Residents asked to kill the lights and save the world
(sub) Residents asked to kill the lights, save the world
By Kevin Herrera
Daily Press Staff Writer
CITYWIDE — If all goes according to plan, Brian Collins will be turning off the lights Saturday night for a romantic evening with his girlfriend. He has the County of Los Angeles to thank for that.
The 32-year-old musician plans to participate in “Lights Out LA,” an event in which residents, businesses and local governments are being encouraged to turn off all non-essential lights and appliances from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday to help conserve energy and educate the public about ways that they can make a difference in the fight against global warming.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Collins said. “It’s something that anyone can do and it could really be fun, kind of like you’re going back in time to when things were a little simpler and slow-paced. I’m looking forward to having a relaxing evening without any interruptions. I’m turning the cell phone off, the TV, and busting out the candles.”
For example, switching 100,000 standard light bulbs with energy efficient, compact fluorescent bulbs is the equivalent to taking 2,600 cars off the streets permanently, said Brian Scott, director of operations for Lights Out, which started in Sydney, Australia, in March. More than two million people turned off their lights in Sydney, reducing the country’s electricity use by 10 percent.
“We’re all about trying to create awareness,” Scott said. “We want to show people that they, as individuals, can make a difference by doing little things around their home, such as buying energy efficient appliances or switching out light bulbs.
“If it helps create a better sense of community by getting people out of their homes and talking with their neighbors, then that’s wonderful, too.”
The first U.S. Lights Out event is being held concurrently in cities across the country. Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles are encouraging residents to take part. Nonessential lights will be turned off at hundreds of buildings throughout the county, including City Hall, the County Hall of Administration, the Music Center and the lighted pylons at LAX. The Department of Water and Power (DWP) is also planning to go dark.
While the City of Santa Monica is not participating in the event, city officials encouraged residents to do what they can to conserve.
Robert Rozanski, acting general manager for DWP, said that if all 1.4 million of its customers turned off their lights for an hour, enough energy could be saved to power 2,500 homes for an entire year.
County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke was responsible for getting the county involved in the effort.
“My hope is that the message behind Lights Out LA will have a long-lasting impact,” Burke said.
Turning off the lights for an hour could save 15 percent of the energy that would normally be consumed that day, Burke said.
“I’m looking forward to a nice candlelit dinner on Saturday night,” Burke said.
In addition to energy conservation, the goal of Lights Out is to cut down on pollution created by power plants. The effort in Australia reduced carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by an estimated 25 tons — equivalent to taking almost 49,000 cars off the road for an hour.
Residents in San Francisco and Long Beach are also expected to turn out their lights on Saturday, and Southern California Edison is urging its customers to turn off one household light bulb for an hour.
“The Lights Out-Los Angeles campaign complements Southern California Edison’s partnership with ENERGY STAR’s Change a Light, Change the World campaign, which encourages customers to change at least one regular light bulb for an ENERGY STAR-qualified compact fluorescent light bulb,” said Lynda Ziegler, senior vice president of the customer services business unit.
“We’re asking customers to turn off one incandescent light bulb Saturday evening, and when turning it back on, replace it with a compact fluorescent light bulb,” she said. “Taking this simple step will help protect the environment and contributes to issues surrounding climate change.”
State officials believe that if every California household replaced five incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs, it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions at levels equivalent to taking 400,000 cars off the road.
Southern California Edison is encouraging people to switch off only non-essential lighting, such as lights in houses and office buildings. Edison is not asking authorities to turn off streetlights or any power necessary to keeping communities and its residents safe.
Going down the drain
In addition to turning off the lights, organizers of the event are asking people to pay closer attention to appliances. Many appliances today suck power from the grid even when they are not in use, something commonly referred to as “phantom loads.”
A phantom load is essentially the power that is being used by an appliance that is not in use, but is resting at the ready. Toasters do this, as do computers and televisions.
“If you look at modern homes, there are so many things that consume power that didn’t use to before and this has a cumulative affect,” said Mark Olson, a spokesman for Southern California Edison. “Most homes have multiple TVs, multiple computers, home security systems, garage door openers, gate openers, cell phones recharging.”
One appliance that sucks a lot of juice is the plasma television. As more people upgrade their home entertainment systems, more plasma televisions are being sold, which means more power is being wasted because plasmas use almost as much power when they are turned off as they do when they are on, Olson said.
To help, Olson said Edison has been targeting small businesses and restaurants, offering free energy audits to see where power can be saved. There are rebates available for new equipment.
“If you have kids, as well, it is good to start teaching them early about conservation because it really comes down to habit,” Olson said. “By making people more aware, they may not leave that light on when they leave a room.”
City Hall is also offering homeowners a similar audit, said Stuart Cooley, an energy efficiency engineer.
“Home lighting is our biggest challenge in terms of electricity usage,” Cooley said. “We don’t have a huge air-conditioning load. Those who are using their air-conditioning are probably missing out on opportunities to improve air flow by using fans or just opening windows.”
Making it known
In efforts to get the word out, the county and city of Los Angeles have been broadcasting public service announcements on public access channels and on the radio. Several newspapers and other media outlets have also picked up on the story.
Still, there are plenty of people who are not aware of Lights Out.
Lisa Grine said she “had no idea” that Lights Out was happening, but after a reporter made her aware of the event, she said she was willing to go dark Saturday night.
“I think it’s a wonderful idea and something that I will consider doing more often, maybe make it a weekly thing at my house.”
Grine is thinking of lighting some candles and playing board games with her husband and two children. They may also play cards or charades to pass the time.
“It’s kind of like you’re camping out in a way,” she said. “You kind of leave the luxuries of home and find other ways to entertain yourself besides watching TV or playing video games. God knows we do enough of that.”
Lights Out America is already in the works. Organizers said the event will take place on March 29, so if anyone misses out on this Saturday’s event, they’ll have another shot in the dark.
“If it helps create a better sense of community by getting people out of their homes and talking with their neighbors, then that’s wonderful too.”
Brian Scott, director of operations for Lights Out.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 20, 2007. Read the original PDF.