National Chi Nan University (NCNU) researchers have helped water bamboo farmers in Nantou County cut electricity costs by 80 percent and reduce light pollution by replacing farmers’ sodium lamps with LED ones.
There are up to 1,800 hectares of water bamboo farms in the county’s Puli Township (埔里), which supply nearly 90 percent of the nation’s demand for the crop.
While water bamboo is usually grown from April to October every year, farmers use lighting at night to boost crop yields, but the sodium lights they used emitted a harsh glare, affecting nearby residents and traffic safety.
Photo courtesy of National Chi Nan University
Farmers paid electricity fees of NT$6,823 every two months for the sodium lights to illuminate farms covering 1,357.8m2, NCNU College of Science and Technology dean Tsai Yung-pin (蔡勇斌) said on Wednesday.
Tsai led a team in a smart farming and social responsibility project funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, which began with water bamboo farms in the township’s Fangli Borough (房里).
After switching to LED lights optimized by NCNU researchers, the farmers’ electricity bills fell to NT$1,199, or savings of more than 80 percent, he said.
The amount of water bamboo produced under the two lighting methods was similar at 1,200kg to 1,300kg, while LED devices, emitting softer purple light, mostly reduced light pollution, he said.
The team detailed their findings in a paper published in the journal Applied Sciences last month, with the journal’s cover featuring an image of water bamboo farms bathed in purple light.
The team is to extend the research to farms in Jhuge Borough (珠格) this year, hoping to determine how many LED lamps are needed for farms covering up to 0.5 hectares, Department of Civil Engineering chairman Chen Ku-fan (陳谷汎) said.
While an LED lamp costs NT$3,500, which is more expensive than a NT$2,000 sodium lamp, the former is more durable and energy-efficient in the long run, NCNU Department of Applied Chemistry chairman Kuo Ming-yu (郭明裕) said.
Kuo advised the Council of Agriculture to consider adding such LED lamps to its funding list for agricultural materials and equipment to help alleviate the financial burden on farmers.
He aims to improve the LED lights to make their direction adjustable and allow the light to be more evenly distributed over broader areas, Kuo added.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS