Why you should toss those old incandescent holiday lights
For most people the holidays mean time-honored traditions. But this year toss out some of those traditions by tossing out those old incandescent lights in favor of newer LEDs which consume less energy and cost even less to operate.
Older strings of incandescent lights can use up to 99% more energy than new LED light strings. In addition, LEDs are much cooler than their traditional incandescent counterparts, reducing the risk of combustion.
A string of new LED lights could last up to 40 seasons and since they are made with epoxy lenses instead of glass as are most traditional incandescent light strings, they are more resilient to damage.
As an extra bonus you can connect up to 25 strings of LED lights together end-to-end and not worry about overloading a wall socket.
If you are still not convinced that it is time to upgrade your holiday lights, check out these figures from energy.gov.
Estimated cost* of electricity to light a six-foot tree for 12 hours a day for 40 days
| Incandescent C-9 lights | $10.00 |
| LED C-9 lights | $0.27 |
| Incandescent Mini-lights | $2.74 |
| LED Mini-lights | $0.82 |
Estimated cost* of buying and operating lights for 10 holiday seasons
| Incandescent C-9 lights | $122.19 |
| LED C-9 lights | $17.99 |
| Incandescent Mini-lights | $55.62 |
| LED Mini-lights | $33.29 |
*Assumes 50 C-9 bulbs and 200 mini-lights per tree, with electricity at $0.119 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) (AEO 2012 Residential Average). Prices of lights based on quoted prices for low volume purchases from major home improvement retailers. All costs have been discounted at an annual rate of 5.6%. Life span assumed to be three seasons (1,500 hours) for non-LED lights.
Source:
Energy.gov, LED Lighting
What should you do during a Winter Storm?
The number one tip from ready.gov on winter weather and how to stay safe is to stay indoors during the storm! However this may not be possible or feasible, so if you must venture out during a winter storm please take these precautions:
Walk carefully on snowy, icy walkways.
Keep dry. Change wet clothing frequently to prevent a loss of body heat. Wet clothing loses all of its insulating value and transmits heat rapidly.
Watch for signs of frostbite. These include loss of feeling and white or pale appearance in extremities such as fingers, toes, ear lobes, and the tip of the nose. If symptoms of frostbite are detected, get medical help immediately.
Watch for signs of hypothermia. These include uncontrollable shivering, memory loss, disorientation, incoherence, slurred speech, drowsiness, and apparent exhaustion. If symptoms of hypothermia are detected, get the victim to a warm location, remove wet clothing, warm the center of the body first, and give warm, non-alcoholic beverages if the victim is conscious. Get medical help immediately.
Drive only if it is absolutely necessary. If you must drive, travel in the day—don’t travel alone, keep others informed of your schedule, stay on main roads, and avoid back road shortcuts.
Let someone know your destination, your route, and when you expect to arrive. If your car gets stuck along the way, help can be sent using your stated travel plans.
Source:
ready.gov, Winter Storms & Extreme Cold
In response to “Natural Gas Could Be Bigger Than the Internet, Welch Says”
Written by Michael Vrtis, President of Realgy Energy Services in response to the CNBC article “Natural Gas Could Be Bigger Than the Internet, Welch Says”
I greatly admire Mr. Welch, having worked for him at one time. I read his article with interest and thought his statements invited comment.
Natural gas availability has been plentiful and the availability of more domestic supply calls for long term planning considerations.
U.S. Natural Gas Marketed Production from 1900 to 2012 – courtesy of EIA
In planning for the long term, consider just the following two facts:
The United States already has a more than $2.00 advantage per dekatherm (MCF) over the rest of the world. The US average cost of natural gas is about $4.00 and the remainder of the world is over $6.00.
The amount of gas discovered and presently available has occurred with a method of recovery (hydraulic fracturing or fracking) that has been exempt from most of the Federal environmental regulations. State environmental regulations are not superseded by this Federal action. Thus, states can set their own environmental regulation. The growing state concern is ground water pollution, considering that it takes only 1-2 drops of a petroleum product (frack fluid) to make over 1,000 gals of ground water undrinkable.
So it is not regulation that will prevent natural gas from accelerating the US economy. Instead it is the over inflation of a political issue instead of any economic or environmental issue
Reducing our cost of natural gas has already occurred, reducing it further should not come at the expense of ground water.
Mr. Welch was a great business leader but his comments on regulation of natural gas fracking appear geared more toward political posturing than balancing the economic and environmental concerns that come with recovering natural gas.
Check out the CNBC article: “Natural Gas Could Be Bigger Than the Internet, Welch Says”
Storage Season is here!
The natural gas you have stored starting April 1st running through October 31st will begin to be added into your monthly natural gas usage from November 1st through March 31st.
You have probably noticed your summer bills were a little higher than normal, this is because Realgy Energy Services has been storing 20% of your natural gas annual usage at the lower summer rates, to be used during the winter months when the demand and more importantly the pricing for natural gas historically increase.
You may be asking do I have natural gas in storage, and if so how much?
If you are a customer of Realgy Energy Services and you live in Indiana or Illinois and are services by one of the following Utilities: Nicor, Nipsco, North Shore and Peoples Gas.
You most likely have natural gas in storage.
To find out how much natural gas you have in storage you can either:
Log into your account and view your account summary
Call one of our customer services representatives at (877) 300 6747
Enjoy the saving that the Realgy Energy Services Storage Program provides and have a wonderful toasty warm winter!
Can locomotives run on natural gas?
That is the ground-breaking question Canadian National Railway is hoping to answer by retrofitting the diesel engines in two 3,000-horsepower Electro-Motive Diesel SD40-2 locomotives to run on natural gas.
Two natural gas-fired locomotives courtesy of Canadian National Railway Handout
These two locomotives will not be fueled solely by natural gas but by a mix of 90 per cent natural gas and 10 per cent diesel fuel for ignition. The natural gas retrofit seems like a logical step for the railway industry as roughly 25 percent of crude and natural gas from shale deposits is currently carried by train. Not to mention all the drilling materials, construction equipment and machinery that are also moved by the railways.
Canadian National is testing the two locomotives along the 298-mile stretch between Edmonton, a natural gas pipeline hub, and Fort McMurray, an oilsands production site.
“CN launched this locomotive test to explore the use of natural gas as a potential alternative to conventional diesel fuel. This reflects CN’s continuing drive to look for ways to improve operating efficiency and advance the company’s sustainability agenda,” said Keith Creel, executive vice-president and chief operating officer.
Two natural gas-fired locomotives courtesy of Canadian National Railway Handout
Switching to natural gas will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30 per cent and nitrogen oxide emissions by 70 per cent over a locomotive duty cycle.
Canadian National is also working on a longer-term project to develop an all-new natural gas locomotive engine as well as a specialized tank car to carry the fuel.
Sources:
Canadian National, Press Release, CN tests natural gas/diesel fuel powered locomotives between Edmonton and Fort McMurray, Alta.
National Post, Canada, Natural gas-powered locomotive drives CN into eco-friendly(er) future
Energy & Capital, Natural Gas Engines for Trains
Realgy Energy Services Now Offering Natural Gas Services to Residential Illinois Customers
PRESS RELEASE 21 SEPTEMBER 2012 | By: Realgy, LLC
At their customers’ request Realgy Energy Services is now serving Illinois residential natural gas customers.
The president of Realgy, Michael Vrtis has announced that the Illinois Commerce Commission has given authorization to extend service to residential customers in the North Shore, Peoples, and Nicor service territories. Realgy was previously authorized to service only retail commercial natural gas accounts in Illinois.
“Our expansion into the residential natural gas market is the next logical step in Realgy’s plans to expand service to our customers in the Illinois energy market,” said Vrtis. “It’s the perfect complement to extend our existing Illinois electric service. This expansion will give all residential and commercial customers in Illinois a chance to save money on both their natural gas and electricity.”
Realgy Energy Services is an energy marketer serving retail and residential customers in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. They have been serving Illinois customers beginning in 2004; since that time they have had a perfect record (certified A+) with the Better Business Bureau; and have been recognized as an Inc 500 company in 2011 and 2012.
Contact:
Realgy, LLC
Michael Vrtis
675 Oakwood Avenue
West Hartford, CT
860-233-2270
www.realgyenergyservices.com