News Roundup - LED Tech Breakthroughs, MA Rebates, and more

Welcome to a new feature of Home Power Saver - the News Roundup series. Periodically, as events warrant, I'll post recent interesting news stories in the world of energy savings.

Topics today include an advancement in LED technology that may lead to even longer life LED lighting and possibly some cost reductions.  Additionally, an interesting new study was released about home energy monitoring systems, and Massachusetts has a money saving rebate on a product that Home Power Saver highly recommends.

LED Advance May Lead to Longer Life and Cheaper Production

Clean Technica reported recently that a minor breakthrough has occurred in the area of LED heat dissipation. Those familiar with LED technology know that heat has the number one impact on LED lifespans.

While LEDs use very little power and generate less heat than other bulbs, they still generate some heat, which can be "amplified" when LEDs are placed in small enclosures. Today LEDs have "heat sinks" associated with them to help with this.

The breakthrough uses graphite foam to channel heat away, providing a lighter and possibly cheaper means of heat dissipation.

Read about it on Clean Technica.

Home Power Saver touched on LED lights in part 2 of an earlier lighting series.

Massachusetts Offering Rebates on Smart Strip Power Strips

Several MA power companies are working in concert to provide a $10 rebate on purchases of Smart Strip power strips. Details of the MA Rebate program can be found here.

Followers of Home Power Saver know that I am a big fan of the Smart Strip and related technology. In fact, I've shown that with a little thought, perhaps the use of a Kill A Watt EZ, you can pay for a Smart Strip with the energy saved in as little as 2 or 3 years perhaps less depending on your use.

Consumers Willing To Pay For Energy Monitoring If Savings Guaranteed

Parks Associates reports that consumers are willing to pay a low monthly subscription fee for energy monitoring services if they are guaranteed to achieve 10% savings. This report, discussed by Electric Light and Power, may lead to new services offered by utilities.

This report could be interpreted in a couple of ways - i.e. stand along monitoring in which consumers see real time and daily use, and modify behavior, or incorporating grid-tied automation and/or consumer automation.

Basic monitoring systems are already available to home owners for one-time costs of anywhere from $50 (Black & Decker EM100B) to $250 (TED 5000-C), which seem like the way to go if all utilities are looking to do is offer real time usage stats and historical trending.  However, if utilities tie to some sort of automation and reduced or time-of-use billing plan, it may be worthwhile.