FLIR Thermal Survey of House.

Late last year on a cold dry night did a FLIR E4 survey of my house. Will not include the photos. A google image search for FLIR will get stuff much more interesting visually than I could present. Some online FLIR images even tend toward art.

Issues found:
- Massive kitchen heatleak. Wall too thin behind radiator. Unfortunately no gap whatsoever into which to insert a batt of Spaceloft.  Thinking about a tiny under window greenhouse or exterior adhoc insulation.
- Big heat leak on inner corner of front porch where radiator pipes go to second floor. Insulation has probabbly fallen down around pipe. Unfortunately hard to get to. Again thinking about something adhoc on exterior. Looking at ComfortBatt wrapped in Tyvek.
- Exposed basement cinderblock wall. Thought our 12" thick basement blocks (with air core) would do fairly well. But the whole thing is uniformly warm. Considering stryofoam rigid panels - dig down to allow 2' height, UV protect with thin water and vermin resistant sheathing (maybe Tyvek again), regrade... will have to wait until snow gone, and ground thaws.

Places I thought there would be leaks - but there were none:
- Basement sills - suprisingly tight.
- Basement windows - had installed secondary glazing on most.
- Upstairs windows - have storm windows and they seem to do a good job.
- Attic floor - thought the rockwool had been distrubed to thin here and there, but good overall.

FLIR is about to update the FLIRONE .
And it addresses a couple of big issues with first version
A. Any device with Lightning or Andoid micro USB.
B. Consolidated App for everything.

Micro management of your lawn becomes a real possibility. See my previous post on Big Data in Agriculture. Here is something a bit "farther out" from NASA. And a bit more down to earth from IsraelAgri.

LED Lighting Roundup - and Real LED Lamps

Roundup by Greentech’s Doug Widney
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/The-Top-Ten-LED-Lighting-Developments-of-2012
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED_lamp
Not a week goes by without an interesting gem at Greentech.
http://www.greentechmedia.com/

Here are some LED lamps which are within the margins of USB (and by transference 802.3af). Note they have a 120VAC adapter and can be converted (with some wiring work).

IKEA Jansjo white desk work light
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90214233/

Target Room Essentials 074-14-0009 black desk work light
http://www.target.com/p/room-essentials-led-table-lamp-black/-/A-13557999
Picture on web is not quite a match to what is in store.

Wiring work to retrofit with USB connector and use cable and USB 1A wall adapter like
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&p_id=8857

Puzzle: Why do LED lamps (in the 5W range) not simply use USB power connector format and include a USB wall adapter for region? USB would be cheaper and easier for everyone in supply chain.
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/12/07/24/028230/usb-30-100w-power-standard-seeks-to-end-proprietary-chargers

Energy 2013 - Big (Unexciting) Things

Big (but unexciting?) energy related things for new year.
Solar and renewable/alternative energy get better all the time.
But perhaps it is about using energy better?

Cherry picking energy related items from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emerging_technologies
whilst taking the position/measure that each needs to be available now or soon at local retail. Will follow-up with brief entry on each.

• LED lighting
• Advanced insulation (and thermal surveys)
• Batteries and energy storage

More forward looking and service oriented...

• Energy surveys 
• Longterm or broad analysis (continuous and big data)
• Sensors (motes) everywhere to fire the data engine
• Better behavioural research

LED Holiday Lights

Relative merits of LED holiday lights by Katherine Tweed at Greentech.
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/should-clark-griswold-switched-to-led-christmas-lights1

Comments:

Look for the warm white LED holiday lights sets - a bit less efficient, but they give a better feel.

Buy light sets for next year after the season is over. The post-holiday sales can beat year-to-year price drops by as much as three-to-one. But this is as valid for incandescent sets as for LED sets.

Probably should consider a life cycle analysis. A holiday light set (any type) recovered for reuse (craigslist?) might have better cradle-to-grave economics.

This brings up the “coffee cup life cycle analysis”
http://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=28765
You can search for and see endless debate and nuances. But one good conceptual summation, after materials, washing, kilns and so forth, is…

If you reuse a mug (or whatever) which was headed for waste stream, conservation is served. It is not clear cut. Older cars and air conditioners may be better off recycled. And market economics may not be well served by reuse.

Power over Ethernet for Lighting - LEDs

Have ongoing work interest in 802.3af and 802.3at Power over Ethernet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_over_Ethernet
for non-classical applications (not VOIP – voice, video). Mostly interested in sensors, actuators and protocol/serial conversions via 802.3af. Communications drives these applications.

What if we drove further and looked at how far 10W could get one in a real physical application with an eye to communications. Lock strikes, dampers, valves, keypads and small displays get into this realm. What if the deliverable was literally power? What could be useful at 10W? The answer is that LED lighting technology is now practical at this level.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED_lamp
http://albertputnam.blogspot.com/2012/10/led-lighting-update.html

Scenario for LED lighting:
-Space (house/suite) wired for Cat5e or Cat6. (as-built or retrofit).
-802.3af managed gigabit switches installed (for use with VOIP as starter) like Dlink DGS-1210-10P.
-Unused sockets get 802.3af LED lamps (prototype – Trendnet TPE-112GS – with a 5W USB desk lamp).
-Local and (intelligent switch) managed control of the LED lights.
-UPS backup of 802.3af injection, and thus lights, where needed.

This involves only safe low voltage wiring. International acceptance/use/deploy possible.

Build 5-10W LED lamp with RJ45 connector and module like Silvertel Ag9600/Ag9700 series or similar (Ag9605? Ag9603?). Interesting if one could get 802.3af direct to LED driver (current) circuit.

LED Lighting - Update

Posted on LED lighting in last few days of 2011.
http://albertputnam.blogspot.com/2011/12/led-lighting.html
Here is a nice roundup article from Greentech Media, Jeff St. John.
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/LED-Roundup-Redwood-Systems-Lumenergi-IKEA-and-the-GSA

Smart lighting comes up... and always seems to go down the wireless path. Why not think about where the power comes from differently? What if power came with your communications? LEDs need much less power, and what if you had a standard way of delivering low power via the network?

Presto: 802.3af and 802.3at Power over Ethernet (PoE).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_over_Ethernet

Will discuss more about PoE and LEDs in subsequent posts.

Saving Money - Then and Now.

Thinking about how saved money in childhood in semi-rural Nova Scotia.
- burned wood (from wood lot).
- raised chickens (fed bread and leftovers).
- drove old car.
- gardened (potatoes, peas, tomatoes, strawberries).
- harvested field mushrooms.
- made maple syrup.
- passive solar (window warmth).
- insulated (straw, fiberglass, fabric window coverings and wall hangings).
- used old machinery for snow removal and yard care.
- used library.
- frugal with clothes and entertainment.

But spent money on lights, TV and telephone without much worry.

Today many things still apply in suburban environment, but it is different...
Save money by:
- efficient lighting (like LEDs)
- [burning wood is frowned upon due to smoke and CO2].
- wind/solar self sufficiency.
- insulate.
- drive new car and get new appliances which are more efficient and take less maintenance.
- use Internet (and still library!).
- take train and boats (mass transit).
- garden.
- raise small livestock, if ordinances and neighbours allow.
- manually mow lawn and remove snow for exercise (or at least use electric).
- frugal with entertainment and clothes.

But spend money on lights, Internet, TV and telephone without much worry.

Property/school taxes, water/trash bills and mortgage are significant costs in suburban home life.

LED Lighting

What technology has been revolutionary in the past quarter century? Many ways of looking at this. Even defining "technology" and "revolutionary" might be debatable.

LED lighting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED_lamp
(and even CFL when well implemented)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp
are amazing.

LED bulbs are available at Home Depot, Lowes and Walmart. Such technology at retail here and now is amazing.

Even simple holiday lights are amazing. Can get at CVS a string of 60 warm white lights (string handles heat and light distribution) that consume about 4W (total) and put out about 400 lumens (total - like a 40W bulb). They twinkle a bit, but not a major annoyance. Thinking of supplementing lighting in basement and attic with LED strings.

"The Future of Light Is the LED"
By Dan Koeppel August 19, 2011 12:53 pm Wired September 2011
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/08/ff_lightbulbs/all/1

Article Points:
Brett Sharenow, CFO, Switch demos LED bulb. New regulations on light bulb efficiency upcoming. 100/60 watt race. Haitz law: x20 light /10 cost per decade. CFL problems. The L Prize (short for Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize). LED history. Heat transfer (new idea) via fluid. History of Switch. Developments by others.

Sidebar: battle of bulbs (6) including:
+ Philips Ambientled - The first commercially available 60-watt-equivalent LED.
+ Switch60 Warm White