Continuing our discussions on space optimization, a topic which we covered earlier on today, we are attaching a picture which would illustrate the point - “Choose a lighter tone on the walls”

Click on the image to enlarge.

Thanks to Jane/Joe for this image. If you have some images from you home you would like to share with our readers, drop a note to us. We will be glad to publish them on aavaas.

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Thought I’ll write on the Christmas tree decorations as a follow up to yesterday’s post. It is not commonly seen in Indian homes, but is extremely popular in countries with a more temperate climate. I am guessing mostly US, Canada and Europe although I have been told it is popular in Taiwan as well.

The tree is set up within the house a few days before 25th and is kept inside until first week of January. It is decorated with lights and trinkets to give a very colourful feeling to the scene. Usually, the presents received at the time are placed beneath the tree to give it an extra touch. We used to place the greeting cards we used to get on it. Even that gave off a good show effect. A star is placed right on top as can be seen in the picture above.

The custom itself does not have an indisputably clear origin, unlike for that of Christmas cribs. There appear to be some evidence in favour of a person called Boniface to have started the custom. But at that time it was not connected in a specific way with Christmas season. Martin Luther also appear to have influenced the way in which the tree was set up in homes.

Mass adoption of the tree as an interior decoration at Christmas time appear to have gained popularity around the 16th century. There are clear accounts of some trees being set up in cathedrals of the time. It seems to have become popular in Germany to start with and spread slowly outward. For instance, Britain did not adopt it until the 19th century.

I must say that this sort of decoration has parallels with other festivals I have seen celebrated in India. In that festival also, people celebrate by using a tree (not the evergreen fir tree though) which is adorned with decoration and baubles. Will write about that some time in January.

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Our coverage on environment friendly homes has been consistent. Williams wrote about it in the following articles:Some things to do for a Green home

A carbon negative home?

Going carbon negative

 The other environment topics which we covered so far were:

Water conservation at home

Waste Disposal

Today’s Hindu newspaper has a huge government advertisement on CFL Technology and requests people to “Switch on  to Save”.

This advertisement echoes all our thoughts and suggestions and we thought of elaborating on the details in case you miss the same on the paper.

 

The image above (please click to enlarge) conveys many details:

CFL Advantages:

• Four times more efficient
• Lasts upto 10 times longer than incandescents
• Uses 50-80% less energy than incandescents
• Uses 1/3 the electricity and lasts up to 10 times as long as incandescents
• Single 18 watt CFL in place of a 75 watt incandescent saves about 570KWH over its lifetime
• Replacing single incandescent bulb with CFLs keep out half-tonne of CO2 out of the atmosphere
• Saving electricity reduces CO2 emissions, sulfur oxide and high level nuclear waste
• New CFLs give a warm inviting light instead of the “cool white”light of older fluorescent
• They use rare earth phosphors for excellent color and warmth
• New electronic ballasted CFLs do not flicker or hum
• CFL can be applied nearly anywhere where incandescents are used

The advertisement says

“Judicious use of electricity is our responsibility”

“Save energy for benefit of self and nation”

This message is brought to us by:

Bureau of Energy Efficiency India

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I would like to introduce another topic for the benefit of our readers - Lighting.

Visual appeal is perhaps the strongest of all. One could spend a huge amount of money to buy the house, decorate it and flood it with gadgets, but unless there is a proportional lighting system used at home, most of the details go unnoticed.

There are two aspects to lighting at home , Natural and Artificial. Natural lighting is introduced by windows predominantly with doors and balconies adding their share to it. But as most of us know, this light fades away soon and in the evening we are bound to use artificial lighting at home.

Choice of lights is a very personal decision. While some love the bright, white light from fluorescent tube lights, some prefer the dim and moody electrical lamp finish.

In upcoming posts we would touch upon the lighting schemes in detail, but for the moment we just graze the surface.

Make sure that the lights chosen can meet tasks carried out in the room. For example in a living room, having a reading lamp in addition to usual light bulbs or chandiliers may be of great help as it reduces strain on eyes.

Similarly reading lamps by study tables for children ( I personally think tubelight like cold illuminating device is better) are of great importance.

Kitchens are another place where lights are of paramount importance. Bad lighting can lead to accidents and also mishaps in the dish itself.

Recently energy saving lamps are very popular among people. But what we dont realize is that , one of these lamps is just not enough for the whole room.

They go by the name of “CFL”. More on this can be found at:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp

For special occasions, candles also are used [ romantic or in the event of a power faiure ]

 more on these lines coming at htoh…..

happy reading

Vivek

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