinvest energy savings in the capital improvement plan to fully realize the anticipated savings. At the current time, these discussions are ongoing, so stay tuned.

Finally, the EIAC is exploring sites where solar power could be generated. This effort would involve partnering with a private developer to construct one or more facilities to produce energy to be used by the town at a discounted kilowatt rate or be sold back to the electric grid. The former town landfill and the new High School are among potential sites being evaluated.

The nation's new light bulb rules start taking effect Sunday. What exactly do they require, and what's their likely impact, since Congress barred funds to enforce the efficiency standards? Here are some answers:

Q: What's included in the new standards?

A: The standards require light bulbs be at least 25% more efficient and carry labels on the front and back of packages to explain their brightness, annual operating costs and expected life span.

The labels apply to all light bulbs made or imported after Jan. 1, but the efficiency standards apply only to traditional 100-watt incandescents on that day. The efficiency rules will begin applying to the old-fashioned 75-watt bulb in January 2013 and 40- and 60-watt bulbs in January 2014. Retailers can sell leftover bulbs as long as they weren't made or imported after their deadline.

Q: What's wrong with the old bulbs?

A: The incandescent that Thomas Alva Edison invented is notoriously inefficient. It wastes 90% of its energy as heat rather than light, which is why it's so hot when in use.

In 2007, the U.S. Congress passed the bipartisan Energy Independence and Security Act, requiring light bulbs to use at least 25% less electricity for the amount of lumens, or light, produced. For example, a bulb that yields 1,600 lumens (typical in a 100-watt bulb) can now use only 72 watts or less of power.

Q: Do the standards ban all incandescents?

A: No. Edison's bulbs won't meet the rules, but the halogen incandescent will. So, too, will the CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) and the LED (light-emitting diode), each of which is at least 75% more efficient than the traditional incandescent. Also, the rules don't apply to less commonly used incandescents such as appliance, three-way and colored bulbs.

Q: Why did Congress ban enforcement?

A: On Capitol Hill, a group of mostly GOP lawmakers opposed the standards as an infringement on individual rights. They sought to repeal them but failed to gain enough support. Earlier this month, they attached a measure to a massive one-year spending bill that bars the Department of Energy from enforcing the efficiency standard through September 2012. The bill does not apply to the Federal Trade Commission, which will enforce the labeling rules, says FTC lawyer Hampton Newsome.

Q: Will the more efficient bulbs cost more?

A: They'll cost more to buy but will save money in the long run by using less energy. For example, at Home Depot, a 72-watt EcoVantage halogen incandescent costs about $1.50 to buy (if bought in a two-pack) but $8.67 annually to use. Its brightness equals the 100-watt traditional bulb, which costs less to buy but $12.05 annually to use.

A 23-watt EcoSmart CFL, which produces as much light as the old 100-watt incandescent, costs about $4 to buy (if bought in a two-pack) but $2.77 annually to use and lasts up to 13 times longer. LEDs tend to cost even more to buy but less to operate.

A forklift driver zooms through a dark warehouse late at night. There are no lights on his machine pointing the way, yet intelligent light bulbs lining the ceiling flash on as they recognize the direction he's heading, then flash off as he passes on his way.

The scene is not science fiction to make FedEx giddy; it is one of the actual faces of energy efficiency in theUnited States today.

Whether it's intelligent lighting in warehouses nationwide, building codes in Massachusetts, or new federal gas-mileage standards, energy efficiency is enjoying a renaissance. Since conservation first entered the American consciousness in the 1970s — prompted by the energy crisis and the dawn of environmentalism — the nation has become dramatically more energy-efficient. But recent years have, by some measures, represented a high-water mark.

The passage of the federal Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which strengthened appliance and auto fuel-efficiency standards, was the biggest energy-efficiency measure "the country has ever adopted," says Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy in Washington. Since then, the Obama administration has used tax incentives to encourage energy efficiency in homes and businesses. Even businesses themselves, seeing long-term savings, have begun to take the lead without Washington's prompting.

Hotels are installing smart air-conditioning units that shut off when a guest leaves an outside door open; fast-food chains are retrofitting their insulation; refrigeration warehouses are replacing hot incandescent lights with cooler LED ones.

"Those guys running forklifts, they're not in it for green-energy-save-the-world reasons," says Robert Day, a partner with Black Coral Capital in Boston and a leading figure in clean-tech investing. "They're in it because it makes dollars and cents."

Federal laws and tax incentives have provided a prod, but much of the credit also goes to economic forces. As energy costs have crept higher, businesses have been reevaluating how and when they use electricity and fuel. Suddenly, replacing old light bulbs with intelligent lighting has become a sensible way to cut costs, say energy experts.

The efforts go beyond the marketability of slapping a "green" label on a company. "During the past 10 to 15 years, we've really seen [energy efficiency] emerge, driven by cost issues," says Callahan. "Once you get into it, you see you can save money but also be a good corporate citizen. It's a win-win."

Yet the trends are not uniformly positive. The businesses emerging as leaders are typically large corporations that not only have capital but huge operations that can be streamlined. Many smaller businesses have yet to follow suit.

Moreover, some areas of the country, such as the South, have done little to improve energy efficiency, particularly when compared with regions like the Northeast and West Coast. Mississippi, for instance, has no energy-efficiency codes for appliances or buildings.

The biggest problem, however, might be among consumers themselves. While appliances — and the houses they're in — have become vastly more energy-efficient, Americans have used those savings to buy bigger houses with more energy-eating appliances, resulting in no net improvement in household energy consumption per capita since 1970.

Mike Vaccaro is director of facilities at Turning Stone Resort Casino. His responsibilities include utility and energy systems management, water and resource usage as well as operation of a 5.7 megawatt co-generation power plant. That plant generates energy using natural gas, and byproducts of that operation are reclaimed for heating and cooling. He spoke with CNY Green magazine about ongoing environmental initiatives at the resort.

As part of your job, you're responsible for initiating awareness programs to help department managers at Turning Stone conserve energy. Tell us about some of the things you've done:

The committee identified the next 10 projects that we will complete during 2012. With encouragement from (Nation Representative) Ray Halbritter and the Nation's Council, we have installed photo sensors to turn off lights in the Winter Garden and the pre-function lobby of the Event Center when the sun is shining.

We are also coating the roof of the resort with a lighter color to reflect the sun's rays, which keeps the surface temperature of the roof cooler, lowering our cost to keep the building cool.

We are actively phasing out incandescent light bulbs and replacing them with compact fluorescent and LEDs. In addition, we are experimenting with solar powered street lights and we have conducted infra-red scans of our buildings to pinpoint areas that need better insulation.

To help us track electrical energy usage throughout the property, we have begun a sub-metering project which allows us to track and record electrical energy usage at several different areas at the same time. This not only helps us identify which areas of the resort use the most energy, but it gives us a real time look at the rate at which energy is being used. With this information, we can control our demand charges by limiting the rate at which energy is being consumed, sort of an internal “smart grid.”

To list just a few: Storm water from the roofs and parking lots is collected and captured in several ponds at the resort and is used for irrigation. The jogging trail at the resort is made from recycled tires and allows rain water to percolate through to replenish the ground water.

We are investigating the feasibility of installing green roofs at several locations. We already recycle cardboard, plastics, glass and cooking oil. We are currently in the process of investigating the possibility of recycling/reusing 100 percent of our waste stream.

This cooperative relationship has helped further several infrastructure projects in the region. (The resort) has helped develop sewer and water systems for the town of Verona; the city of Oneida provides the resources and infrastructure to support these systems.

This cooperative effort is especially rewarding due to the fact that it allows the Oneida Indian Nation to help its neighbors, making the communities safe and more environmentally sound for all of us today and for future generations.

It's the right thing to do. The culture of the Oneida people is centered around nature and the proper stewardship of the resources that Mother Nature supplies for us and future generations.

This culture of respect for the environment is behind everything we do, from collecting storm water runoff, to purchasing supplies made from recycled materials to planting more trees to reduce our carbon footprint.

New Haven’s tent village on the Green has a new neighbor.

Parks department workers hoisted a 65-foot-tall, 10,500-pound Norway spruce into place on the Green Tuesday morning. The annual tradition marks the start of the holiday season in New Haven.

The tree was donated by Steve and Marie McDermott of Northford. Marie is a teacher at Bishop Woods school. The installation and decoration is funded by a $20,000 donation from People’s United bank.

Over the next month, parks workers will decorate the tree with between 20,000 and 25,000 light bulbs, said Christy Hass, deputy director of the parks department. It has to be ready by the Dec. 1 tree-lighting ceremony, a moment Hass said she’s looking forward to. “You want to turn on the light, you want to hear that ‘aah’” from the crowd.

While the tree is up for only a couple of months, it occupies a good portion of Hass’s year. She said she’s constantly on the lookout for holiday-tree candidates as she drives around, so much so that her family is worried she’s going to go off the road craning her neck to see some tree.

Every year on her birthday, which falls on Dec. 22, Hass’ family asks her what she wants to do. Every year her answer is the same: Go down to the Green and walk around the tree. “It just gives you a sense of peace,” she said.

The tree has an effect on people even before it’s installed. On the way down from Northford, as drivers pulled over to let the oversized load by, they all pulled out their cellphones to videotape the tree, Hass said.

The giant tree made the trip down Monday morning on a flatbed truck without a problem—aside from totaling a bike locked up in front of the public library on Elm Street.

John Dukes was exchanging some books at the library Monday morning and came out to find his bike surrounded by pine needles and cones and locked up facing the opposite direction he had left it. A note left on the bike led him over to the Green where Hass explained what had happened.

As the flatbed truck was taking the corner at Elm to pull onto the green, the tree hooked onto Dukes’ bike and yanked open the cable lock that secured it to a bike rack, Hass told Dukes.

Parks staffer Frank Somers walked over with Duke to help him unlock his Redline bike. Dukes inspected the damage and found his left brake lever had been destroyed. Then he saw a big dent in the frame near the top of the down tube and pronounced the bike a goner.

Hass and Somers assured him the city would pay for the damage to his bike. “That’s my tax dollars going to work for me,” Dukes said.