Lighting suggestions for Earth Hour

I'm looking for suggestions for lighting a large room for Earth Hour. I have a ~50W human-powered generator, a 60F capacitor, a 12V lead acid battery and a few 12 VDC to 120VAC inverters. The system with the capacitor and an inverter can run about two CFL bulbs comfortably on AC, but is there something better?

What's the most efficient / brightest lighting that I can run off of that? LED bulbs? Some kind of direct drive light that runs off 12VDC?

What's the most efficient / brightest lighting that I can run off of that?

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Of readily obtainable options, probably a Cree based 12-volt MR-16 (a higher end one with reputable driver). The CFL route has to deal with inverter efficiency and then ballast efficiency. Both options involve the battery, which isn't 100%, and I don't see how a cap would deliver much light for very long.

Or, just like the cabin thread, you can always DIY some Crees on a light bar with 12-volt driver.

Yes, interesting thread that cabin lighting one. I'm glad you're using a human-powered generator. It seems ironic for people to use the mains to charge batteries for something called Earth Hour.

blasterman said:

Of readily obtainable options, probably a Cree based 12-volt MR-16 (a higher end one with reputable driver). The CFL route has to deal with inverter efficiency and then ballast efficiency. Both options involve the battery, which isn't 100%, and I don't see how a cap would deliver much light for very long.

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The Cree MR-16 lights look nice. I was looking at the EliteLED site but it doesn't mention the voltage range of the drivers. I have a homebrew voltage "regulation" circuit that maintains voltage between 11V to 14V. Is that good enough or will I have to tighten that range?

The idea with the cap is that the human has to keep generating power to keep the lights on, with the cap smoothing out the variations in power. It's meant to be a fun little exercise that demonstrates physically how much energy it takes to keep the lights on.

blasterman said:

Or, just like the cabin thread, you can always DIY some Crees on a light bar with 12-volt driver.

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I want to build one of these at some point as well. Just gotta check the shipping time to see if they'll arrive before the event.

TorchBoy said:

Yes, interesting thread that cabin lighting one. I'm glad you're using a human-powered generator. It seems ironic for people to use the mains to charge batteries for something called Earth Hour.

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I've always viewed Earth Hour as more of a symbolic event than anything else. I went with human power because it becomes an interesting demonstration. If I end up using the battery instead of human power, I'd probably charge it up with solar PV before hand.

1138 said:

I've always viewed Earth Hour as more of a symbolic event than anything else. I went with human power because it becomes an interesting demonstration. If I end up using the battery instead of human power, I'd probably charge it up with solar PV before hand.

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I agree, strikes me as a bit of a feel-good thing for most people
one a day a year. I'll be using a combination of solar-charged
stand alone lanterns, garden lights (including small spots), and
a solar-charged 15Ah SLA battery driving either a CFL or LED bulb
through inverter.

Some of my smaller lanterns are running on alkalines which others
have tossed, but still contain (in some cases lots of) remaining
energy for low-current loads; qualifies as a form of reclaimation
I believe.

Dave

Earth Hour has come and gone. I relied on a few solar-charged
lanterns and flashlights, plus the usual low-power (0.25W to 0.6W)
LED nightlights. I turned off all CFLs and non-essential devices
but left on three 1.5W/2W AC LED bulbs, not so much in defiance
but a demonstration that this 90% reduction from incans used on
a regular basis is much more than just symbolic.

I was going to watch a DVD on a portable player powered
from a solar-charged SLA battery, but decided to leave it for
another time.

Dave

I missed the whole thing. Didn't even know about it. I was "hired" to paint the foyer and hallway at my parents house under 700 watts of lighting yesterday. I had the local classic rock station tuned in while I was working, but didn't hear a thing about it.

JohnR66 said:

I missed the whole thing. Didn't even know about it. I was "hired" to paint the foyer and hallway at my parents house under 700 watts of lighting yesterday. .

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At least the paint will dry well under all that heat!

You didn't miss a whole lot, but hopefully over time people will
start to be more aware of energy-saving options. I'm hoping a
neighbour or two will ask why my porch light was still on (arguably
for safety reasons), then I'll tell them it's a 1.5W bulb, 10x lower
than theirs albeit somewhat dimmer (that LoA bulb still under
test in the cold).

Dave

I'm getting tired of this namby-pamby "gotta save the Earth" stuff. It's everywhere...(it's not as bad as they want you to think) people are being brainwashed by the media, extremists and the government stooges. As to what light to use...a lighter for the pot pipe!

Lightdoctor, this thread is for lighting suggestions (perhaps even inappropriate ones), not for venting frustrations.

The LEDs couldn't be shipped in on time, so someone ended buying a string of incandescent lights to be powered by the pedal generator. Everyone worked their asses off trying to keep the lights on but it was nice. The generator system has now been expanded so more than one person can contribute to power it at once, paving the way for a much brighter display next year. If all goes according to plan, it should be a 1 kilowatt human-powered generator system. Lots of lights. Since I now have a true sine wave inverter too, it should work well for AV equipment too.

I had two LED flashlights as well for when the lights did go off despite the pedaling, a Fenix L2T and an ITP A3. They were not sufficient for lighting the room at all (well, the room was actually a big auditorium, so that's not surprising). Someone also tried to use the L2T to light a photo without flash but it wasn't quite enough to bring down the exposure times.

Lightdoctor said:

I'm getting tired of this namby-pamby "gotta save the Earth" stuff. It's everywhere...(it's not as bad as they want you to think) people are being brainwashed by the media, extremists and the government stooges. As to what light to use...a lighter for the pot pipe!

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You should post a topic to CPF Underground where I can tell you exactly what I think of people like you.

Lightdoctor said:

I'm getting tired of this namby-pamby "gotta save the Earth" stuff.

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Each to his own I guess, althought acrimony isn't helpful.

Even from a total self-interest point, high-efficiency lighting
can lower overall cost or at least break even in short-term,
while providing adequate or even improved lighting quality.

Less waste heat indoors during hot periods means less air-conditioning
to remove it. Less waste electrical heat during cold periods at
least allows possibility of compensating with lower-cost (i.e. gas)
heat, although this may not always be true. Heat from outdoor
lighting is always lost, so best to throw away as little as possible.

Plus, some of us like to feel progressive, instead of waiting for
things to be (unfortunately) mandated up to and including legislation.
Ontario government is not bad in this regard, offering rebates on
CFL (but not LEDs yet) and no provincial sales tax (not sure how
long that's going to last). Phase-out of incans is coming though, and
I'll make one political statement to the effect that I don't agree with
it; should be handled by education, incentives, and choice (to pay
more for electrical bill if you want to, up to some point).

At a broader level, reduced consumption reduces load on
infrastructure and (in theory) cost of upgrades and new facilities.
Does not account for the real world where money gets saved
one place, and wasted elsewhere.

So for people who don't believe in climate change or don't care
about the environment...there's still something in it for you.

Dave

1138 said:

The LEDs couldn't be shipped in on time, so someone ended buying a string of incandescent lights to be powered by the pedal generator. Everyone worked their asses off trying to keep the lights on but it was nice.

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You should have gotten ahold of a good string of white (or any
colour for that matter) LED Christmas lights.

I tinkered with using a nice string of warm-whites for light, and
it draws only ~2W.

Dave

1138 said:

The LEDs couldn't be shipped in on time, so someone ended buying a string of incandescent lights to be powered by the pedal generator. Everyone worked their asses off trying to keep the lights on but it was nice. The generator system has now been expanded so more than one person can contribute to power it at once, paving the way for a much brighter display next year. If all goes according to plan, it should be a 1 kilowatt human-powered generator system. Lots of lights. Since I now have a true sine wave inverter too, it should work well for AV equipment too.

I had two LED flashlights as well for when the lights did go off despite the pedaling, a Fenix L2T and an ITP A3. They were not sufficient for lighting the room at all (well, the room was actually a big auditorium, so that's not surprising). Someone also tried to use the L2T to light a photo without flash but it wasn't quite enough to bring down the exposure times.



You should post a topic to CPF Underground where I can tell you exactly what I think of people like you.

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So, it's wrong by you for me to say I don't agree with you? I have nothing against saving energy...just the politicizing of it. (I work in the lighting field on a daily basis...saving energy is what I do.)

Dave_H said:

Each to his own I guess, althought acrimony isn't helpful.

Even from a total self-interest point, high-efficiency lighting
can lower overall cost or at least break even in short-term,
while providing adequate or even improved lighting quality.

Less waste heat indoors during hot periods means less air-conditioning
to remove it. Less waste electrical heat during cold periods at
least allows possibility of compensating with lower-cost (i.e. gas)
heat, although this may not always be true. Heat from outdoor
lighting is always lost, so best to throw away as little as possible.

Plus, some of us like to feel progressive, instead of waiting for
things to be (unfortunately) mandated up to and including legislation.
Ontario government is not bad in this regard, offering rebates on
CFL (but not LEDs yet) and no provincial sales tax (not sure how
long that's going to last). Phase-out of incans is coming though, and
I'll make one political statement to the effect that I don't agree with
it; should be handled by education, incentives, and choice (to pay
more for electrical bill if you want to, up to some point).

At a broader level, reduced consumption reduces load on
infrastructure and (in theory) cost of upgrades and new facilities.
Does not account for the real world where money gets saved
one place, and wasted elsewhere.

So for people who don't believe in climate change or don't care
about the environment...there's still something in it for you.

Dave

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Well Dave, it's not that I don't care, it's the politics of it all. As to incandescent lights, I think that they should go away. If the consumer wants an instant on or dimmable decorative lighting, go halogen.

Your points are good...used to work in the building design field...lighting and electrical and with the HVAC designers...we would always find the most efficient ways to save energy.

Lightdoctor said:

As to incandescent lights, I think that they should go away. If the consumer wants an instant on or dimmable decorative lighting, go halogen.

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I should point out the halogen is a type of incandescent light. I'll also add that I don't really understand the need or appeal of dimming. That's probably the single biggest factor holding back adoption of alternative lighting technologies in residences-namely that the alternatives are expected to be dimmable on a standard lamp dimmer. I always ask why is this so important? Just have multiple lights in a room ( which is usually the case anyway ) and turn more or fewer of them on to adjust brightness. My guess is once people got used to this idea, they wouldn't even miss dimmer switches. As for instant on, LED already gives you that. So do some types of flourescents ( T5/T8s on an instant start ballast ).

I'm not big on the politicizing of saving energy, either. Too many people are being misled into the idea that all they have to do is stick a CFL in a socket or buy a hybrid to save the world. It turns out living sustainably is an entire lifestyle mindset. It isn't continuing to do more or less exactly the same thing you're doing, but with a few minor "feel-good" changes.

If the consumer wants an instant on or dimmable decorative lighting, go halogen.

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As jtr1962 stated, halogens *are* a type of incan. The real advantage over jacketed halogens is simply that most of them are directional bulbs with a higher color temp. A 75watt Halogen consumes as much power as a 75watt standard incan.

The rest of your comments belong in the underground. Nobody here is a Joan Baez humming tree hugger freak, but I'm frankly getting tired of any criticism of 'fat lighting' (incan) being labeled as some form of political extremism. Anytime sombody throws something together out-side the scope of what get shipped from China on a container ship some luddite here gets on our case.

I always ask why is this [dimming] so important?

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Got me - never figured it out either. Having multiple circuits as you described is what I've done to several business I've helped with lighting. I blame most of it on the same residential electricians who've been screwing it up for years. Having multiple circuits of lets say plug in CFL is vastly cheaper in the long run and more flexible. If you took out the power wasting dimmer switch and replaced it with an off/on switch I dare so most people wouldn't miss it.

The irony is that LEDs are far more flexible in terms of dimming than incan because of the capabilities of their power supplies. I can easily set up a PWM circuit with the Mean Well's I'm using and control them with anything. Or, mix different color temp LED's so that when they are dimmed they can change to a warmer look. Try that with Incan / Halogen