🚀 go-pugleaf

In MsgID<20090318133610.034c43f4@realh.co.uk> on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:36:10
+0000, in uk.comp.homebuilt, 'Tony Houghton' wrote:

>> It gives out 60 W of heat, less the bit that gets radiated out any
>> windows.  The light output is converted to heat too eventually.  So a
>> 60 W light is generally going to replace 60 W of heater.
>
>But more of the heat energy from the lightbulb will be wasted heating
>the wrong place. Rather than saving the heating from heating up a little
>bit of air, it will take a bit of air that's already at a comfortable
>temperature and heat it more. Some of that extra heat will dissipate
>into the room, true, but because it's at a higher temperature it will
>also dissipate outside quicker too, especially by conduction through the
>ceiling if we're talking about a ceiling light. Even if people upstairs
>are able to benefit from that, they're likely to want a light on too..

Also, just to elaborate on the other fellow who mentioned the 'chimney
effect' it will heat the ceiling, which will heat the joist space, which
will then increase the heat lost by convection via the less than perfect
insulation most houses have around that cavity. The resultant displacement
of air from the room then has to be replaced by air via whatever inbound
leakage there is.

I agree that it's even more minor that the other ways we burn stuff for no
reason, and it's all individually very minor, but where our population is
N*10^7,  and we're each wasting P watts, N*10^7 * P watts is one FUCK of a
lot. 

Everyone seems to *adore* the excuses created by the ingenious boffins in
the immediate employ of billion dollar transnational companies.

These companies' profits are so tightly linked to energy consumed plus
trinkets binned that it's an excellent return on investment. There's,
naturally, a perfect prefabricated excuse just waiting for each and any
little bit of extra energy that anyone wants to (buy and then) throw away.

It all adds up to multi billion dollar profits, dependant only on multi
billions of ignorant little people, all shored up by carefully designed
justifications and rationalisations, all individually frittering away
"just the tiniest bit that'll make no difference compared to X Y & Z"  and
"Anyway why should I care when companies P Q & R are all chucking away SO
much more" 

The one topic that doesn't need research is why humanity is *still*
expending most of its effort on burning the planet as rapidly as it can. 

I'm sure in my own way I'm as much of a dupe as the next idiot. No one can
see through *all* the bullshit and everyone will rationalise at least part
of their blame. But surely the least we could do is to think about it once
in a while.

Dave J.