Since then, residents in nine of the Mutual Housing Association's apartment buildings have applied to receive up-to-date equipment ranging from new boilers to new hot water heaters, windows, refrigerators and stoves, Orselli said. To qualify for building-wide upgrades, the majority of the buildings' tenants must be low-income. And to obtain home appliances, tenants must individually meet income eligibility standards, he explained.
"Generally, to get landlords from 21 buildings together can be a very difficult task," Orselli said. "Since we own all the buildings, we can provide permission readily, which makes it efficient."
Financial savings for both the M.H.A. and its tenants is a top priority for the Cooper Square Committee in order to be able to preserve affordable housing, Orselli said.
"The only way we can charge very low maintenance fees is to try to keep the cost of maintaining buildings as low as possible," he said.
Lucille Carrasquero, 84, whose building at 56 E. Fourth St. is slated to get a new boiler, is anxiously awaiting a new fridge to replace the one she's had for nearly nine years. Carrasquero is also hoping to qualify for a replacement window for her outdoor garden, whose current windows are difficult to clean and covered with bars.
"I think it's an excellent opportunity for us to be able to get appliances that we need, especially for us low-income people," said Carrasquero. "You save electricity, first of all — and if you save electricity, you save money."
The initiative has the dual advantage of lowering residents' electricity bills and preserving the environment, added Carrasquero's friend Theresa Sandberry, a resident of 60 E. Fourth St.
"If you can get the building to use less fuel, that's a win-win situation," Sandberry said.
The program also intends to help mom-and-pop stores burdened with electric bills and other operating expenses. Working with energy consultants, Tamara Greenfield, F.A.B.'s executive director, has already surveyed several businesses on the block to evaluate their energy savings options.
"They know it's not a sales pitch, and that it's about some kind of larger community benefit, as well as bringing things that'll help them with their bottom line," said Greenfield.
Lynn Freidus, owner and manager of Random Accessories, a stationery, jewelry and clothing store at 77 E. Fourth St., is working with F.A.B. and Con Edison to switch to lower-wattage light bulbs.
"The fact is, we'd like to save money and still have light," Freidus said.
The Fourth St. Food Co-op natural food store on the ground floor of 58 E. Fourth St., needs a more efficient cooling system, according to co-op member Jill Woodward. The store uses electricity generated by wind power.
Thursday, 29 December 2011
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Historical-looking lights coming to Marquette Park Pavilion
The recently vandalized Marquette Park Recreation Pavilion will get more than $200,000 in custom made lights, harkening back to the nearly 90-year-old building's original grandeur.
A newly installed security systems should protect them, said planning director Christopher Meyers.
The Board of Public Works and Safety Wednesday approved a $208,000 contract to Winona Lighting for the special lights. They include glass globes, instead of acrylics, and brass and copper lanterns, which are much harder to steal and exchange for cash, Meyers said.
"They're such specialized items, that if any one steals them and tries to hawk them, then it's like a piece of art," he said, adding it would not be hard to track them down or find the thieves.
In photos of the pavilion dating back decades, the glass fixtures adorn the entrances and others hang across the second floor ballroom. They were tall, regal ornaments with design elements that support the architecture of the building opened in 1924.
Getting historical replicas of exterior and interior lighting was a selling point in the Regional Development Authority's $28 million grant for the Marquette Park Lakefront East renovation, Meyers said.
Great Lakes Electrical and Mechanical originally was awarded the lighting contract, but when officials learned GLEM could not install the replicated lights, about $140,000 was deducted from their contract and applied to the historically accurate fixtures.
The pavilion was vandalized and copper, tools and other goods stolen last week. Meyers said Gary police are actively investigating the case. A fire also was started in the main entrance to the building, with soot and ash covering all the floors.
Meyers said he will meet with the project's insurance company later this week.
While conduit for an alarm system had already been run through the structure, project officials had not yet installed any warning systems. As of Wednesday, Meyers still insisted it was the responsibility of contractors to secure their building materials and tools, but last week's break-in, the third of the year at the pavilion, expedited security steps like an alarm system with motion sensors that will alert Gary police and other parties.
Solar power is being used at oil wells to power drilling operations these days. Apparently, it is also being used at nuclear power plants, ironically.
"In an order valued at nearly $400,000 USD, a large US power utility in the Southwestern United States has selected the EverGEN 1530 solar LED outdoor lighting system for the second installment in a perimeter fence security lighting project," Carmanah, the developer of the solar LED outdoor lighting system reports.
As noted in the title, the reason for going solar is "to increase the security… by providing backup safety lighting in the unlikely event of power failure, allowing the facility to maintain critical security functions that are mandated by Homeland Security"
As noted above, this is the second installment. The two together total an investment of $1.5 million in solar lighting.
A newly installed security systems should protect them, said planning director Christopher Meyers.
The Board of Public Works and Safety Wednesday approved a $208,000 contract to Winona Lighting for the special lights. They include glass globes, instead of acrylics, and brass and copper lanterns, which are much harder to steal and exchange for cash, Meyers said.
"They're such specialized items, that if any one steals them and tries to hawk them, then it's like a piece of art," he said, adding it would not be hard to track them down or find the thieves.
In photos of the pavilion dating back decades, the glass fixtures adorn the entrances and others hang across the second floor ballroom. They were tall, regal ornaments with design elements that support the architecture of the building opened in 1924.
Getting historical replicas of exterior and interior lighting was a selling point in the Regional Development Authority's $28 million grant for the Marquette Park Lakefront East renovation, Meyers said.
Great Lakes Electrical and Mechanical originally was awarded the lighting contract, but when officials learned GLEM could not install the replicated lights, about $140,000 was deducted from their contract and applied to the historically accurate fixtures.
The pavilion was vandalized and copper, tools and other goods stolen last week. Meyers said Gary police are actively investigating the case. A fire also was started in the main entrance to the building, with soot and ash covering all the floors.
Meyers said he will meet with the project's insurance company later this week.
While conduit for an alarm system had already been run through the structure, project officials had not yet installed any warning systems. As of Wednesday, Meyers still insisted it was the responsibility of contractors to secure their building materials and tools, but last week's break-in, the third of the year at the pavilion, expedited security steps like an alarm system with motion sensors that will alert Gary police and other parties.
Solar power is being used at oil wells to power drilling operations these days. Apparently, it is also being used at nuclear power plants, ironically.
"In an order valued at nearly $400,000 USD, a large US power utility in the Southwestern United States has selected the EverGEN 1530 solar LED outdoor lighting system for the second installment in a perimeter fence security lighting project," Carmanah, the developer of the solar LED outdoor lighting system reports.
As noted in the title, the reason for going solar is "to increase the security… by providing backup safety lighting in the unlikely event of power failure, allowing the facility to maintain critical security functions that are mandated by Homeland Security"
As noted above, this is the second installment. The two together total an investment of $1.5 million in solar lighting.
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
How to choose winter-gardening light system
Color. Bright sunshine contains the full spectrum of light wavelengths from red through yellow and green to blue and violet. Plants use all of these wavelengths for photosynthesis, but red and blue are two of the most important. The blue spectrum promotes vegetative growth so young plants build robust, full foliage. The red wavelengths promote flowers and fruits.
Intensity. All plants need light to thrive, but some plants can get by on lower intensities than others. Native tropicals, shade-loving forest plants and houseplants like ivy and philodendron don't need as much light as Mediterranean succulents or desert cactuses. Flowering plants of all kinds, such as orchids and gardenias, generally need brighter light to flower and produce fruit.
Duration. No matter how much light they use to grow, plants need a rest now and then, to accomplish their other functions of metabolism. Plants' preferences for light to dark are divided into short-day, long-day and day-neutral.
Short-day plants thrive on less than 12 hours of light in a 24-hour period. Most will also need to have a stretch of even shorter days to signal them to set buds and flower. Azaleas, chrysanthemums, poinsettia and Christmas cactus are short-day plants.
Long-day plants need 14 to 18 hours of light per day. Vegetables and most garden plants are long day, and get pale and stretched when they don't get enough light.
Day-neutral plants like geraniums, coleus and foliage plants are happy with eight to 12 hours of light throughout the year.
Kinds of grow lights. There are many kinds of artificial lights that will support plants indoors, from ordinary bulbs and tubes to super-efficient LED lights. Most are available in multiple color spectrums.
Fluorescent tubes put out three to four times the light of incandescent bulbs for the same energy. Their color frequencies run from reds to blues, so you can mix and match to suit your preferences. Full-spectrum or sunlight fluorescents are great for all plants and for starting plants from seeds. They're often even marketed as grow lights.
Industry standard, T-4-size tubes fit in ordinary shop lights and household fluorescent fixtures. New, smaller T-8 and T-5 tubes need fixtures with special ballasts, but use less power and last significantly longer. Cool-white and warm-white fluorescent bulbs can be mixed in a two-bulb fixture to get a good balance of red and blue light. Metal halide lamps and mercury vapor lamps have a strong blue spectrum, high-intensity light good for developing dense, stocky foliage. High-pressure sodium bulbs emit yellow-orange light that's better for the flowering and fruiting phase of a plant's lifecycle.
The newest technology for grow lights uses Light Emitting Diodes. LEDs are extremely energy efficient; they average 50,000 hours of useful operation, and generate very little heat, making them safe for plants and people. You'll spend a good bit more upfront but you can expect to save 40 percent to 75 percent on your energy costs.
Regardless of which kind of lighting system you use, rotate your plants one or more times each week to balance the amount of light each plant receives. Replace fluorescent tubes when the ends start to blacken to keep adequate light levels for your plants. Keep the plants far enough away from the light to prevent burning yet close enough to maximize the exposure these supplemental sources provide.
Intensity. All plants need light to thrive, but some plants can get by on lower intensities than others. Native tropicals, shade-loving forest plants and houseplants like ivy and philodendron don't need as much light as Mediterranean succulents or desert cactuses. Flowering plants of all kinds, such as orchids and gardenias, generally need brighter light to flower and produce fruit.
Duration. No matter how much light they use to grow, plants need a rest now and then, to accomplish their other functions of metabolism. Plants' preferences for light to dark are divided into short-day, long-day and day-neutral.
Short-day plants thrive on less than 12 hours of light in a 24-hour period. Most will also need to have a stretch of even shorter days to signal them to set buds and flower. Azaleas, chrysanthemums, poinsettia and Christmas cactus are short-day plants.
Long-day plants need 14 to 18 hours of light per day. Vegetables and most garden plants are long day, and get pale and stretched when they don't get enough light.
Day-neutral plants like geraniums, coleus and foliage plants are happy with eight to 12 hours of light throughout the year.
Kinds of grow lights. There are many kinds of artificial lights that will support plants indoors, from ordinary bulbs and tubes to super-efficient LED lights. Most are available in multiple color spectrums.
Fluorescent tubes put out three to four times the light of incandescent bulbs for the same energy. Their color frequencies run from reds to blues, so you can mix and match to suit your preferences. Full-spectrum or sunlight fluorescents are great for all plants and for starting plants from seeds. They're often even marketed as grow lights.
Industry standard, T-4-size tubes fit in ordinary shop lights and household fluorescent fixtures. New, smaller T-8 and T-5 tubes need fixtures with special ballasts, but use less power and last significantly longer. Cool-white and warm-white fluorescent bulbs can be mixed in a two-bulb fixture to get a good balance of red and blue light. Metal halide lamps and mercury vapor lamps have a strong blue spectrum, high-intensity light good for developing dense, stocky foliage. High-pressure sodium bulbs emit yellow-orange light that's better for the flowering and fruiting phase of a plant's lifecycle.
The newest technology for grow lights uses Light Emitting Diodes. LEDs are extremely energy efficient; they average 50,000 hours of useful operation, and generate very little heat, making them safe for plants and people. You'll spend a good bit more upfront but you can expect to save 40 percent to 75 percent on your energy costs.
Regardless of which kind of lighting system you use, rotate your plants one or more times each week to balance the amount of light each plant receives. Replace fluorescent tubes when the ends start to blacken to keep adequate light levels for your plants. Keep the plants far enough away from the light to prevent burning yet close enough to maximize the exposure these supplemental sources provide.
Monday, 26 December 2011
2 retiring commissioners reflect on changing the county
Gallagher was the minority commissioner for the four years Staudenmeier chaired the board, and she said she preferred being in control.
"In the majority, your wishes can come true," she said.
She said she and McAndrew brought a wish list of 10 items to the job when they took control and they were able to accomplish all 10.
"They were items we felt needed to be addressed," Gallagher said. "If we had chosen to run for re-election, I know I would have had another (list)."
"The 1912 Building was a liability. It was in deplorable condition," Gallagher said. The county's insurance carrier had advised selling the building due to its condition, she said.
Reducing the number of polling places to 125 from 167. Gallagher said that has saved, and will save, the county $79,750 per election, or $159,500 per year, by reducing the number of poll workers needed.
Resolving the New World computer system controversy, in which the county lost $569,000. The system was prone to crashing and never worked properly. Gallagher said. The matter was settled without having to go to trial.
Instituting the PPL Energy Savings Plan, which guarantees savings of $1 million over the next 15 years, according to Gallagher. Additional savings will be realized from upgrading lighting systems in several county buildings, she said.
Consolidating positions in county government. Gallagher said the commissioners eliminated 15 positions by attrition, saving almost $600,000 in salaries and benefits annually.
"We reduced county government significantly ... by attrition, without having to lay off employees," she said.
Creating the Schuylkill Transportation Authority to manage the Schuylkill Transportation System. Gallagher said the savings from the change will be invested in the system.
Improved monitoring of positions that are funded by grants. The commissioners are now notified when grants expire and can take appropriate action on the positions, she said.
Holding five board meetings per year outside the courthouse, which Gallagher saw as some of the highlights of her term.
"We had the opportunity to meet our citizens face to face," she said.
Restructuring county offices. Gallagher said restructuring the Public Defender's Office saved $29,000, while doing the same with the Tax Claim Bureau allowed for the launch of an aggressive effort to get properties back onto the tax rolls.
"When Gov. (Ed) Rendell came through with $500,000 for our Children & Youth building, which was something I'd been lobbying for," it was one of the highlights of the term, Gallagher said. The money will enable the agency to hire more caseworkers and improve services, she said.
"In the majority, your wishes can come true," she said.
She said she and McAndrew brought a wish list of 10 items to the job when they took control and they were able to accomplish all 10.
"They were items we felt needed to be addressed," Gallagher said. "If we had chosen to run for re-election, I know I would have had another (list)."
"The 1912 Building was a liability. It was in deplorable condition," Gallagher said. The county's insurance carrier had advised selling the building due to its condition, she said.
Reducing the number of polling places to 125 from 167. Gallagher said that has saved, and will save, the county $79,750 per election, or $159,500 per year, by reducing the number of poll workers needed.
Resolving the New World computer system controversy, in which the county lost $569,000. The system was prone to crashing and never worked properly. Gallagher said. The matter was settled without having to go to trial.
Instituting the PPL Energy Savings Plan, which guarantees savings of $1 million over the next 15 years, according to Gallagher. Additional savings will be realized from upgrading lighting systems in several county buildings, she said.
Consolidating positions in county government. Gallagher said the commissioners eliminated 15 positions by attrition, saving almost $600,000 in salaries and benefits annually.
"We reduced county government significantly ... by attrition, without having to lay off employees," she said.
Creating the Schuylkill Transportation Authority to manage the Schuylkill Transportation System. Gallagher said the savings from the change will be invested in the system.
Improved monitoring of positions that are funded by grants. The commissioners are now notified when grants expire and can take appropriate action on the positions, she said.
Holding five board meetings per year outside the courthouse, which Gallagher saw as some of the highlights of her term.
"We had the opportunity to meet our citizens face to face," she said.
Restructuring county offices. Gallagher said restructuring the Public Defender's Office saved $29,000, while doing the same with the Tax Claim Bureau allowed for the launch of an aggressive effort to get properties back onto the tax rolls.
"When Gov. (Ed) Rendell came through with $500,000 for our Children & Youth building, which was something I'd been lobbying for," it was one of the highlights of the term, Gallagher said. The money will enable the agency to hire more caseworkers and improve services, she said.
Sunday, 25 December 2011
Mattress Factory's 'Acupuncture' to pierce North Side skyline
If German artist Hans Peter Kuhn has his way, soon Pittsburgh's skyline will be pierced with hot, white needles of light, high atop the Mattress Factory museum on the city's North Side.
The installation, "Acupuncture," will be a permanent one for the museum founded in 1977, which focuses on installation art.
Though "Acupuncture" won't have a sound element, it will include half a dozen "needles" or lines of light, each 65 to 100 feet in length.
Utilizing custom LED technology engineered by Pittsburgh-based Bunting Graphics, each needle will be made up of several 8-foot sections that will appear as one long needle of light.
"Since the piece will be visible from all sides, and the LEDs unfortunately only emit light in one direction, the engineers at Bunting had to invent a system to light up the back side of the LED, as well, without raising the costs of construction or the electrical-power usage," Kuhn says. "For this, they came up with a very efficient acrylic glass tube that diffuses the light in all directions plus gives the LED rods additional weather protection."
In anticipation of installation, slated for sometime in mid-2012 (after the funds are raised), a new roof will be installed on the building and steel supports will be erected onto which the "lightsticks" will be attached.
"It is serious hardware that we are dealing with here, and it will take some time and craftsmanship to install," Kuhn says.
"The big advantage of the LED technology is that the power consumption is extraordinary small," Kuhn adds. "Although this will be quite a big piece -- approximately 500 feet of bright light lines -- the power consumption will be less then 1.5 kilowatts per hour. This does not only end up in reasonable costs but also with a small carbon footprint."
So far, the design and engineering phase of this project has been completed, and just over $150,000 has been raised to cover the costs of that design and the necessary city permit. Luderowski says that $40,000 of that was spent on engineering, figuring for height, weight and wind resistance.
"We now need and are searching for the $500,000 it will take to put it together, erect it and put it on the roof," Luderowski says.
She hopes the piece will become a visible and significant marker for the North Side, and the city of Pittsburgh. "It's not a sign, or the typical kind of thing you'd find on roofs here," she says.
To kick-start the effort, an anonymous donor has offered $25,000 in the form of a "challenge grant," offering to match funds after that amount has been met.
"The lighting is a custom job. You couldn't just go and buy the lighting. It had to be engineered," Olijnyk says.
"Physically, the opportunity is so spectacular, because our building is this pedestal in the middle of this Victorian neighborhood," Olijnyk says. "It is six stories tall, and everything is below it. So it really is the perfect opportunity to have this happen here."
The installation, "Acupuncture," will be a permanent one for the museum founded in 1977, which focuses on installation art.
Though "Acupuncture" won't have a sound element, it will include half a dozen "needles" or lines of light, each 65 to 100 feet in length.
Utilizing custom LED technology engineered by Pittsburgh-based Bunting Graphics, each needle will be made up of several 8-foot sections that will appear as one long needle of light.
"Since the piece will be visible from all sides, and the LEDs unfortunately only emit light in one direction, the engineers at Bunting had to invent a system to light up the back side of the LED, as well, without raising the costs of construction or the electrical-power usage," Kuhn says. "For this, they came up with a very efficient acrylic glass tube that diffuses the light in all directions plus gives the LED rods additional weather protection."
In anticipation of installation, slated for sometime in mid-2012 (after the funds are raised), a new roof will be installed on the building and steel supports will be erected onto which the "lightsticks" will be attached.
"It is serious hardware that we are dealing with here, and it will take some time and craftsmanship to install," Kuhn says.
"The big advantage of the LED technology is that the power consumption is extraordinary small," Kuhn adds. "Although this will be quite a big piece -- approximately 500 feet of bright light lines -- the power consumption will be less then 1.5 kilowatts per hour. This does not only end up in reasonable costs but also with a small carbon footprint."
So far, the design and engineering phase of this project has been completed, and just over $150,000 has been raised to cover the costs of that design and the necessary city permit. Luderowski says that $40,000 of that was spent on engineering, figuring for height, weight and wind resistance.
"We now need and are searching for the $500,000 it will take to put it together, erect it and put it on the roof," Luderowski says.
She hopes the piece will become a visible and significant marker for the North Side, and the city of Pittsburgh. "It's not a sign, or the typical kind of thing you'd find on roofs here," she says.
To kick-start the effort, an anonymous donor has offered $25,000 in the form of a "challenge grant," offering to match funds after that amount has been met.
"The lighting is a custom job. You couldn't just go and buy the lighting. It had to be engineered," Olijnyk says.
"Physically, the opportunity is so spectacular, because our building is this pedestal in the middle of this Victorian neighborhood," Olijnyk says. "It is six stories tall, and everything is below it. So it really is the perfect opportunity to have this happen here."
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Should Clark Griswold Have Switched to LED Christmas Lights?
Hats off to the Griswolds for getting a real tree instead of using a fake one, as a real Christmas tree is a more sustainable option than a plastic tree. But why stop there? With his bonus check already spent before it arrives, should Clark Griswold consider switching to LED Christmas lights (assuming it's not still 1985) to stop his electric meter from spinning out of control?
Pretending that Clark doesn't already have a tangle of Christmas lights in his garage, let's say he's starting from scratch. In that case, he'll need 250 strands of 100-bulb strings of lights. General Electric makes both LED and classic incandescent Christmas lights, so in the interest of making a direct comparison, we'll use those.
Clark seems like the kind of guy who would shop on Amazon, where you can get General Electric micro LED lights in 100-bulb strands for about $16 each. Old-fashioned lights run about $10 a strand for the same amount of bulbs. Overall, that's $4,000 in LED Christmas lights, compared to $2,500 for traditional technology. No wonder he doesn't have enough money to cover the down payment for the pool.
The good news for Clark's son Rusty is that with LED lights, even if one of the bulbs is out, the rest of the strand will still work, said Jeff Cloud, lighting program manager of GE Lighting. The popularity of LEDs has been growing year over year, with GE seeing about 30 percent growth in sales each year and LEDs claiming about half of the market.
Although not having to toss an entire strand when one light goes out is tempting, the real appeal of LED lights is the clean, bright light for 80 percent less energy. A traditional strand of GE lights uses about 40.8 watts of energy, compared to 8 watts for the LEDs.
The average home runs their lights about six hours a day for six weeks, according to market research by GE.
Obviously, Clark Griswold wasn't so organized, so let's assume the house is lit up for two weeks -- but for 12 hours a day. After all, this is a 'go big or go home' project.
If Clark has 250 strands of regular incandescent lights running for 168 hours during the holiday season, it will run him about $126 in utility bills, assuming he's paying about 7.4 cents per kWh living in the suburbs of Chicago. If Clark paid the national average of 11.5 cents per kWh, he'd be out nearly $200. Maybe not enough to require a nuclear peaker plant be brought online, but I digress.
The switch to LEDs, however, would cost about $25 at 7.4 cents per kilowatt-hour. However, the original cost was still $1,500 more for the strands of LEDs. For the average Christmas reveler, who doesn't wait until just before the crazy in-laws arrive to hang the Christmas lights and pay the national average for electricity, five strands of LEDs would cost about $1.18 for the season, compared to about $6 for incandescents. The payback would still take years, but hey, at least you wouldn't have to toss an entire string when a single bulb blows out.
Pretending that Clark doesn't already have a tangle of Christmas lights in his garage, let's say he's starting from scratch. In that case, he'll need 250 strands of 100-bulb strings of lights. General Electric makes both LED and classic incandescent Christmas lights, so in the interest of making a direct comparison, we'll use those.
Clark seems like the kind of guy who would shop on Amazon, where you can get General Electric micro LED lights in 100-bulb strands for about $16 each. Old-fashioned lights run about $10 a strand for the same amount of bulbs. Overall, that's $4,000 in LED Christmas lights, compared to $2,500 for traditional technology. No wonder he doesn't have enough money to cover the down payment for the pool.
The good news for Clark's son Rusty is that with LED lights, even if one of the bulbs is out, the rest of the strand will still work, said Jeff Cloud, lighting program manager of GE Lighting. The popularity of LEDs has been growing year over year, with GE seeing about 30 percent growth in sales each year and LEDs claiming about half of the market.
Although not having to toss an entire strand when one light goes out is tempting, the real appeal of LED lights is the clean, bright light for 80 percent less energy. A traditional strand of GE lights uses about 40.8 watts of energy, compared to 8 watts for the LEDs.
The average home runs their lights about six hours a day for six weeks, according to market research by GE.
Obviously, Clark Griswold wasn't so organized, so let's assume the house is lit up for two weeks -- but for 12 hours a day. After all, this is a 'go big or go home' project.
If Clark has 250 strands of regular incandescent lights running for 168 hours during the holiday season, it will run him about $126 in utility bills, assuming he's paying about 7.4 cents per kWh living in the suburbs of Chicago. If Clark paid the national average of 11.5 cents per kWh, he'd be out nearly $200. Maybe not enough to require a nuclear peaker plant be brought online, but I digress.
The switch to LEDs, however, would cost about $25 at 7.4 cents per kilowatt-hour. However, the original cost was still $1,500 more for the strands of LEDs. For the average Christmas reveler, who doesn't wait until just before the crazy in-laws arrive to hang the Christmas lights and pay the national average for electricity, five strands of LEDs would cost about $1.18 for the season, compared to about $6 for incandescents. The payback would still take years, but hey, at least you wouldn't have to toss an entire string when a single bulb blows out.
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
What's Behind Delhi's Fogged In Flights?
For many residents of Delhi, winter means chilly nights, open-air concerts, strolls in the park and maybe a bout of flu.
But for frequent fliers, Delhi's winter also brings a shiver of dread over mangled flight schedules.
When a thick blanket of smog cloaked Delhi on Monday, about a dozen flights were reported to be grounded and scores of others delayed. This time last year, about 30 flights were diverted, 25 cancelled and more than 150 stalled for up to six hours at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport. The week leading into 2009 saw the disruption of hundreds of flights.
Could this problem be prevented?
Well, yes and no. The Delhi airport is equipped with instrument landing systems that allow for so-called CAT IIIB landings, or mostly automatic landings using a combination of radio signals and high intensity runway lighting, effective even when visibility is as low as 164 feet. These are the most sophisticated systems available in the world, but still, they can't always guarantee a landing.
"If the visibility drops below 50 meters, disruption is unavoidable," said E. K. Bharat Bhushan, the top official of India's main airline regulatory body, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. "No one, anywhere in the world, can go completely blind," he said.
Mr. Bhushan said the focus is now on making passengers as comfortable as possible by offering refreshments and prompt updates about their flights when they face a shuffled schedule.
But it's not only zero-visibility that is the problem. Analysts say that some aircraft are not equipped with CAT IIIB instruments and many airline pilots aren't trained, largely because of the costs involved, to know how to use these sophisticated instruments and keep their eyes peeled for the landing strip lights.
"Only 40 to 50 percent of pilots are trained," said Rajendra Kumar Jenamani, scientist and head of the meteorological watch office at Delhi airport.
Mr. Jenamani also says poor coordination between various parties, including the Delhi International Airport Limited, Air Traffic Control, and the airport's Meteorological Department contribute to disrupted flights. Mr. Jenamani cites the example of a flight dispatcher not briefing a pilot about fog gathering over Delhi before take-off from another country, even though the fog was likely to last 10 to 12 hours.
So when did the fog in Delhi get this bad?
Analysts say the turning point was 1997. A cocktail of factors contributed: a shift in the land-use patterns, increased pollution, and more moisture due to irrigation led to a drop in the temperature by a few degrees and more fog between December and January, they say.
While fog does plague other places, like London's Heathrow Airport for instance, it lasts only for a few days. In Delhi, it can last for 20 to 25 days. Mr. Jenamani said Delhi is hard hit because of the city's geographic location, the open space at the airport, and the prevalent wind patterns.
But for frequent fliers, Delhi's winter also brings a shiver of dread over mangled flight schedules.
When a thick blanket of smog cloaked Delhi on Monday, about a dozen flights were reported to be grounded and scores of others delayed. This time last year, about 30 flights were diverted, 25 cancelled and more than 150 stalled for up to six hours at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport. The week leading into 2009 saw the disruption of hundreds of flights.
Could this problem be prevented?
Well, yes and no. The Delhi airport is equipped with instrument landing systems that allow for so-called CAT IIIB landings, or mostly automatic landings using a combination of radio signals and high intensity runway lighting, effective even when visibility is as low as 164 feet. These are the most sophisticated systems available in the world, but still, they can't always guarantee a landing.
"If the visibility drops below 50 meters, disruption is unavoidable," said E. K. Bharat Bhushan, the top official of India's main airline regulatory body, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. "No one, anywhere in the world, can go completely blind," he said.
Mr. Bhushan said the focus is now on making passengers as comfortable as possible by offering refreshments and prompt updates about their flights when they face a shuffled schedule.
But it's not only zero-visibility that is the problem. Analysts say that some aircraft are not equipped with CAT IIIB instruments and many airline pilots aren't trained, largely because of the costs involved, to know how to use these sophisticated instruments and keep their eyes peeled for the landing strip lights.
"Only 40 to 50 percent of pilots are trained," said Rajendra Kumar Jenamani, scientist and head of the meteorological watch office at Delhi airport.
Mr. Jenamani also says poor coordination between various parties, including the Delhi International Airport Limited, Air Traffic Control, and the airport's Meteorological Department contribute to disrupted flights. Mr. Jenamani cites the example of a flight dispatcher not briefing a pilot about fog gathering over Delhi before take-off from another country, even though the fog was likely to last 10 to 12 hours.
So when did the fog in Delhi get this bad?
Analysts say the turning point was 1997. A cocktail of factors contributed: a shift in the land-use patterns, increased pollution, and more moisture due to irrigation led to a drop in the temperature by a few degrees and more fog between December and January, they say.
While fog does plague other places, like London's Heathrow Airport for instance, it lasts only for a few days. In Delhi, it can last for 20 to 25 days. Mr. Jenamani said Delhi is hard hit because of the city's geographic location, the open space at the airport, and the prevalent wind patterns.
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