WISE  UP, YOUR LIGHT BULB IS THE ISSUE.

Lighting or light bulbs in our homes can account for 20% to 25% of our electricity bill every month, and the most popular types of lightning technology being used are namely; incandescence bulb, Compound Fluorescent lamps (CFL), Halogen light and Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulb.
 In choosing lamps from the array of lightning technologies present, it is very important to understand the energy use of each. The amount of light given off (brightness) is measured in Lumen.

   Watt in the case of light bulb is the amount of electricity it uses to produce light and it is not indication of brightness. This explanation is important because a 6 watts LED (Light Emitting Diode) light bulb can produce as much light (many lumen) as 60 watts incandescent bulb. This simply mean that the LED bulb uses one tenth of electrical energy to produce the same amount of light as the incandescent bulb. The same way a 15 watt Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb can equally produce as much light as 60 watt incandescent bulb, which means it only uses one quarter of electrical energy to produce the same amount of light.

  Lumen measure how much light a bulb gives out, more lumen means brighter light and fewer lumen means a dimmer light. So when next you are shopping for light bulbs ensure that you go for the one with more lumen if you need brighter light. 

                        Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulb and LED bulb

40 watt incandescent bulb and 5 watt LED bulb gives out same 450 lumen (brightness)
60 watt incandescent bulb and 8 Watt LED bulb gives out same 800 lumen (brightness) 

100 watt incandescent bulb and 15 watt LED bulb gives out same 1600 lumen (brightness)

Presently Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulb and LED bulb are the two  energy saving bulb widely use, but the best and most efficient in terms of energy saving among them is LED bulb and below are the advantages it has over others:

•   Durable- LED bulbs do not get damaged easily because they are solid and therefore can withstand jarring and bumping unlike the other bulb that are fragile and get damage easily because of the way they are made.
• Long Lasting- LED bulbs last up to 10 times as long as CFL bulbs, and far longer than Halogen and incandescent bulbs.
• Cool- LED bulbs do not heat up a room unlike incandescent bulb that get real hot and contribute to heating up the room.
•  Mercury Free- LED bulbs contains no mercury unlike the CFL bulb that contains this dangerous substance.
•  More Efficient- LED bulbs uses between 1.5-18 watts of electricity (1/3^rd to 1/40^th of CFL or incandescent). They save money on electricity bill.
• Cost Effective- Though the initial cost of LED bulb will look expensive, but the fact that it will recoup overtime from the replacement cost makes it cost effective.
• Can be use with portable Generator - Because low power required for LED bulbs, small generator is enough to power the whole building. 

In conclusion, it will be a wise decision if you can make the switch now, though incandescent might be cheap now and you will think that you are saving money but at the long run you would have spent more on energy bill. Don't be penny wise pound foolish.

Okechukwu Paul Okeke

SECRET ON HOW TO MAKE AIR CONDITIONERS CONSUME LESS ENERGY IN NATIONS WITH VERY HOT WEATHER

Countries in tropics has very hot weather especially during the dry season, this has made most homes to restore to the use of air conditioners. Whether window or split units, air conditioners(AC) consumes more electricity than any other appliances in homes and adds to electricity bills significantly. During this  hot period, AC consumption can be up to 60 percent of the total electric bill.                                           The main function of air conditioners is to cool the air and it achieves this by taking the indoor air, cools it by passing it through evaporator and throws it back in the room. The compressor is what compresses the gas in the air conditioner to cools and that in turn cools the incoming air from the room. Air conditioners maintain a set temperature by cooling whenever room temperature rises above the set temperature.

The power rating of an air conditioner might confuse us as this those not really give us the true picture of the energy consumed. Air conditioner consumption is usually base on the running cost, it is the way it does it work that determine the amount of electricity that it consumes.

The secret of less energy consumption in Air Conditioner is inverter type air conditioner. This type of AC adjust its compressor to operate according to room condition, if the room is hot, it work faster in order to cool it quickly. As the room temperature approaches the set temperature, the compressor slows down, maintaining a constant temperature and saving energy. Any sudden fluctuation in the room temperature, will be sensed and instantly adjusted to bring the room temperature back to the set temperature. This inverter air conditioning units use between 30-50% less electricity to operate.

For the conventional type or non-inverter type air conditioners that we are use to, the motor speed remains constant and temperature is adjusted by turning the motor ON and OFF. Because it has a fixed amount of power via a fixed speed the compressor has to stop and start to maintain the desired room temperature which make it to consume more energy.Most people detest AC because of the amount of energy it consumes and the amount of money the pay as electricity bill.

With inverter type AC, your small 2.5KVA generator can carry two 1HP (1horse power) AC  (2 X 1HP) and this can take care of your room and your children's room. Your small 1KVA generator("I pass my neighbour") can conveniently power your 1HP AC.

Now that your have known the secret, you are  advised to do away with that your outdated  energy draining Air conditioner to the new energy efficient inverter type of Air conditioner.Upgrade now, save money and give that your home a new look.

Okechukwu Paul Okeke. +2348033438490

 POWER DISTRIBUTION

            An electric power system is a network of electrical components that generate electric power from any source of power (such as coal, water, gas, wind, nuclear energy and oil)  then transmit and distribute the power to nearby homes and industries.  There are three main parts in electric power system network which is generation, transmission, and distribution.

 An electric power distribution system is the final stage in the delivery of electric power to the desiring consumers. This is achieved through the use of the following 

devices; Power and distribution transformers, feeders, switches, protective equipment, primary circuits, secondary circuits and service line. 

 Distribution feeder circuits usually consist of overhead and underground circuits, but for most developing countries their system is majorly on overhead because of the following reasons;

•  It is less expensive
•  fault on the line can easily be traced.

Overhead line has the following  disadvantages; 

•  More expensive for shorter distance.
•  Susceptible to lightning and other unfavorable weather conditions
• Not environment-friendly
• Maintenance intensive
• Danger to life and properties.

Okechukwu Paul Okeke

PRACTISING ENERGY SAVING IN NIGERIA, THE ONLY WAY OUT  The practice of saving electrical energy (power) means efficient utilization of this type of energy.Nigeria though priding itself as the giant of Africa is in a very poor state in terms of power generation. The less than 5,000MW generation for a population estimated at about 180 million is unacceptable and certainly a mockery of that status when compared with the over 45,000 MW generated by South Africa with a population of 50 million and Egypt, which generates 25,000 MW for a population of 85 million.  Power which is the rate of dissipation of Energy is widely regarded as a catalyst behind any economic and indeed industrial growth of any nation. Power and Energy are in most cases used interchangeably.The demand for electricity in Nigeria is mainly for industrial, commercial and residential purposes. Residential sector demand for electricity has continue to rise since the last three decade, while the industrial sector demand has witnessing continuous downward trend. The fall in the industrial sector’s demand for electricity can be attributed to inadequate power supply and this  has forced most industries to close shop and few surviving ones resorting to privately generated electricity for powering their production processes.

  The less than 5,000 MW of electricity generated in Nigeria, 50% or about half of  this generation is wasted. Though some power is wasted during transmission and distribution but the amount is negligible when compare to the amount of energy wasted because of the types of appliances we are using and our altitude towards electricity usage generally.Successive government in Nigeria have not done enough to encourage energy saving and the use of energy saving product.   Nigeria government have always layed emphasis on generation which is very good anyway but forgot the popular saying that  "Energy saved is energy generated". I expect the President of Nigeria, the Minister of Power and other state holders to change their approach towards energy efficiency. In his February 12, 2013, State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama set an ambitious energy efficiency goal:  he said “Let’s cut in half the energy wasted by our homes and businesses over the next 20 years.” The American Department of Energy is helping to meet that target through higher energy efficiency standards for products being produced in that country and those imported. If America that is already self sufficient in energy production are still embarking on this kind of this projects then Nigeria government and Nigerians must do more.

The total power saved from this small attitudinal change can then be use by the surviving manufacturing industries and even encourage those that have relocated to some neighbouring countries because of inadequate electricity supply to come back and this might be the magic that can salvage this our great country.The present generation peak of a little above 5,000MW for a country of about 180million is abysmally low compare to the national demand put at about 32,000MW by the Energy Commission of Nigeria. Considering the fact that out the 5,000MW generated, only about 2,500MW (50%) is what is actually used and paid for while others are wasted. We  must reconsider the consequence of this our attitude to the industrial growth, security and general well-being of the citizenry, to say that we are facing an energy crisis is an understatement. This unfortunate situation has make it imperative for government and everybody to pay attention on energy efficiency.
 Every time you buy a new home appliance, or replace a burned-out light bulb, you are making a decision that not only saves you money but equally shows how patriotic you are to this our nation Nigeria. But you may not realize just how big a difference each of us can make by taking energy use into account in our household purchasing and usage decisions.Okechukwu Paul Okeke,  08033438490

  
ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION AND HOW THE CHARGE IS CALCULATED

For you to practice Energy saving in the really sense of it, one should understand how electricity is charge.This is what I try to simplify here.

When you buy Petrol or diesel the charge is per litre but when you use Electricity the charge is in watt, one thousand watt for one hours (Kilowatt-hour) is one unit of electricity.

Watt is the unit of power and is defined as the energy consumption rate of one joule per second. That is the rate at which electrical energy is used/consumed and it known as the wattage of that appliance. When you use 1000 watts for 1 hour that is what is known as kilowatt-hour (KWH). The kilowatt-hour (kWh) is the standard unit of measurement for electricity and this is 1,000 watts of electricity being used for one hour. 

HOW TO CALCULATE THE ELECTRICITY USAGE OF APPLIANCES.

To calculate how much your appliance costs to run for an hour, look for its wattage on the box or in the instruction manual and multiply this by the number of hours you used each day. For example, a 1,000-watt air conditioner running for one hour consumes 1 kWh. By comparison, a 60-watt light bulb running for an hour uses 0.06 kWh (60 watts divided by 1,000).

To find how much the appliance consumes, we take the wattage of that appliance, multiply by the hours in use, divide by 1000 and multiply by price per KWh. The price per KWH for residential (R2) customers charge by Electricity Distribution companies in Nigeria is between ₦22.00 and ₦27.00

Cost of Electricity = Wattage × hours used ÷ 1000 × price per KWh

For example, let’s say you put on 60-watt bulb for one month (30 days). If we put on our bulb from 8:00pm to 6:00am that will be 10 hours. (10hours X 30days =300). Assuming we are using the lowest charge for 1 unit of electricity for residential customers (R2) according to Electricity Distribution Companies in Nigeria which is ₦22.00 for 1KWh.

Therefore, Cost of running the bulb for 1 month = 60watt × 300 ÷ 1000 × ₦22.00 = ₦450.00

There are instances where the appliance rating is in amperes (amps or A) instead of watts, then we just multiply the amperes times the voltage in order to get the watts, the voltage used in Nigeria is 240 volts. For example: If an appliance is rated 1.25amps, then it will be;

1.25 amps × 240 volts = 300 watts.  The appliance is rated 300watts.

 Okechukwu Paul Okeke, +2348033438490  ,