Clean Energy Insight - Moving Energy Forward

[Approx. Read Time: 2 minutes]

Ceiling fans used in addition to your air conditioning can save energy by allowing a higher thermostat temperature setting. In the summer or warmer months, use the ceiling fan in the counterclockwise direction. While standing directly under the ceiling fan you should feel a cool breeze.  Air movement from the fan evaporates moisture on the skin and makes a person feel cooler. Therefore, you can raise the thermostat and feel just as comfortable. For every degree you raise the air conditioning thermostat, you can save approximately 3 % - 5 % in cooling costs. There is no energy savings if you use a ceiling fan and forget to raise the thermostat.

To get the full effect of your ceiling fan, in the winter or cooler months, reverse the motor and operate the ceiling fan in the clockwise direction. This causes the warm air circulating near the ceiling to produces a gentle updraft, forcing the warm air down into the room without blowing any cool air.

How Much Energy Do Ceiling Fans Use?

(Here is some useful information on ceiling fans from Progress Energy)

Fans use no more electricity than light bulbs. Typical wattage for various ceiling fan sizes are:

• 36″ = 55 watts
• 48″ = 75 watts
• 52″ = 90 watts
• 56″ = 100 watts

For example, a 48″, 75-watt fan used 10 hours a day at half speed or less would cost $.50 to $.90 a month to operate. For a 1,500-square-foot house with air conditioning using two ceiling fans and raising the thermostat setting could save about $70 to $200 over a six-month cooling season.

Effort: Low if already have ceiling fans, Medium to High if installing Ceiling Fans

Time Required: 5 minutes if already have ceiling fans, 2 hours if installing ceiling fans

Materials Needed: Ceiling Fans (preferably Energy Star) and directions and materials that come with it

Instructions:

1) How to select a ceiling fan: Fan sizes typically range from 34″ to 56″ in diameter. The size of the fan depends of the room dimensions.  Below gives a general idea of the size ceiling fan for the size room it is located in.

• 36″ fan for rooms that measure up to 9′ X 12′
• 48″ fan for rooms up to 12′ X 15′
• 56″ fan for rooms larger than 12′ X 15′

2) Installing a ceiling fan: Follow the directions that come with the fan.  The following Do-it-Yourself website is also a helpful tool.

Helpful Reminder:

Adjust your thermostat when you have your ceiling fans running.  For each degree you lower or raise your thermostat (depending on the season and which direction your fan is rotating), you’ll reduce heating or cooling costs 3 % to 5 %.

( By Mark Stewart ) [Approx. Read Time: 3 minutes]

Florida state authorities, including the Governor, approved an important element of Progress Energy’s proposal to build two new nuclear power plants (NPP) in Levy County, FL.  You can read the Jacksonville Observer’s account here.  Florida officials approved the plants despite some protesters using some of the same, tired, and inaccurate arguments against the world’s only reliable carbon-free baseload electricity generation method. FL Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda was sure to make her voice heard with the following:

“I’m concerned about the cost with regard to this nuclear power plant, I’m concerned about the time that it’s going to take to build this nuclear power plant, I’m concerned about the number of jobs, I’m concerned about the danger and I’m concerned about the legacy that we leave our children and our children’s children.”

As detailed in a previous post, NPP are a GREAT investment, if you are able to think long-term.  NPP do take time to build but they are the only technology available NOW that can provide the CO₂ free power on a large scale that the US (and the rest of the world) needs.  I’m not sure what Rep. Vasilinda means when she says she is concerned about jobs but the lasting positive economic impact a NPP has on the surrounding community has been well documented.  Finally, just for good measure, Rep. Vasilinda throws in a vague boogeyman statement about “danger” that our children and our children’s children will face.  As proven year after year by OSHA statistics, the nuclear industry is one of the safest major industries in the U.S.

Not to be outdone, Lake Worth City Commissioner Cara Jennings offered the following:

“Scientific research has clearly shown that the entire nuclear process - from minor to transportation, process, use and long-term storage - has negative consequences on public health,” Jennings said. “Even when running ‘safely,’ nuclear power plants release radiation. Radiation is odor-less, tasteless, invisible and deadly even in low doses.”

Not to let facts get in the way of an argument, but you are exposed to 400 times more radiation while getting a full set of dental X-rays than if you lived outside a nuclear power plant for one year.  Commissioner Jennings also offered the following regarding Progress’s plan to replace existing coal plants with the new NPP

“Is this really the best we have to offer the people of our state?” she asked. “Go ahead Floridians, take your pick: lung cancer and air pollution from coal or cancer for your kids and a waste product so deadly we have nowhere to put it.”

All nuclear waste is currently stored safely at the facility where it is generated.  You can read more about the safety of spent nuclear fuel storage here.  While this isn’t a long term solution, it is safe and a long term solution does exist in the form of reprocessing technology being used NOW in France.

As NEI’s Richard Myers said this week “You clearly cannot have a credible program to control carbon emissions without expanded nuclear power.”