Cutting saving millions in the House

Committee budgets, which vary based on size and merit, have also been trimmed. The Natural Resources Committee, for example, operated on $8.4 million annually in 2010 while this year's budget is $6.5 million, a 22.35% cut.The Senate is subject to the sequester cuts which affect office and committee budgets, but the Democratic-controlled chamber has not self-inflicted comparable operational cuts.The cuts force lawmakers to find new ways to save. Miller canceled a cleaning service for her district office a $4,000 decision her employees supported when they were informed it was that or furloughs. Miller's message: "This is what a Swiffer looks like."Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., directs staff to fly in to Baltimore's airport instead of Washington's Reagan airport because direct flights from Charlotte are cheaper. Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., cut back on rental cars and online ad spending. Even Boehner has cut back on subscriptions and spent less on events, including the St. Patrick's Day lunch the speaker hosts each year. "It forces you to think about ways you can save money," Miller said.
It's also forcing tougher choices on where to spend money. The U.S. Capitol Police budget hasn't faced GOP-inflicted cuts although the police force has been impacted by the sequester to the tune of $18.8 million this year--and Boehner has pledged that none of the Capitol complex will be closed to the public because of sequester cuts. The White House has cut public tours, citing the cuts.Democrats have chafed at Boehner's decision to spend as much as $3 million in taxpayer funds so the U.S. House can mount a legal defense of the Defense of Marriage Act which prohibits gay marriage while staffers are forced to go without pay. For example, about 17 Democratic aides employed by the House Administration Committee face up to 19 days of furlough, according to staff director Jamie Fleet.Lawmakers approved a spending bill that includes $61.2 million to repair the crumbling U.S. Capitol dome, and Miller said her committee is working on how to budget for an overhaul of the Cannon House Office Building in 2015, a costly project that is likely to take ten years to complete. "You know what? This is the new normal as far as I'm concerned because it's not like next year there's going to be a whole bunch more money," Miller said.

China Emerges In The LED Market

The Chinese government questions the need for 50,000-hour lifetimes being pursued elsewhere and believes a lower figure is more practical for applications requiring medium-output to low-output LED bulbs. It has been writing its own standards and testing methodologies for shorter-lifetime LEDs.Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. (AMEC), China’s leading provider of advanced process technology for LEDs, offers dielectric and through-silicon via (TSV) etch tools. Two months ago, it launched an MOCVD platform for the low-cost, high-volume manufacture of high-brightness LEDs, the patented Prismo D-Blue, which is extendable to the manufacture of gallium-nitride (GaN) on silicon applications. It can accommodate up to four independently controlled reactors and can process up to 216 2-in. wafers simultaneously.wafers.“The solid-state lighting market is an essential element of our growth strategy,” says Zhiyou Di, sensor vice president and general manager of AMEC’s MOCVD product business division.

China’s Chongquing Silian Optoelectronics & Technology Co. Ltd., an established supplier of materials, devices, and systems for the lighting industry, is partnering with Soitec, a European manufacturer of semiconductor materials, to jointly develop GaN template wafers using Silian’s sapphire substrate and Soitec’s HVPE technology. The aim is to validate the manufacturability and commercialization of GaN-based LEDs, which are viewed as the next step in LED development.Earth Day is upon us. In large and small ways, every one of us can and should help clean up the planet, and reduce our carbon footprint. As photographers, we have a powerful weapon: Our cameras. We can use photography to capture and share the planet's fragile beauty, and to shed light on polluters. Here are 10 things you can do to have a more positive environmental impact.

 

They're illuminating Rembrandt

Manufacturers have been working to improve that, and by gosh, maybe they've cracked it: When Amsterdam's venerable Rijksmuseum reopens next week, 3,800 LED spot bulbs will shed light on 7,500 paintings by Dutch masters including Rembrandt and Vermeer, and on works of art dating back to the Middle Ages."We chose LED lighting for firstly, the high quality of the light emitted, and secondly the color rendering of LED lighting, which is very close to that of daylight,"the museum's head of exhibitions Tim Zeedijk says in a press release issued by Royal Philips Electronics, which supplied over a mile of LED lighting.Conventional incandescent bulbs burn a filament - they have a warm hue because they are fire. China Power Bank Wholesalers.LED manufacturers have been "warming up"the look of LED light by adding substances such as phosphor
It wasn't just the LED light tone that impressed the Rijksmuseum.  Zeedijk noted that the LEDs also protect the paintings because "there is hardly any radiation of heat and no harmful UV beams being emitted.”China Lighting Africa Offers.LEDs - light emitting diodes - are rudimentary semiconductors that compared to incandescent bulbs (such as halogens, often used at museums) convert a lot more energy into light rather than losing it as heat. They use only about 20 percent of the electricity of a conventional light bulb.Another advantage of LED bulbs is their reputed long life of 25 years or more, which reduces replacement and maintenance costs.On top of that, they lend themselves to digital control. The Rijksmuseum will dim and brighten its lights using an iPad. And to think that Rembrandt's tablet was a mere palette.

Consumers warm to LED bulbs as prices fall

"They're getting to a point where more people are willing to splurge," he said.Thanks to subsidies from utilities, improved quality and lower manufacturing costs, sales are expected to rise significantly this year, Connors said.Part of the shift is by default. Since last year, incandescent bulbs are being phased out.The 75-watt and 100-watt bulbs are no longer being manufactured, and the 40- and 60-watters will be eliminated next year.Although retailers can still sell the bulbs if they have supplies, most retailers are now stocking halogens, compact fluorescents and LEDs, with only a few incandescent choices.Although some might say LEDs are selling for lack of a better option, Connors thinks demand for LED will double this year for a different reason: the availability of cheaper, better bulbs.Early adopters who were initially disappointed can now find mercury-free bulbs that do what incandescents do well: reach maximum brightness immediately and have the capability to be used with dimmers, motion detectors and enclosed fixtures.

Although today's prices are a big plunge from $70 for a bulb in 2009, they still seem exorbitant for people used to paying 50 cents for an incandescent.But a 60-watt LED bulb that costs $13 pays for itself in about two years.Assuming use of three hours a day, an incandescent burns about $7 in electricity per year, an LED $1 per year, said Mike Watson, vice president of marketing at Cree Inc., an LED manufacturer in North Carolina.Watson sees $10 a bulb as the tipping point at which many consumers will try LED as a replacement for 40- or 60-watt incandescents, which make up 80 percent of North America's residential bulbsThere are some differences from traditional bulbs.People used to choosing by wattage alone now have to look at lumens for brightness and kelvins for color. Consumers have to read labels now, said Kim Sherman, senior product portfolio manager at Xcel Energy.The lack of consistency in size or shape makes it difficult for consumers to easily pick out the bulb they want. Besides 400 or 800 lumens and 2,700 or 4,000 kelvins, they have to read the label for a bulb's ability to be dimmed or used in an enclosed fixture.

LED Lights Get Smarter

At the industry conference Lightfair International next week, Marvell will be showing off chip sets that will allow light makers to add networking to light bulbs China Solar bag Offers additional two dollars, a cost that will help spur consumer sales of connected lights, says Kishore Manghani, vice president of green technology products.It's conceivable that by the end of the year, a package similar to Hue could be sold for $99 and half that price by the end of next year, according to Manghani. "We're enabling OEM to make a connected bulb at a consumer price point, not an early technology adopter price point," he says.

Marvell also developed a chip set that will make it cheaper to add wireless drivers to commercial lighting. The all-digital system, developed to work with Daintree's lighting control system, means additional features, such as dimming China Motion Sensor Lights Offers color control, can be added with a software upgrade, says Manghani.In another sign of digital convergence in lighting, LED maker Bridgelux tomorrow will introduce a product to make it easier to add features, such as wireless controls and sensors to commercial lighting. The company changed the packaging that accompanies its LED light enginesthe semiconductors that give off light to give light fixture makes more design flexibility, says Aaron Merrill, the director of marketing. For example, lights could be connected to corporate networks to measure energy usage, include motion sensors, or dim to take advantage of natural daylight.

LED for every socket coming soon

A couple of years ago, the overly bright glare of LEDs could make you feel uncomfortable. Today's LEDs can cast a warmer glow. They're also available in colors.You can easily use them in recessed cans and most fixtures. They're not widely available for chandeliers or smaller fixtures because they haven't figured out how to hide the driver, a part that makes it work inside a small bulb.They seem to work better as down lights in cans than in table lamps. But improvements keep coming.A manufacturer, Cree Inc., has started marketing an LED replacement bulb for a 40-watt incandescent for use in many household lamps and fixtures. It looks just like an incandescent bulb and will cost just $9.97.You can also buy very contemporary chandeliers and fixtures designed just for LEDS. Also available is LED strip or tape lighting for under cabinets or along floorboards. The strips come on reels and are fairly easy to install for do-it-yourselfers who have done electrical work before.How much will your electric bill go down? Manufacturers estimate that LEDs are up to 85 percent more efficient than incandescent bulbs and 10 percent more efficient than CFLs. So eventually, LEDs can help pay for themselves with energy savings.

 You can't grab a box of LEDs and throw them in your shopping cart after checking only the price and the watts. You may have to study charts in the hardware store; you may have to talk to someone in the store about what you are buying; you may have to start comparing lumens, a measure of light emitted by the bulb, instead of watts, the measure of power used by the bulb.Not all LEDs are highly efficient and long-lasting, according to the U.S. Energy Department. Poorly designed products usually cheaper bulbs can flicker, shift in color and dim out as they get older. The department urges consumers to buy Energy Star bulbs that have passed tests to prove that they are as bright as or brighter than incandescents and CFLs.Meanwhile, however, incandescents have not become extinct yet. Manufacturers can still legally produce them in 60 watt sizes or less. So stop buying boxes of bulbs to hide in your garage. And next week, we'll talk about how you can use LED lighting in your backyard.

Larson Electronics Releases Explosion Proof LED

Each lamp connects to the main cord through four feet of cord and its own junction box, with each junction spaced eight feet apart. China Solar radio and charger Offers 50 feet of explosion proof cord fitted with an ECP 1523P Class 1, Division 1 approved explosion proof plug is included which provides added reach and a secure connection to power outlets. The plug on this unit is a twist lock design, which means when connecting to a twist lock receptacle the plug must be twisted and locked into place in order to energize the receptacle. These plugs will work with standard outlets, but must be connected to an explosion proof receptacle in order to maintain compliance withChina Solar laptop charger Offers regulations. Each LED lamp produces 1,050 lumens of light output, more than a 60 watt incandescent bulb, yet runs far cooler and uses only a fraction as much power. The lamp housings are formed from copper free aluminum with a heavy duty globe guard and aluminum hanging hook, and an annealed glass globe guard protects the LED lamp assembly from impacts or accidental dropping.

The LED lights in these units provide much sharper and whiter light output compared to traditional incandescent bulbs, making them well suited to areas where close work is performed and operations where good contrast and detail rendering is important. These LEDs are highly resistant to shocks and vibrations, making them well suited to use in abusive industrial work conditions. The cool running LED lamps provides added protection against accidental burns should a worker's skin come in contact with the lamp while in operation.By incorporating LEDs, Larson Electronics has also improved the reliability of these portable hazardous location lights. Whereas a typical incandescent lamp will burn for approximately 500 to 1,000 hours and then burn out, these LED lamps will run for over 50,000 hours, greatly reducing down time and helping to improve safety.and anywhere lighting can be easily suspended from overhead scaffolds, framing or other similar structures.

Five things to consider before buying LED bulbs

As your incandescents burn out, it's a good time to consider switching to LED bulbs. By now, you probably know that LEDs have an impressive lifespan (20-something years!) and are very cost-effective. You probably also know that they're a pricey investment that can run five times more expensive than incandescents.Despite the cost, now's the right time to switch to LEDs. These bulbs have made significant advances over the last few years, finally delivering the warm light incandescents have comforted us with for decades.More than ever, there is also an overwhelming number of LED varieties, and choosing an LED is entirely different from picking up an incandescent. Before you head to the store, find out what you need to know about choosing the right LED bulbs.When shopping for bulbs, you're probably accustomed to looking for watts, an indication of how bright the bulb will be. The brightness of LEDs, however, is determined a little differently.Contrary to common belief, wattage isn't an indication of brightness, but a measurement of how much energy the bulb draws. For incandescents, there is an accepted correlation between the watts drawn and the brightness, but for LEDs, watts aren't a great predictor of how bright the bulb will be. (The point, after all, is that they draw less energy.)

For example, an LED bulb with comparable brightness to a 60-watt incandescent is only 8 to 12 watts.But don't bother doing the math -- there isn't a uniform way to covert incandescent watts to LED watts. Instead, a different form of measurement should be used: lumens.The lumen (lm) is the real measurement of brightness provided by a light bulb, and is the number you should look for when shopping for LEDs. For reference, here's a chart that shows the watt-lumen conversion for incandescents and LEDs. As shown off by the Philips Hue, LED bulbs are capable of displaying an impressive color range, from purple to red, to a spectrum of whites and yellows. For the home, however, you're likely looking for something similar to the light that incandescents produce.The popular colors available for LEDs are "warm white" or "soft white" and "bright white."

New Reasons to Change Light Bulbs

People sometimes have trouble making small sacrifices now that will reward them handsomely later. How often do we ignore the advice to make a few diet and exercise changes to live a longer, China Remote Controlled LED Exporters? Or to put some money aside to grow into a nest egg? Intellectually, we get it - but instant gratification is a powerful force. You don't have to be one of those self-defeating rubes. Start buying LED light bulbs.You've probably seen LED flashlights, the LED "flash" on phone cameras and LED indicator lights on electronics. But LED bulbs, for use in the lamps and light sockets of your home, have been slow to arrive, mainly because of their high price: their electronics and heat-management features have made them much, much more expensive than other kinds of bulbs. That's a pity, because LED bulbs are a gigantic improvement over incandescent bulbs and even the compact fluorescents, or CFLs, that the world spent several years telling us to buy.LEDs last about 25 times as long as incandescents and three times as long as CFLs; we're talking maybe 25,000 hours of light. Install one today, and you may not own your house, or even live, long enough to see it burn out. (Actually, LED bulbs generally don't burn out at all; they just get dimmer.)

You know how hot incandescent bulbs become. That's because they convert only 5 to 10 percent of your electricity into light; they waste the rest as heat. LED bulbs are far more efficient. They convert 60 percent of their electricity into light, so they consume far less electricity. You pay less, you pollute less.But wait, there's more: LED bulbs also turn on to full brightness instantly. They're dimmable. The light color is wonderful; you can choose whiter or warmer bulbs. China Power Bank Suppliers, too. It's hard to break an LED bulb, but if the worst should come to pass, a special coating prevents flying shards.