Earth Hour

[Magicme]

Anyone taking part? I kinda left it to the last minute to register and cant get onto the sign up page. :-( Still gonna switch out the lights at 8 for the hour and go have a candle lit bath!

[jebus]

Was just going to post this, plug out the laptops and go to battery power and knock the lights in the house off people!! I'm sure Galway fans will be hoping they turn the lights off at Terryland tonight :)

[pineapple stu]

25MW decrease apparently. Not having that much of an impact so far.

[Magicme]

Well its had an impact in our house. Made my boys think a little more about how much power they consume by just forgetting to turn off the lights they dont need.

Also made them a bit angry coz I wouldnt let them go out to the car to get some crisps they had in it coz they would trigger the lights at the front door by going out!

:D

They have their crisps now!

I feel very calm now, the soak in the bath with the candles was very soothing!

[pineapple stu]

Ended up with a 100MW drop or so between 8 and 8:30 apparently; less than the same time last week. You'd expcet a drop at that time anyways as dinners are finished and a lot of high wattage appliances are being turned off. Seems not to have had too much impact, as with a lot of these incentives (car free day springs to mind).

[Lim till i die]

I spent the vast majority of the hour drinking Tesco Vodka in the dark.

Does this count?? I'd like to think I've done my bit for the planet.

Hadn't a bulls notion it was Earth Hour mind. :)

[Lim till i die]

(car free day springs to mind).

I've always been under the impression car free day was designed specifically to upset my dad :confused:

[Monkfish]

I kinda left it to the last minute to register and cant get onto the sign up page.

Hmmm, maybe they had their computers shut down for some reason? oh wait...:D

[Magicme]

seems they didnt shut down coz got registered with a few mins to go.

[Monkfish]

seems they didnt shut down coz got registered with a few mins to go.

Well i spent the hour working on equipment that keeps American and Israeli borders more secure so i feel like iv done my bit for the planet. I am hungover though so lets hope we dont hear of more missles 'missing' their intended targets due to dodgy workmanship. :o ;)

[pete]

Turning off lights is pointless as they use almost no electricity. TV, kettle etc... is different. Very few appliances that you can turn off in a home...

[pineapple stu]

One light may use 60 watts. But there's lots of lights in a house, and lots of houses in the country.

Your problem in realising the benefit of lots of people doing something, as last seen on the carbon footprint thread, is hitting you again.

[Terry]

the lights that they are concerned about most are obviously the lights that are left on during the night in large office blocks, factories etc.. Why these are left on I cant figure out?

I finally got my family turning everything off when they arent using it a few months back and my last electricity bill was down 27% on previous ones, Result!

[Con-Con]

I didn't do it. I was watching United and Rovers anyway!

[pineapple stu]

You weren't tempted to turn the floodlights off for the hour at half time, no?

[Con-Con]

It would Derry last year all over again.

[Bluebeard]

Am I correct in saying that turning on and off a 40w light more than once in a half hour uses up more electricity than having it on? I know that it is a huge fluctuation and is more electrically demanding than leaving it on over the same length of time.

Personally, I am very much in favour of switching things off, and using as little electricity, gas, oil, coat, carbon as possible, but I don't know that 100,000 people switching off everything for 30 minutes (I presume that someone somewhere did their sums and it works out OK for an hour), or however long, will have a positive impact, as the use of grid will jump slightly at the beginning of, and ending of the period. Why not go as far as a "National Night Without" - that would be far more effective in my opinion, and raise a lot more attention. A number of years ago, parts of rural Ireland were without electricity for Christmas, and some have said it was their favourite Christmas for years, including my forebears. Even if a quarter of the country were to go without for one night, it would have a knock on effect on those who were wondering why someone would do such a thing.

Can't see it being popular with RTE though.

[passinginterest]

Am I correct in saying that turning on and off a 40w light more than once in a half hour uses up more electricity than having it on? I know that it is a huge fluctuation and is more electrically demanding than leaving it on over the same length of time.


I think it was on mythbusters that they showed it works out better to always switch the lights off. Nearly sure I remember seeing it somewhere anyway.

[anto1208]

Thats right it works out better to knock them off there was a idea going around that its the turning on that uses more power.

[noby]

This is the first I heard of this Earth Hour.
I was at the cinema Saturday night, but I guess any benefit gained from a load of people watching one big communal telly was cancelled out by all the CO2 emissions from all the fizzy drinks and pop corn.

[BohsPartisan]

I have an earth seven hours or so every night.

[Thunderblaster]

I feel very calm now, the soak in the bath with the candles was very soothing!

And I find that sexually arousing!!:D:D:D

[pete]

Thats right it works out better to knock them off there was a idea going around that its the turning on that uses more power.

I suppose there is a cut off time when it makes sense. For exaggeration sake would seem not to make sense if in & out of room every 5 minutes?

I live in apartment so excluding the bathrooms (lights only on when someone in them) only 4 other rooms.

I heard today that lights give off some sort of pollution or something? Any one heard this?

[strangeirish]

I heard today that lights give off some sort of pollution or something? Any one heard this?
Only when the light reflects off your face pete....:D

[Magicme]

And I find that sexually arousing!!:D:D:D

Typical male!

[passinginterest]

I suppose there is a cut off time when it makes sense. For exaggeration sake would seem not to make sense if in & out of room every 5 minutes?


Found the details:


Through numerous tests, the MythBusters calculated that the power surge from turning on a light would only consume as much power as leaving it on for a fraction of a second (except for fluorescent tube lights; the startup consumed about 23 seconds worth of power). Furthermore, the wear and tear of turning the light on and off repeatedly did not reduce the bulb's total life expectancy enough to offset the increased electricity usage. Therefore, it is far more economical to turn a light off rather than leaving it on.
From the Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_(season_4)#Lights_On.2FOff) page and can be found elsewhere.

Moral of the story is turn your lights off. I could do with following it myself, I'm terrible for leaving lights on.

[Bluebeard]

Found the details:


From the Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_(season_4)#Lights_On.2FOff) page and can be found elsewhere.

Moral of the story is turn your lights off. I could do with following it myself, I'm terrible for leaving lights on.

And better still, not turn them on, unless necessary.

Thanks for the data passinginterest, 'twill be put into action forthwith.

[KevB76]

I heard today that lights give off some sort of pollution or something? Any one heard this?

You heard TODAY is it ;) :D

[pete]

Moral of the story is turn your lights off. I could do with following it myself, I'm terrible for leaving lights on.

Seems fairly clear cut.

[Thunderblaster]

Typical male!

Ha ha ha!!:D I could be a female or a transvestite for all one knows!!:D

[John83]

Ha ha ha!!:D I could be a female or a transvestite for all one knows!!:D
http://www.unc.edu/depts/jomc/academics/dri/idog.jpg

[Magicme]

ha ha, true! Silly me assuming anything!