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Saturday, February 23, 2013 ��� Daily News 3B Country Life garden & home Bulbs to replace incandescent Insulator lights By Stacy Chandler The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) (MCT) Buying a light bulb used to be easy. And it used to be something you did several times a year. But now, ���a lot of people are starting to look at light bulbs as an investment,��� says Jaclyn Pardini, a spokeswoman for Lowe���s Home Improvement stores. The incandescent bulbs in wide use ever since Thomas Edison received a patent for his version in 1880 are being phased out. A federal law passed in 2007 ends incandescent manufacturing and importing in the U.S. by the end of 2014, though stores will be allowed to keep them on shelves until they���re sold out. In their place are more energy-efficient replacements that come in a dizzying array of hues and shapes. But you���ll want to choose carefully. Those CFLs might be with you for the next nine years or so. And if you spring for an LED bulb, you���re really in it for the long haul. ���From the time a child enters kindergarten to the time that they graduate from college, that bulb will still work,��� says Pardini of LEDs. So as those last incandescents flicker out in your lamps and light fixtures, how do you decide what will replace them? Read on: ��������� Incandescent Cost: (one bulb): Less than $1; (to run for one year): $7.32 Life: 1,000 hours Pros: It���s the warm, soft light you grew up with. Cons: A hot-blooded energy hog. Federal law is phasing them out after 2014. ��������� Halogen Cost (one bulb): $2-$3; (to run for one year): $5.18 Life: 1,000-3,000 hours Pros: The closest stilllegal thing to the soft glow of an incandescent light. They���re now ���the designer���s choice in bulbs,��� says Lowe���s spokeswoman Jaclyn Pardini. Cons: You���re not gaining much in life span or effi- ciency over incandescents. ��������� CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) Cost (one bulb): $1$2.50; (one year): $1.57 Life: 10,000 hours Pros: Here���s where energy efficiency really steps up. CFLs use 2/3 less energy than incandescents. Cons: Early CFLs got a bad rap for being slow to warm up and casting harsh light. But they���ve improved a lot. Still, you reduce the life span a bit if you turn the light on and off a lot (less than 15 minutes of on time). Using CFLs in an enclosed fixture can also reduce their life span, but some newer models have overcome this. Check the packaging for the bulb you���re considering. Disposal can be a hassle. Each CFL contains a small amount of mercury, so you need to recycle old bulbs. Several retailers offer this service, and many municipalities allow drop-off at their household hazardous waste facilities. (Check search.earth911.com for listings.) ��������� LED (light-emitting diode) Cost (see note) (one bulb): $10-$30; (one year): $1.50 Life: 20,000-50,000 hours Pros: Extremely long life. Cutting-edge technology. Cons: Much higher upfront cost than other bulb types. But, Jaclyn Pardini says, ���the potential return in energy savings and your time in changing out light bulbs is far greater over time. So it���s more of a longer-term investment.��� Like CFLs, some LED bulbs can deteriorate in the heat of an enclosed fixture, so consult the packaging. (Note: Cost figures are averages and based on 60W-equivalent single bulbs. Annual cost and life span based on three hours of use daily.) ��������� SOURCES: Lowe���s Home Improvement, Home Depot, energystar.gov, eartheasy.com, Consumer Reports ��������� CHOOSING THE RIGHT HUE CFL and LED bulbs come in a variety of colors (���color temperature��� is the correct term) that will really affect the look of the room you���re illuminating. Here are your options, with tips on what will put each room of your home in the very best light. ��������� Soft white/Warm white Where to use: Living areas, bedrooms, dining spaces. This is the most common color temperature, and closest in color to the traditional incandescent bulb. Works well with earth tones like brown and tan. ��������� Cool white/ Neutral/Bright white Where to use: Office and work areas. Fine for general lighting. Works well with neutral tones like gray and beige. ��������� Natural/Daylight Where to use: Reading areas or for display lighting. Complements bold colors like blues, greens and purples; shows color with the most accuracy. ��������� COST SAVINGS Here are some stats from the Environmental Protection Agency���s Energy Star program, which adds its stamp to light fixtures and bulbs that are at least 75 percent more efficient than traditional lighting. By replacing your home���s five most frequently used bulbs, you can save $70 each year. The average U.S. home has about 30 light fixtures; a switch to Energy Star lighting can save more than $400 a year on your electric bill. If every American household replaced its five most frequently used light fixtures or the bulbs in them, the national savings would be $8 billion each year in energy costs, and that action would prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions from 10 million cars. You can save energy in 3-way and dimmable fixtures, too. Look for CFL and LED bulbs in packages marked ���dimmable��� or ���3-way��� to make sure you���re getting a bulb that will work. ��������� CONVERSION CHART With the phaseout of incandescent bulbs, the term ���watts��� is fading from importance. Now the word to know is ���lumens��� ��� a unit of measure for the brightness of light that a bulb produces. This watt conversion chart will make shopping easier. The wattage equivalent is still listed on the packaging of newfangled bulbs, but can be hard to find sometimes. 150W 2,600 lumens 100W 1,600 lumens 75W 1,100 lumens 60W 800 lumens 40W 450 lumens SOURCE: Federal Trade Commission Adaptive re-use. Re-assigning. Re-purposing. These might be just fancy buzzwords that elevate recycling to new levels, but to Chico resident Tim Leefeldt, they're much more than that. To re-purpose is to take something that once had a specific purpose and then tweak it to give it new life, and it's a job that Leefeldt knows all about. Leefeldt is a 56-year-old, newly married architectural designer by trade who moved from San Francisco to Chico in 2004. But when struck by the one-two punch of a slower Chico economy and a massive economic slowdown, he was forced to re-invent a way to make ends meet. You've heard of the saying, "Necessity is the mother of invention?" Leefeldt re-purposed even that to become "Desperation is the mother of invention." Sean Enter the InsulatorLight. A railroad aficionado might recognize the name. These low-voltage, commercial-grade glass insulators were manufactured by the millions and usually sat on telephone poles. But since they now have very limited use, they usually can be found sitting on antique store shelves. Leefeldt (who worked on the Tres Hombres/Mr. Pickles re-design project following the December 2009 blaze) encountered his first Insulator light in an antique store in Oroville. He knew about them, knew what they were originally designed for and envisioned them as a one-of-a-kind light. "They have the right properties, shape and characteristics for lighting that I've come up with," Leefeldt said. "So, I investigated a way to turn them into a light." Leefeldt re-purposed Insulator lights (themselves collector items, according to Leefeldt) into unique, distinctive lighting for home, restaurant or retail applications. "People who identify and understand the Insulator see it and say, 'Wow, that's cool, that's an Insulator,' " Leefeldt said. "It's certainly a historic reference and a re-purpose and re-use concept." Leefeldt said he���s been making InsulatorLights since 2004 years and selling them on Build.com for about three years. His lighting catalog (which consists of a mini pendant made from an Insulator light, and eight- and 12-inch pendants using traffic light lenses) is just part of the broader RailroadWare catalog. This complete line of lighting, door hardware, houseware, and kitchen and bathroom fixtures employs the use of re-purposed railroad materials across the board. It can all be found at www.railroadware.com. The idea behind InsulatorLight and RailroadWare isn't the first time Leefeldt's mind sprang something creative. Back in 1989, he designed a nail puzzle called Architest that challenged the user to balance six nails on the head of a single nail. The puzzle sold at both Bird in Hand and Zucchini and Vine in downtown Chico. "I have a mind that sees something and if I see the potential for it, I have a quick ability to visualize and understand the steps that bring it to market," he said. His most recent (and potentially most successful) venture is the WaterRipper. This high-performance watertight ball is roughly the size of a Hacky sack, and won't sink. It skips along the water (thanks to its unique water-absorbent design) by flattening when it hits the surface. Learn more about the WaterRipper at www.ripperball.com. Murphy Project Home Sean Murphy is a copywriter for Build.com in Chico. Visit the company���s website for more home improvement tips at www.build.com. Homestyle ��� Home and garden news and notes started making little stuffed monsters called Stupid Creatures back in 2003 as an outlet for his off-the-wall ingenuity and a way to pay his bills. He eventually wrote a how-to book on making lovably hideous creatures from socks, and now he���s back with a follow-up, ���Return of the Stupid Sock Creatures: Evolutions, Mutations, and Other By Mary Beth Breckenridge Akron Beacon Journal (MCT) SPACKLING PRODUCT DOUBLES AS PRIMER 3M Patch Plus Primer eliminates the need to prime spackled areas before painting. The spackling paste contains tiny particles that create a primer-like film on the surface, unlike other spackling products that can cause a change in paint sheen. The product dries fast and won���t shrink or crack, but it���s as strong as heavyweight spackling, the company says. It comes in a square package that accommodates a 3-inch-wide putty knife. 3M Patch Plus Primer has a suggested retail price of $5.99 and is available at home improvement centers and paint and hardware stores. H A N G I N G DRAPERIES FROM A CURTAIN ROD Q: My daughter is married to a military man and has been recently assigned to South America. She would like to reuse her Creations.��� This time he enlisted guest designers ranging in age from adolescents to adults, who share their instructions for making wacky beasts that span all manner of bug-eyed, snaggle-toothed, abominably endearing weirdness. Murphy���s entertaining text makes the little stuffed beings all the more appealing. Berries & Veggies SATURDAY���S CLASS- Feb. 23rd @ 11AM: CARE & PRUNING OF BERRIES Grow Delicious Berries in your own backyard! SUNDAY���S CLASS ��� Feb. 24th @ 11am SUCCESSFUL SEED STARTING Learn the basics of seed starting! VICTORY GARDENING 101 SERIES Saturday���s - March 2, 9, & 16th at 10am & 1pm pleated draw drapes in her new home, which has curtain rods instead of traverse rods. Is that possible, or does she have to buy new curtains? A: Draperies can be hung from standard curtain rods using drapery rings that have eyelets attached. Just hook the drapery pins through the eyelets at the bottom of the rings. Ann Ewart, owner of Western Reserve Decorator Fabrics in Tallmadge, Ohio, said the pins can be adjusted on the draperies to make them shorter or longer, so they���ll fit the new windows. One caution: Ewart said draperies can be heavy, so make sure the rod is sturdy enough and the drapery hardware is attached to the wall properly so it can hold the weight. CRAFT BOOK GIVES SOCK CREATURES A BIZARRE TWIST Stupid Sock Creatures are what result when imagination runs wild. Crazy, no-holds-barred wild. Artist John Murphy Join us for a series of classes all about vegetable gardening from the ground up! Great class series, with lots of information. Presented by George Winter & Gordon Elliot CLASS ONE: THE BASICS CLASS TWO: PLANTING YOUR GARDEN CLASS THREE: WATERING, FERTILIZING, COMPOSTING & PESTS Check out our website or FB for more information. Please call or email to reserve your seat. *Note: All classes are free, class size is limited. WYNTOUR GARDENS 365-2256 8026 Airport Road, Redding I-5 North, Exit #673, Rt on Knighton, Rt on Airport Located 1 mile south of the Airport (Next to Kents Mkt) Open Mon-Sat 8-5 & Sunday���s 10-4 wyntourgardens.com Facebook inform@wyntourgardens.com