Replacement lights claimed fast at Utilities event

The Colorado Springs Utilities holiday light exchange and open house keeps growing, but still can't keep up with demand.About 1,500 strings of LED lights and 10,000 CFL bulbs were handed out during the annual event Saturday at the Conservation and Environmental Center on Mesa Road."People were in line before 7 a.m.," said Nikki Richardson, Utilities spokeswoman.Customers could exchange two old holiday light strands for two money-saving LED strands. They could also exchange up to 16 light bulbs for CFLs.Holiday lights were gone by 9:30 a.m., and the supply of CFLs lasted until 11 a.m., she said.Utilities brought more lights to give away this year, but ran out of them in record time, said, Doug Bursnall, energy conservation specialist with Utilities.
The holiday lights turned in Saturday will be recycled, and the money from stripping the copper out will benefit Project COPE, a utilities assistance program.LED lights use 75 percent to 90 percent less energy than traditional bulbs, he said. They are also a lot cooler, which cuts down on fire risks.LED lights are more expensive, but people can replace them a little at a time, Bursnall said.Analysis: Georgia quietly approves solar power shift.Energy savings usually covers the increase in start-up costs in a few years.People still dropped off old strings in the hours after free replacement lights ran out.
This is a unique opportunity for creative minds from across the globe to come together and be a part of something truly life changing', continued Mr Blease.
"Whether you are an engineer, a designer, a film maker, a business entrepreneur, or a university student or group, we want to hear from you if you think you have the skills to turn one of the shortlisted ideas into reality."This opportunity is equivalent to chart-topping artists finding stardom through a talent TV show, with the big exception that success on this stage will change the lives of 17 million people around the world living with cerebral palsy."Sounds like a very worthy cause that could certainly end up helping each Australian child born with cerebral palsy every 15 hours, the 17 million people around the world with cerebral palsy, and the 350 million people "who are closely connected to a child or adult with CP".The two wheelchairs would also help anyone that ever has the need for a wheelchair in fold-up form, solar-powered form or perhaps even both in the one unit!Wouldn't that be something that could help make the lives of people with wheelchairs so much easier and more convenient.Some kind of easily deployable, or removable but wired solar panels are things that are in my mind, so the wheelchair doesn't have to be in the hot sun to recharge.Wireless solar panels to charge a battery, could that be done? Or retractable solar panel(s) of enough size and efficiency… and what about the batteries and their charge?