The Next Little Thing
As the era of McMansions fades, wee houses promote simpler,
more efficient living
Gregory Paul Johnson comes across as a normal guy, typical of many people you'd find in Iowa City, Iowa, where he lives. But Johnson, 45, is atypical in the extreme: He lives in a 10-foot-by-7-foot house — about the size of a prison cell. With a front porch and a gabled roof, the style is what you might call Lilliputian Victorian. More to the point, the interior design is incredibly efficient. For example, the space features a full-size loft bed accessed via a fold-away ladder, a computer-equipped workstation that converts into a dining area for two, and retractable shelves that fold down over the sink to create counter space."People look at my home and say, 'It's magic! How do you do that? How do you live in a 10-by-7 house?'" says Johnson. "The answer is that I live very simply."
Johnson is a leading figure in the micro-housing movement. He's a co-founder of the Small House Society (SHS) and the Small Living Journal (smalllivingjournal.com), a Web site that launched in March, as well as the author of Put Your Life on a Diet: Lessons Learned from Living in 140 Square Feet. Other co-founders of the SHS include Jay Shafer, owner of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, which sells plans and materials for dwellings measuring between 65 and 837 square feet, and Shay Salomon and Nigel Valdez, who created the influential book Little House on a Small Planet.
The micro-housing trend, once decidedly on the fringes, has hit the mainstream, in part because of the economic downturn. People are looking for ways to live more efficiently, whether that means lowering their utility bills or spending less time vacuuming - just two of the advantages of living in a smaller house.
How small?
While "How big is too big?" may have been the mantra of home builders and buyers over the past decade, Johnson and his ilk have endeavored to ask, "How small is too small?" They were posing the question long before the housing crunch and the recent stock market slide.
In fact, the current small-house trend first blipped on the cultural radar in 1998, with the publication of architect Sarah Susanka's seminal work, The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live. Susanka's influence has endured: on January 20, she was honored — along with Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity — with an Innovator award from Builder Magazine at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas.
Interestingly, the economy also played a key role in earlier, similar trends. According to Daniel Bluestone, associate professor of architectural history and director of the historic preservation program at the University of Virginia, the proliferation in the early 20th century of small, simple, bungalow-style homes resulted in large part from a demand created by a new, burgeoning group of homebuyers in the United States, namely, immigrants with little money to spare. "There was an influx of working- and middle-class people looking for homes," Bluestone says. "The bungalows had incredibly efficient floor plans, and they were affordable."
The same ethos applied with the onset of the Great Depression, when the "minimum house" came into vogue, Bluestone says. In 1936, the Federal Housing Administration published its "Principles of Planning Small Houses," which advocated for small, low-priced houses to provide "shelter within the means of families of very modest income."
After World War II, Bluestone notes, the demand for less expensive — and thus, smaller — housing increased as veterans returned home. It was then that planned communities like Levittown, on New York's Long Island, with houses typically around 800 square feet, took root. In that same era, prominent architect William Wurster, the originator of the suburban ranch house, made a plea to his colleagues to "scale down your demands to your purse and to the temper of the times."
Reduced scale, big variety
The temper of the times may be similar today — but as Bluestone points out, "the energy and green issues weren't part of the earlier advocacy for smaller living spaces. There are many more factors today."
Accordingly, the marketplace is more varied. Johnson's house, which he has occupied since August 2003, may be an extreme example; with no true kitchen — there's a sink but no stove or refrigerator — he orders a lot of take-out food. But a proliferation of firms offer floor plans and materials for small, prefabricated dwellings. And builders and architects are responding to an increasing demand for scaled-down primary residences or vacation homes.
Jeff Dungan of Dungan & Nequette Architects, in Birmingham, Ala., says he welcomes the change. "We've been working on a cottage, a second home, for a client who will probably end up retiring there," Dungan says. "He told us what he wanted, and I started drawing, thinking it would be about 2,500 square feet. But the more I drew, the more I got excited about the efficient use of space. The finished product is 1,500 square feet. We looked at it and said, 'Wow, did we leave anything out? Is there anything wrong with it?' The answer was, 'No, there's a lot right with it.'"
Dungan's downsized design solution is just one example of a historic trend. From 1973 through 2007, the average size of a newly built U.S. house rose from 1,660 to a record high of 2,521 square feet, according to the Census Bureau. But during the first half of 2008, the average declined by about 200 square feet — the single biggest drop since the early 1970s. Also, in January, a survey by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) found that 88 percent of builders nationwide either planned or had already begun to build smaller homes.
"The days of the McMansion are over," says Stephen Melman, the NAHB's director of economic services. "People aren't buying more house than they need."
Alchemy Architects, in St. Paul, Minn., is a leader in the prefab small-house market, with a "weeHouse" portfolio of modern structures starting at 341 square feet. Hospital administrator Mary Griffith, 53, and her husband, Bill, 49, a Spanish teacher, opted for an 1,100-square-foot prefab by Alchemy. They situated the unit on 20 wooded acres in Carlisle, N.Y., and moved out of their two-family Colonial and into their new home in October 2008 — and they've never been happier. "Our current house feels so much more spacious than our old one," says Mary. "The kitchen, dining room, and living room occupy one big space, and with seven floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, the house gives the appearance of being much larger than it really is."
The Griffiths live comfortably in the small space, along with their son, a senior in high school, as well as a cat and a medium-sized dog. In fact, the efficient design has encouraged the couple to find other ways to economize. Solar power heats their water, and a wood-burning stove generates ambient heat, as do the big glass doors. "The sun streams into the house," Mary says. "We often don't even have to fire up the wood stove."
While she and her family have adapted well to their new, downsized lifestyle, Mary confesses that she was initially unsure about it: "It was difficult to take the leap. But after we made the choice, we never looked back."
— Joe Bargmann
Monday, June 15, 2009
Navien makes the most efficient tankless water heaters in the industry
Navien America, a subsidiary of the South Korean company Kyung Dyong Navien, is now manufacturing the most efficient tankless water heaters in the industry. These Energy Star-rated water heaters achieve energy factors (EFs) as high as 0.98 by using conventional and condensing heat exchangers to capture heat from flue gases as well as latent heat generated when water vapor in these gases condenses into liquid. Adding to the units’ efficiency are dual microprocessors that use data from air and gas pressure sensors to ensure a proper fuel-to-oxygen ratio for optimum combustion, even when there are long vent runs or fluctuating gas pressure.
Hybrid on the Hill Features Diesel-Electric Hybrid Techology
Hybrid on the Hill Features Diesel-Electric Hybrid Techology
Written by Joanna Schroeder
Published on June 15th, 2009
1 CommentPosted in Diesel, Events, Politics
Last week, the Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF) of CALSTART hosted a “Hybrid on the Hill” day where they showcased new truck technologies. Mack Trucks, Inc. participated in the event and gave federal legislators and policymakers a first-hand look at its parallel diesel-electric hybrid technology, known as the MACK® TerraPro™ Cabover, for heavy-duty trucks. Mack is initially introducing these technology in refuse trucks, aka garbage trucks, where hybrid technology seems to have the greatest impact due to the stop-and-go nature of the trash pick-up system.
» See also: New Fuel Made With Wastewater Drastically Reduces Emissions
» Get Gas 2.0 by RSS or sign up by email.
On the road again.
I just can’t wait to get on the road again.
With My Diesel-Electric Hybrid Truck that I pick up trash in.
I can’t wait to get on the road again.
The largest benefit of the technology is that it has a 30 percent fuel economy improvement in stop-and-go applications and meets the EPA’10 emission regulations. The truck is currently being tested in New York.
Here is the downlow on the technology:
◦rear loading refuse packer body
◦equipped with a 325 hp MACK MP7 engine and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) exhaust aftertreatment technology
◦powertrain features an integrated starter, alternator and electric motor
◦the system captures energy from braking, converts the energy to electricity, stores the electricity in lithium ion batteries, and uses it to power the electric motor, which assists the MP7 diesel engine with propulsion of the truck
According to Dennis Slagle, Mack president and CEO, “Our hybrid technology will be commercially viable, yet it will take time to establish a robust hybrid market for heavy vehicles that will enable us to invest in large scale production. Incentives will accelerate the adoption of Class 8 hybrids and bring forward the positive environmental changes.”
Slagle also noted that the technology will be very expensive when it first comes to market and will become more affordable as production increases. In terms of payback, the purchaser will see a return on investment in several years when accounting for the fuel savings and reduced maintenance costs.
The fuel savings would ultimately be a huge bonus for consumers because the high cost of transportation is a major factor in product and food prices and most waste management services have increased monthly rates to offset the high price of diesel. In addition to Mack’s technology, there are more diesel-electric hybrid technologies in the works.
Company sources also noted that it will take federal incentives to bring the technology to market. While there are currently several short-term federal tax credit programs designated for heavy-duty hybrids, longer-term incentives are needed. The Company is lobbying for Congress to extend the Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit which is part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and expires at the end of this year.
It can be argued that longer-term incentives are need for all-hybrid programs whether for heavy-duty trucks, light trucks or passenger vehicles. And wouldn’t it be great if our garbage was picked up by an electric hybrid truck and then turned into fuel for our passenger cars? This is not a pipe dream - BlueFire Ethanol is doing this very thing in LA County as is CleanTech Biofuels. I’ll be mulling this over when I’m on the road again.
Sounds like a plan to me. It may take the governments, state, local, and federal to get this off the ground with a series of pilot programs. The regenerative braking system is also being used in taxis, no? Their driving entails a lot of stop-and-go too. It WOULD be cool if the garbage trucks use the garbage to make energy too.
Written by Joanna Schroeder
Published on June 15th, 2009
1 CommentPosted in Diesel, Events, Politics
Last week, the Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF) of CALSTART hosted a “Hybrid on the Hill” day where they showcased new truck technologies. Mack Trucks, Inc. participated in the event and gave federal legislators and policymakers a first-hand look at its parallel diesel-electric hybrid technology, known as the MACK® TerraPro™ Cabover, for heavy-duty trucks. Mack is initially introducing these technology in refuse trucks, aka garbage trucks, where hybrid technology seems to have the greatest impact due to the stop-and-go nature of the trash pick-up system.
» See also: New Fuel Made With Wastewater Drastically Reduces Emissions
» Get Gas 2.0 by RSS or sign up by email.
On the road again.
I just can’t wait to get on the road again.
With My Diesel-Electric Hybrid Truck that I pick up trash in.
I can’t wait to get on the road again.
The largest benefit of the technology is that it has a 30 percent fuel economy improvement in stop-and-go applications and meets the EPA’10 emission regulations. The truck is currently being tested in New York.
Here is the downlow on the technology:
◦rear loading refuse packer body
◦equipped with a 325 hp MACK MP7 engine and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) exhaust aftertreatment technology
◦powertrain features an integrated starter, alternator and electric motor
◦the system captures energy from braking, converts the energy to electricity, stores the electricity in lithium ion batteries, and uses it to power the electric motor, which assists the MP7 diesel engine with propulsion of the truck
According to Dennis Slagle, Mack president and CEO, “Our hybrid technology will be commercially viable, yet it will take time to establish a robust hybrid market for heavy vehicles that will enable us to invest in large scale production. Incentives will accelerate the adoption of Class 8 hybrids and bring forward the positive environmental changes.”
Slagle also noted that the technology will be very expensive when it first comes to market and will become more affordable as production increases. In terms of payback, the purchaser will see a return on investment in several years when accounting for the fuel savings and reduced maintenance costs.
The fuel savings would ultimately be a huge bonus for consumers because the high cost of transportation is a major factor in product and food prices and most waste management services have increased monthly rates to offset the high price of diesel. In addition to Mack’s technology, there are more diesel-electric hybrid technologies in the works.
Company sources also noted that it will take federal incentives to bring the technology to market. While there are currently several short-term federal tax credit programs designated for heavy-duty hybrids, longer-term incentives are needed. The Company is lobbying for Congress to extend the Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit which is part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and expires at the end of this year.
It can be argued that longer-term incentives are need for all-hybrid programs whether for heavy-duty trucks, light trucks or passenger vehicles. And wouldn’t it be great if our garbage was picked up by an electric hybrid truck and then turned into fuel for our passenger cars? This is not a pipe dream - BlueFire Ethanol is doing this very thing in LA County as is CleanTech Biofuels. I’ll be mulling this over when I’m on the road again.
Sounds like a plan to me. It may take the governments, state, local, and federal to get this off the ground with a series of pilot programs. The regenerative braking system is also being used in taxis, no? Their driving entails a lot of stop-and-go too. It WOULD be cool if the garbage trucks use the garbage to make energy too.
World Naked Bike Ride Rolls Thru Chicago
World Naked Bike Ride Rolls Through Chicago (VIDEO, NSFW)
digg Huffpost - World Naked Bike Ride Rolls Through Chicago (VIDEO, NSFW) stumble reddit del.ico.us ShareThisHuffington Post
Posted: 06-15-09 08:03 PM
I Like ItI Don’t Like It Read More: Global Warming, Naked Bike Ride Chicago, Naked Bike Ride Pictures, Naked Bike Ride Video, Video, World Naked Bike Ride, Chicago News
The sixth annual World Naked Bike Ride took place Saturday night, with hundreds of Chicago cyclists, skateboarders and roller skaters streaking through the city in various degrees of undress to raise awareness of global oil dependency.
The three-hour ride started near Oprah's Harpo studios and wove its way east through downtown, north up Michigan Avenue to Belmont, west until Ashland then south again toward the start.
Metromix has a safe-for-work slideshow of the event.
Some racier, not-safe-for-work slideshows here and here
And now, a little levity and fun while we save the world..
digg Huffpost - World Naked Bike Ride Rolls Through Chicago (VIDEO, NSFW) stumble reddit del.ico.us ShareThisHuffington Post
Posted: 06-15-09 08:03 PM
I Like ItI Don’t Like It Read More: Global Warming, Naked Bike Ride Chicago, Naked Bike Ride Pictures, Naked Bike Ride Video, Video, World Naked Bike Ride, Chicago News
The sixth annual World Naked Bike Ride took place Saturday night, with hundreds of Chicago cyclists, skateboarders and roller skaters streaking through the city in various degrees of undress to raise awareness of global oil dependency.
The three-hour ride started near Oprah's Harpo studios and wove its way east through downtown, north up Michigan Avenue to Belmont, west until Ashland then south again toward the start.
Metromix has a safe-for-work slideshow of the event.
Some racier, not-safe-for-work slideshows here and here
And now, a little levity and fun while we save the world..
Old tires + manure= energy
OREGON ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS
Going green, green living, eco friendly tips and articles
INSIDE ENVIRONMENT
• Environmental News
• PDX Green Blog
• Earth Day
• Oregonian Newspaper
• Oregon Traffic News
• Weather Center
• Oregon & Washington Earthquake News
• Contact the Environment & Sustainability Team
• Send us news & photos
GREEN TIPS
A guide to a more efficient and sustainable life.
• Green Tip: Sorting shades of fluorescent bulbs 7:30 p.m. PT
• Coloring eggs this weekend? Try going natural 12:30 p.m. PT
• Fair offers resources for installing ecoroofs 12:30 p.m. PT
MORE GREEN TIPS »
ENVIRONMENT PHOTOS
From The Oregonian
MORE ENVIRONMENT PHOTOS »
HOMES & GARDENS MAGAZINE
Green Living ›
Organic Gardening ›
Sustainability Leaders ›
• Wis. Senate approves e-waste recycling bill 6/9/2009, 10:17 a.m. PDT
• Small-town farmers' markets gain a following 6/8/2009, 1:00 a.m. PDT
• Ore. lawmakers take aim at school bus fumes 6/5/2009, 4:07 p.m. PDT
AP ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS »
• US Forest SVC on Plant... by Sponge27 06/15/2009 8:44 a.m. PT
Biogas company seeks permit to use 40,000 waste tires for manure digester
by Abby Haight, The Oregonian
Wednesday June 03, 2009, 11:36 AM
Motoya Nakamura/The Oregonian
Dairy production at Threemile Canyon Farms near Boardman.A biogas company wants a permit to produce energy from two banes to the environment -- waste tires and cow manure.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality will host an informational meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 9, in Boardman to discuss the waste tire storage permit application of Northwest Biogas, which wants to use 40,000 waste tires as a growing media for micro-organisms in an anaerobic digester.
The digester would be at Threemile Canyon Farms in Boardman, one of the largest dairies in the country, and would use manure from the farm's 17,000 cows.
Late last year, Threemile Canyon Farms entered an agreement with Northwest Natural Gas and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to install a digester that would clean methane -- one of the worst greenhouse gases -- and produce an alternative to natural gas use.
Northwest Natural and the foundation invested $1 million in the digester project. Northwest Natural, which benefited from state tax credits, would fund the $20,000 yearly operating cost by its 6,300 customers who pay extra for green energy projects.
Northwest Biogas has proposed using the waste tires inside the lined and covered digester. The company has agreed to clean, remove and recycle the tires if the facility ceases operation.
The dairy cows each produce 120 pounds of waste daily, including water used to flush away the manure. The waste is routed into manure lagoons, where it releases methane. The digester would use only a fraction of the manure -- from about 1,000 to 1,400 cows.
But proponents note that the cleaned methane is a renewable alternative to natural gas. Generators also use methane to produce electricity.
Using waste tires eliminates the potential for tire fires and the breeding ground for pests like mosquitoes, they say.
The informational meeting is at the Boardman City Hall conference room, 200 City Center Circle.
-- Abby Haight; abbyhaight@news.oregonian.com
Going green, green living, eco friendly tips and articles
INSIDE ENVIRONMENT
• Environmental News
• PDX Green Blog
• Earth Day
• Oregonian Newspaper
• Oregon Traffic News
• Weather Center
• Oregon & Washington Earthquake News
• Contact the Environment & Sustainability Team
• Send us news & photos
GREEN TIPS
A guide to a more efficient and sustainable life.
• Green Tip: Sorting shades of fluorescent bulbs 7:30 p.m. PT
• Coloring eggs this weekend? Try going natural 12:30 p.m. PT
• Fair offers resources for installing ecoroofs 12:30 p.m. PT
MORE GREEN TIPS »
ENVIRONMENT PHOTOS
From The Oregonian
MORE ENVIRONMENT PHOTOS »
HOMES & GARDENS MAGAZINE
Green Living ›
Organic Gardening ›
Sustainability Leaders ›
• Wis. Senate approves e-waste recycling bill 6/9/2009, 10:17 a.m. PDT
• Small-town farmers' markets gain a following 6/8/2009, 1:00 a.m. PDT
• Ore. lawmakers take aim at school bus fumes 6/5/2009, 4:07 p.m. PDT
AP ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS »
• US Forest SVC on Plant... by Sponge27 06/15/2009 8:44 a.m. PT
Biogas company seeks permit to use 40,000 waste tires for manure digester
by Abby Haight, The Oregonian
Wednesday June 03, 2009, 11:36 AM
Motoya Nakamura/The Oregonian
Dairy production at Threemile Canyon Farms near Boardman.A biogas company wants a permit to produce energy from two banes to the environment -- waste tires and cow manure.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality will host an informational meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 9, in Boardman to discuss the waste tire storage permit application of Northwest Biogas, which wants to use 40,000 waste tires as a growing media for micro-organisms in an anaerobic digester.
The digester would be at Threemile Canyon Farms in Boardman, one of the largest dairies in the country, and would use manure from the farm's 17,000 cows.
Late last year, Threemile Canyon Farms entered an agreement with Northwest Natural Gas and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to install a digester that would clean methane -- one of the worst greenhouse gases -- and produce an alternative to natural gas use.
Northwest Natural and the foundation invested $1 million in the digester project. Northwest Natural, which benefited from state tax credits, would fund the $20,000 yearly operating cost by its 6,300 customers who pay extra for green energy projects.
Northwest Biogas has proposed using the waste tires inside the lined and covered digester. The company has agreed to clean, remove and recycle the tires if the facility ceases operation.
The dairy cows each produce 120 pounds of waste daily, including water used to flush away the manure. The waste is routed into manure lagoons, where it releases methane. The digester would use only a fraction of the manure -- from about 1,000 to 1,400 cows.
But proponents note that the cleaned methane is a renewable alternative to natural gas. Generators also use methane to produce electricity.
Using waste tires eliminates the potential for tire fires and the breeding ground for pests like mosquitoes, they say.
The informational meeting is at the Boardman City Hall conference room, 200 City Center Circle.
-- Abby Haight; abbyhaight@news.oregonian.com
An Motley Fool Investment Idea
Home > Investing > High Growth
Sponsored By
A Little Too Dazzling
By Rich Duprey
June 5, 2009 | Comments (1)
CREE
Cree, Inc.
Rate CREE CAPS Rating 3/5 Stars . $28.53 $-0.21 (-0.73%)
More about CREE
Stocks Worth Waiting For
Miss the Recent Market Bottom?
BROWSE ALL CREE ARTICLES
Motley Fool Stock AdvisorSince 2002, David and Tom Gardner have returned 30.00% while the S&P 500 returned -9.99%. Try Stock Advisor free for 30 days.
•Try it Free
How many Nobel laureates does it take to screw in a light bulb? We don't know because they're off painting rooftops with whitewash.
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a Nobel prize winner in physics, created a bit of a stir recently when he suggested that if we would all just paint our rooftops white -- and all the roadways and sidewalks, too -- we could eliminate the same amount of greenhouse gases as removing all the world's cars from the roads for 11 years.
Not a bad idea
A more practical idea might be to encourage more homeowners to get rid of their incandescent light bulbs. Compact fluorescents (CFL) could save consumers about $30 over the life of the bulb because they use 75% less energy and last about 10 times as long as standard bulbs. According to the federal government's Energy Star program, if every owner replaced just one bulb in their home, enough energy would be saved to light more than 3 million homes for a year, save more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent the emission of greenhouse gases equivalent to that of more than 800,000 cars.
Not quite on par with Chu's Tom Sawyer trick, but at least it's a workable idea.
At the end of the tunnel
According to research company Nielsen Claritas, 71% of consumers have at least one CFL installed in their home and 64% have two or more. Because Congress mandated that incandescents be eliminated by 2014, CFLs will be far more commonplace soon enough. Yet retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) and Costco (Nasdaq: COST) started the ball rolling already, and overall about 330 million bulbs are sold every year in the U.S. Even so, the Energy Department says that CFLs dropped to 21% of light bulb sales in 2008, down from 23% in 2007.
But in between the push for ecologically friendly devices and the market penetration of CFLs, there remains another opportunity -- solid-state light-emitting diodes, which are even better at saving energy than CFLs. LEDs, which are essentially tiny semiconductors, are twice as efficient and don't contain any of the mercury that CFLs do, so leaking harmful chemicals into the environment isn't a concern. CFL pollution has become a big-enough concern that Home Depot (NYSE: HD) started a bulb-recycling program last year.
Although you might want to dispose of LEDs in a manner similar to that of other electronic and computer components, their disposal is less of an issue, because they can last for decades.
That computes
The biggest market for LED lighting has been in commercial building applications, but computer backlighting has been gaining traction, and LED-backlit screens are predicted to become 30% to 40% of the notebook market in 2009.
LED chip maker Cree (Nasdaq: CREE) is looking to improve bookings -- specifically in the notebook backlighting area -- leading it to boost its guidance for its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue. And though the turmoil in the automobile market partially offset sales of LED components, the company was still able to increase revenue from that segment by 7% in the latest quarter. Earlier this year, Cree also forestalled similar problems.
Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG), the world's largest lighting manufacturer, also anticipates a better market. It says the LED market has reached a trough, and it forecasts sales at its Lumileds division will increase 20% next quarter. And you can't count out General Electric (NYSE: GE), either. Its Lumination division is using LEDs to brighten supermarket display cases at Wal-Mart, and its officials say eight of the top 10 supermarkets in the U.S. are already using or testing its system.
Don't fight City Hall
Considering that the federal stimulus program includes billions for municipal infrastructure, we should begin to see cities and towns converting to LED lighting. San Jose, Calif., is using some of its $8.8 million in that stimulus spending to convert street lights to LEDs, similar to what Siemens' (NYSE: SI) Osram division is doing in Hamburg, Germany. Similarly, as part of its LED City initiative, Cree has convinced Raleigh, N.C.; Austin, Texas; and other cities to use and evaluate LEDs in street lamps, parking garages, and municipal offices.
If you're looking to profit from the future of lighting, there's really only one option. Cree is the closest thing to a pure play in the field and one of the best of the bunch, but at more than 98 times earnings, its stock looks richly valued now. Of course, I thought it was too high back in January when it traded at "just" 36 times forward estimates and I recommended that investors wait for a dip in the price that never materialized. It has nearly doubled in price since then (ouch!), but that doesn't help me recommend shares now. Any hiccups along the way and it would be lights-out for the stock.
But there are worse things you could be doing than waiting for a better price: Painting your roof, for instance.
For related Foolish articles:
•Cree Sees the Light
•This Stock Is Lights Out
•LEDing the Way to Profits
Sponsored By
A Little Too Dazzling
By Rich Duprey
June 5, 2009 | Comments (1)
CREE
Cree, Inc.
Rate CREE CAPS Rating 3/5 Stars . $28.53 $-0.21 (-0.73%)
More about CREE
Stocks Worth Waiting For
Miss the Recent Market Bottom?
BROWSE ALL CREE ARTICLES
Motley Fool Stock AdvisorSince 2002, David and Tom Gardner have returned 30.00% while the S&P 500 returned -9.99%. Try Stock Advisor free for 30 days.
•Try it Free
How many Nobel laureates does it take to screw in a light bulb? We don't know because they're off painting rooftops with whitewash.
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a Nobel prize winner in physics, created a bit of a stir recently when he suggested that if we would all just paint our rooftops white -- and all the roadways and sidewalks, too -- we could eliminate the same amount of greenhouse gases as removing all the world's cars from the roads for 11 years.
Not a bad idea
A more practical idea might be to encourage more homeowners to get rid of their incandescent light bulbs. Compact fluorescents (CFL) could save consumers about $30 over the life of the bulb because they use 75% less energy and last about 10 times as long as standard bulbs. According to the federal government's Energy Star program, if every owner replaced just one bulb in their home, enough energy would be saved to light more than 3 million homes for a year, save more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent the emission of greenhouse gases equivalent to that of more than 800,000 cars.
Not quite on par with Chu's Tom Sawyer trick, but at least it's a workable idea.
At the end of the tunnel
According to research company Nielsen Claritas, 71% of consumers have at least one CFL installed in their home and 64% have two or more. Because Congress mandated that incandescents be eliminated by 2014, CFLs will be far more commonplace soon enough. Yet retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) and Costco (Nasdaq: COST) started the ball rolling already, and overall about 330 million bulbs are sold every year in the U.S. Even so, the Energy Department says that CFLs dropped to 21% of light bulb sales in 2008, down from 23% in 2007.
But in between the push for ecologically friendly devices and the market penetration of CFLs, there remains another opportunity -- solid-state light-emitting diodes, which are even better at saving energy than CFLs. LEDs, which are essentially tiny semiconductors, are twice as efficient and don't contain any of the mercury that CFLs do, so leaking harmful chemicals into the environment isn't a concern. CFL pollution has become a big-enough concern that Home Depot (NYSE: HD) started a bulb-recycling program last year.
Although you might want to dispose of LEDs in a manner similar to that of other electronic and computer components, their disposal is less of an issue, because they can last for decades.
That computes
The biggest market for LED lighting has been in commercial building applications, but computer backlighting has been gaining traction, and LED-backlit screens are predicted to become 30% to 40% of the notebook market in 2009.
LED chip maker Cree (Nasdaq: CREE) is looking to improve bookings -- specifically in the notebook backlighting area -- leading it to boost its guidance for its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue. And though the turmoil in the automobile market partially offset sales of LED components, the company was still able to increase revenue from that segment by 7% in the latest quarter. Earlier this year, Cree also forestalled similar problems.
Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG), the world's largest lighting manufacturer, also anticipates a better market. It says the LED market has reached a trough, and it forecasts sales at its Lumileds division will increase 20% next quarter. And you can't count out General Electric (NYSE: GE), either. Its Lumination division is using LEDs to brighten supermarket display cases at Wal-Mart, and its officials say eight of the top 10 supermarkets in the U.S. are already using or testing its system.
Don't fight City Hall
Considering that the federal stimulus program includes billions for municipal infrastructure, we should begin to see cities and towns converting to LED lighting. San Jose, Calif., is using some of its $8.8 million in that stimulus spending to convert street lights to LEDs, similar to what Siemens' (NYSE: SI) Osram division is doing in Hamburg, Germany. Similarly, as part of its LED City initiative, Cree has convinced Raleigh, N.C.; Austin, Texas; and other cities to use and evaluate LEDs in street lamps, parking garages, and municipal offices.
If you're looking to profit from the future of lighting, there's really only one option. Cree is the closest thing to a pure play in the field and one of the best of the bunch, but at more than 98 times earnings, its stock looks richly valued now. Of course, I thought it was too high back in January when it traded at "just" 36 times forward estimates and I recommended that investors wait for a dip in the price that never materialized. It has nearly doubled in price since then (ouch!), but that doesn't help me recommend shares now. Any hiccups along the way and it would be lights-out for the stock.
But there are worse things you could be doing than waiting for a better price: Painting your roof, for instance.
For related Foolish articles:
•Cree Sees the Light
•This Stock Is Lights Out
•LEDing the Way to Profits
U.S. Postal Service: RIP
U.S. Postal Service: RIP
Posted Jun 15 2009, 06:05 AM by Douglas McIntyre Rating: Filed under: Internet, Amazon
The U.S. Postal Service, which has been dying for years due to the advent of the fax, e-mail, and overnight delivery, may finally be close to its last act.
The agency lost nearly $2 billion in its last fiscal year and is faced with the serious consideration of cuts of up to 3,100 offices, potentially eliminating thousand of jobs. Media reports say that first class mail volumes are plunging.
What is killing and will probably eventually finish off the Post Office? In a word: “broadband,” the high-speed Internet system that the current Administration plans to build out in the next two years.
According to MarketWatch, the Postal Service is already looking at stopping Saturday delivery. The next moves will probably cut the number of weekdays the mail is dropped off, particularly outside urban areas where the cost of reaching homes and businesses spread over a wide geography is enormous.
Broadband has taken away the need for sending letters and may large documents. Broadband connections allow users to securely download encrypted files, some of which are the equivalent of thousands of pages of paper. The files can be sent and received in a few seconds compared with days to move them by mail.
Payment systems which wire transfer money have nearly eliminated the role of the check in paying bills. This will only increase as e-banking does.
Even the magazine and newspaper industries which relied on physical delivery systems for decades now use the Amazon (AMZN) Kindle as a way to get the printed word over the Internet and downloaded onto the device. Almost every major print product also has an Internet version. Sending magazines via mail is expensive. Cutting back on that form of delivery would be a blessing.
The modern postal system killed the pony express. The USPS could only last so long before it was itself replaced. That time has finally come.
Top Stocks blogger Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.
Posted Jun 15 2009, 06:05 AM by Douglas McIntyre Rating: Filed under: Internet, Amazon
The U.S. Postal Service, which has been dying for years due to the advent of the fax, e-mail, and overnight delivery, may finally be close to its last act.
The agency lost nearly $2 billion in its last fiscal year and is faced with the serious consideration of cuts of up to 3,100 offices, potentially eliminating thousand of jobs. Media reports say that first class mail volumes are plunging.
What is killing and will probably eventually finish off the Post Office? In a word: “broadband,” the high-speed Internet system that the current Administration plans to build out in the next two years.
According to MarketWatch, the Postal Service is already looking at stopping Saturday delivery. The next moves will probably cut the number of weekdays the mail is dropped off, particularly outside urban areas where the cost of reaching homes and businesses spread over a wide geography is enormous.
Broadband has taken away the need for sending letters and may large documents. Broadband connections allow users to securely download encrypted files, some of which are the equivalent of thousands of pages of paper. The files can be sent and received in a few seconds compared with days to move them by mail.
Payment systems which wire transfer money have nearly eliminated the role of the check in paying bills. This will only increase as e-banking does.
Even the magazine and newspaper industries which relied on physical delivery systems for decades now use the Amazon (AMZN) Kindle as a way to get the printed word over the Internet and downloaded onto the device. Almost every major print product also has an Internet version. Sending magazines via mail is expensive. Cutting back on that form of delivery would be a blessing.
The modern postal system killed the pony express. The USPS could only last so long before it was itself replaced. That time has finally come.
Top Stocks blogger Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.
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