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Tag: efficiency
Trio Win Nobel Prize In Physics For Blue-Light Emitting Diodes

Trio Win Nobel Prize In Physics For Blue-Light Emitting Diodes

By Dpa Correspondents, dpa

STOCKHOLM — Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, and Shuji Nakamura won the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics Tuesday for inventing blue-light emitting diodes, which the Nobel Prize Committee said would illuminate the 21st century in a more environmentally-sustainable manner.
“Red and green LEDs have been around for many years, but the blue was really missing,” committee member Per Delsing said during the prize announcement. LED is an acronym for light-emitting diodes, which are electro-conductors.
“If you combine these colors you get white light. This is something that Isaac Newton showed already in 1671. Thanks to the blue LED, we can now get white light sources that have very high energy efficiency and a very long lifetime.”
Responding to the announcement, Nakamura, a Japan-born U.S. national, said winning the Nobel prize “is unbelievable.”
Nakamura, who was woken up at 3 am (1000 GMT) in California, was speaking by phone to reporters at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm.
Organizers had been unable to immediately contact another co-winner, Amano of Japan, who was on a plane from Japan to France, secretary Staffan Normark of the academy said. Akasaki is also a Japanese national.
White light LEDs are widely used in smartphone devices. LEDs are a recent development in the history of lighting, only having been developed in the 21st century after light bulbs dominated much of the 19th century. They use far less electrical energy than traditional light bulbs.
Almost one-fourth of electrical consumption in industrialized countries is devoted to illumination, the prize committee said. With the development of diodes, more light can be emitted for less energy without the need for mercury.
The prize committee lauded the scientists specifically for developing gallium nitride crystal in the geometrical formations necessary to build diodes.
“The structure of these lamps is very similar to what you have at the base of your semi-conductor electronics that’s driving the information technology,” the prize committee said.

Photo via Wikicommons

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More Americans View Energy Efficiency As A Priority

More Americans View Energy Efficiency As A Priority

By Michael Sanserino, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Energy efficiency is a priority for 79 percent of Americans, according to a poll released by the University of Texas. But nearly two-thirds believe political “squabbling” is the biggest barrier to increased energy efficiency.

While most people are concerned about the environmental impact of high energy use, the biggest motivator for energy efficiency is savings, according to the UT Energy Poll, a scientific survey of 2,133 U.S. residents age 18 and older conducted March 3-17.

“People pay attention to what affects them personally first,” said Sheril Kirshenbaum, director of the UT Energy Poll. “Price seems to be the primary driver.”

Most Americans expect their energy bills to rise. Sixty-seven percent of those polled said they expect the portion of their household budget spent on energy to rise, and more than half of all Americans expect prices to rise for gasoline (78 percent), electricity (64 percent), heating oil (60 percent) and natural gas (60 percent) in the next six months.

That, Kirshenbaum, and increased media attention on energy efficiency — from appliances to cars — has made it more of a priority for Americans. In the previous UT Energy Poll, conducted in September 2013, 72 percent of those polled said energy efficiency was a priority.

When asked to select the top three reasons they purchase energy-efficient products, 75 percent of Americans said it helps them lower their energy bills. Forty-two percent said they do it because it helps the environment.

Though about 4 in 5 of those polled said they viewed energy efficiency as a “priority,” just 63 percent of people said they plan to seek more information about ways to decrease their energy use in the next six months.

Most polled said the home appliance and retail industry was most to credit for the proliferation of energy-efficient goods — 60 percent of respondents said the industry has made a “significant contribution.” Only 31 percent of respondents said the federal government made a significant contribution, while 30 percent of respondents said the same about state and local governments.

Some of that anti-government sentiment could be a matter of timing, Kirshenbaum said.

“We’re also asking this right before the midterm elections of an administration that has been around for a long time,” she said. “It’s not usually a popular time for government.”

Despite the pessimism about the government and the belief in rising prices, more Americans believe the United States will be in a better energy situation 25 years from now than it is today. According to the poll, 36 percent believe the US will be better off in 25 years, compared with 29 percent who believe it will be worse. In the previous version of the poll, 27 percent believed the U.S. would be better while 38 percent believed it would be worse.

The UT Energy Poll was published in conjunction with a similar poll of energy professionals conducted by OurEnergyPolicy.org. According to that study, 82 percent of energy professionals view energy efficiency as a priority while 65 percent also viewed political problems as a significant barrier.

Kirshenbaum said she believes more Americans need to be educated about energy issues. Just 3 percent of UT Energy Poll respondents said energy policy was the most important area for the U.S. government to invest tax dollars. Job creation was first at 28 percent and Social Security was second at 15 percent.

“Every single challenge we face from any sector — to climate change, to how we get our food — these are all energy topics,” she said.