The story of the humble light bulb is known the world over - how the inspiration (and perspiration) of the genius inventor Thomas Edison and his team of dedicated researchers created a simple object that had the power to banish darkness, eliminated the need for fire as a source of illumination - and saved entire species of whales that were hunted in their thousands for the valuable fat that was used for the light bulb's predecessor - the candle. From its first application in lower Manhattan, the light bulb spread rapidly around the world, a shining symbol of progress as evidenced by the now ubiquitous NASA photo of the Earth at night. Of course, a lot of places continued to remain "in the dark" - even to this day, over a billion people lack access to electricity, which is why the light bulb is not only a cool invention, but also symbolizes a divide between the haves and have-nots. Governments, private industry and development agencies usually can align on providing electricity to underdeveloped areas - where they differ is on the means of doing so.
The quest for "clean" energy is very well exemplified by electricity and the light bulb. For the former, the main issue is how electricity is generated and distributed - this being an activity that accounts for perhaps a trillion dollars worth of global GDP. For the latter, it translates into the efficiency with which light can be provided - and indeed, whether it needs to be provided at all.
In the days before the light bulb, indeed before man found ways to create light for himself, the sun's path through the sky defined the amount of light that would be available to the inhabitants of this planet. The sun continues to follow roughly the same trajectory today, but its presence is associated more with sunburn and skin cancer, and people go to great lengths to seek shelter from its rays. But it is the sun that holds the answer to both questions posed above.
Distributed solar is by far the most democratic energy solution around - it takes power from the hands of the resource holder (an oil, gas, coal or even biofuel company) and hands it to the user of that energy. As the energy source can no longer be booked as a "reserve" in the accounts of any private corporation, the model is no longer about "exploration" but switches to one of "usage". Yes, the model still requires the energy conversion device i.e. the solar panel to be created, but once that is done, all subsequent "transactions" in the system are between the user and the source - with no middleman except for clouds.
Distributed solar is also the cleanest solution *at the point of use* - this is an important distinction between being the cleanest from cradle to grave, as it does take some amount of energy to create solar panels, the raw materials are fairly exotic and have to be mined from the earth etc. But the act of using that energy is benign, almost beautiful one might argue - it is the closest we can come to photosynthesis.
Having solar panels on every conceivable surface - house roofs, windows, industrial buildings - also does away with NIMBYism which has sadly plagued even renewable energy projects. NIMBYians are opposed to anything that impacts their environment, which usually means a big power plant, refinery, mining operation or even wind turbine located close to them (or, in the case of Cape Wind, twenty miles away!)
Now let's look at the back end of this - the light bulb itself. The industry has done remarkably well in shifting away from incandescent bulbs to CFL and now on to LED in the matter of just a decade - companies like Philips have actually led the way, in stark contrast to their counterparts in other energy sectors. This has of course been helped by legislation which, not unexpectedly, has been opposed by traditionalists who obviously enjoy the amount of heat generated by Edison's bulb and are emotionally traumatized by the few seconds it takes a CFL to reach its full illumination.
One thing that has not changed, however, is the nomenclature used when referring to CFL and LED bulbs - the Watt. One can understand the reason for this - if you want consumers to adopt a different product, you want at least something to remain the same. So you have CFL packages that continue to show that the 10 W CFL you hold is "equivalent" to a 40 W incandescent bulb. What that means is the amount of light provided by both is the same - which makes sense, because you're not buying a bulb for the amount of power it consumes, but the amount of light it gives.
As we move from CFLs to LEDs, there will come a time when a majority of people on this planet will not know what an incandescent bulb is - so the point of reference for CFLs and LEDs will go away. At that time, the true unit of light intensity - the Lumen - needs to be introduced, and consumers need to understand how to interpret that. This will take some amount of education by the light bulb industry, but having achieved something truly remarkable through the switch, they should be well upto the task.
The quest for "clean" energy is very well exemplified by electricity and the light bulb. For the former, the main issue is how electricity is generated and distributed - this being an activity that accounts for perhaps a trillion dollars worth of global GDP. For the latter, it translates into the efficiency with which light can be provided - and indeed, whether it needs to be provided at all.
In the days before the light bulb, indeed before man found ways to create light for himself, the sun's path through the sky defined the amount of light that would be available to the inhabitants of this planet. The sun continues to follow roughly the same trajectory today, but its presence is associated more with sunburn and skin cancer, and people go to great lengths to seek shelter from its rays. But it is the sun that holds the answer to both questions posed above.
Distributed solar is by far the most democratic energy solution around - it takes power from the hands of the resource holder (an oil, gas, coal or even biofuel company) and hands it to the user of that energy. As the energy source can no longer be booked as a "reserve" in the accounts of any private corporation, the model is no longer about "exploration" but switches to one of "usage". Yes, the model still requires the energy conversion device i.e. the solar panel to be created, but once that is done, all subsequent "transactions" in the system are between the user and the source - with no middleman except for clouds.
Distributed solar is also the cleanest solution *at the point of use* - this is an important distinction between being the cleanest from cradle to grave, as it does take some amount of energy to create solar panels, the raw materials are fairly exotic and have to be mined from the earth etc. But the act of using that energy is benign, almost beautiful one might argue - it is the closest we can come to photosynthesis.
Having solar panels on every conceivable surface - house roofs, windows, industrial buildings - also does away with NIMBYism which has sadly plagued even renewable energy projects. NIMBYians are opposed to anything that impacts their environment, which usually means a big power plant, refinery, mining operation or even wind turbine located close to them (or, in the case of Cape Wind, twenty miles away!)
Now let's look at the back end of this - the light bulb itself. The industry has done remarkably well in shifting away from incandescent bulbs to CFL and now on to LED in the matter of just a decade - companies like Philips have actually led the way, in stark contrast to their counterparts in other energy sectors. This has of course been helped by legislation which, not unexpectedly, has been opposed by traditionalists who obviously enjoy the amount of heat generated by Edison's bulb and are emotionally traumatized by the few seconds it takes a CFL to reach its full illumination.
One thing that has not changed, however, is the nomenclature used when referring to CFL and LED bulbs - the Watt. One can understand the reason for this - if you want consumers to adopt a different product, you want at least something to remain the same. So you have CFL packages that continue to show that the 10 W CFL you hold is "equivalent" to a 40 W incandescent bulb. What that means is the amount of light provided by both is the same - which makes sense, because you're not buying a bulb for the amount of power it consumes, but the amount of light it gives.
As we move from CFLs to LEDs, there will come a time when a majority of people on this planet will not know what an incandescent bulb is - so the point of reference for CFLs and LEDs will go away. At that time, the true unit of light intensity - the Lumen - needs to be introduced, and consumers need to understand how to interpret that. This will take some amount of education by the light bulb industry, but having achieved something truly remarkable through the switch, they should be well upto the task.
