Specialty Lighting

Among the most promising types is LED’s or Light Emitting Diodes. Today you’ll find these almost everywhere from the blinking light on your VCR to many of the Stop Lights holding back traffic. When joined together they create a bright, white light, produce no heat, and are incredibly long lasting surviving up to 100X or more the life of an average bulb. And the price to operate these continues to drop so that an LED exit sign can cost as little as .25 cents a month to run

 Though little talked about for lighting homes fiber optics is also on the increase because of its many benefits. Among these are its ability to transmit light into areas where electricity would be of danger, such as in swimming pools. There are plans to have one light source for an entire building with fiber optic lines linking together the structure. At present the further away from the light source the more the light quality degrades but this would little effect single family dwellings for those with the willingness to experiment.

  Though not a powerful lighting option glow in the dark paint does offer some interesting new features. Among this is the fact that some of the new paints last an incredible 12 hours or more before needing to be recharged. If all other lighting fails this light source would provide adequate illumination to find your way out of a totally darkened building. And for the artistic you can now create entire paintings that can only be seen when the lights are off.

  Sulfur lighting continues to develop as a potential light source for many building types from your home to sports dome. It offers exciting new features such as true full spectrum lighting, is long lasting, and potentially cheap to operate. It is the only new light source which comes closest to mimicking the sun. Unfortunately it is microwave driven and many of us are still cautious when we hear about side effect radiation. This still promises to be an viable option if they can perfect the technology.

  As technology continues I suspect that new lights will come on the scene as well as new uses for old ideas. Be sure to check out our Lighting page where new links will be placed.

Joel Akin

Earth House Copyright 2002

Berm Home Plans

Originally a clever response to the 1970s energy crisis, berm homes' popularity has waned little. By literally tucking a portion of itself into the earth, a berm home takes advantage of the relatively steady temperatures that good old-fashioned dirt enjoys. In the summertime, a berm home uses less energy to maintain a cool temperature. In the winter, it uses less energy to stay warm. Berm homes are smart, eclectic, and always a great topic for conversation! If you're searching for a berm home plan, check out our fine selection at homeplans.com.

 Lighting technology is changing as we speak so that ten years from now many of today’s incandescent bulbs will be obsolete. Replacing them will be a series of lights that are brighter, more efficient and in some cases produce no heat at all. more