Eco Factor: Green preparations at Times Square for New Year’s Eve.
This year, celebrating New Year’s Eve at Times Square will be more than just dancing under a glowing ball, as preparations are being made to welcome 2009 in a green way. This year Times Square will host an energy-efficient LED ball that weighs 11,875 pounds, which will be illuminated by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs.
The LEDs generate 16 million colors and billions of patterns, and to do so they will just consume the energy equivalent of two traditional home ovens. Apart from the energy-efficient LED ball, the 2009 sign will be human powered. People have already started pedaling in the power lodge, which till now has stored about 95 pedal hours out of the 230 pedal hours needed to illuminate the sign for 15 minutes.
The Dark Side:
The steps taken to greet 2009 in a green and sustainable way would surely encourage people to go ecofriendly and make them aware of the ways they can save energy. However, the light ball for this year is double its usual size, which could have been reduced to further cut down on then energy required to keep it illuminated.
Via: CleanTechnica
