Use Led Lighting, Save Energy!
The potential of led lighting is immense
Technological advances is LED(Light Emitting Diode) lighting are happening at an incredible pace. The technology is now permeating every area of our lives, from traffic lights and car headlights to laptop computers. Lighting represents an average of 21 % of a building’s total energy consumption(Department Climate Change, UK, July 2011)
and accounts for 19% of global energy production. It is estimated to be responsible for around 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Traditional lighting systems emit around 5% of light for 95% of heat energy, which for a product aiming to produce light, does not fulfill even the most relaxed of performance criteria.
The very low price of such systems, and the incremental efficiency improvements that technology advancement has brought, have until now kept traditional solutions as a clear favourite over greener options.
However, the industry is now changing. The emergence of LED as an efficient light source has made it possible for governments to set targets and even ban certain types of inefficient light bulbs. Proponents of LED lighting argue that a worldwide switch to LED could reduce the energy consumption of lighting by 40%.
This equates to approximately by $130 billion per year saved in running costs or 670 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions avoided; the equivalent output of 640 medium-sized power plants.
However, to date, most organizations have been slow to investigate the cost and energy-saving benefits of the technology, often discouraged by widely-dis-cussed myths.
The first of these myths is that LED systems cost too much. All too often in lighting situations, for example. Building corridors and car parks, lighting decisions are based on initial cost rather than longer term benefits.
Initial fixture costs may be higher for some LED lighting solutions than for comparable incandescent and fluorescent lighting solutions, but initial fixture cost does not account for the total cost of owning, operating, and maintaining a lighting system.
An LED tube lasts five years longer than the average fluorescent tube, and because of their long life, LED lighting fixtures avoid the maintenance and material costs incurred when changing exhausted tubes.
Also, with LEDs consuming far less energy, annual power costs can be significantly reduced. The average florescent tube generates 58 watt compared to an LED at 23 watt, saving 60% and having a dramatic impact on a building’s energy consumption.
In fact, payback on LED lighting solutions can often be realized in less than three years. The second myth is that LEDs are not bright enough. When comparing lighting fixtures on the basic of delivered light, LED fixtures often perform as well, and in some cases significantly better, than conventional fixtures, while consuming far less energy.
Plus, with LEDs being inherently directional, they emit almost all of their light output in the desired direction, rather than dispersing it in all directions. In fact, LED is a revolutionary lighting technology.
It offers greater colour variability, “instant on” capability, dimming capacity, and freedom in design. It also has a much wider optimum temperature span; it can withstand extremely cold conditions.
Despite this, technology transitions can create significant uncertainty, and the myths around LED lamps have kept them in the slow lane to adoption, with businesses largely missing out on their great potential.
So what is the future for LED in a traditionally slow-moving lighting industry? Legislation is critical to the growth of the lighting market over the next 10 years.
A report of McKinsey & Company says that LED lighting has the potential to be the dominant technology in domestic and commercial lighting by 2015. The world ‘potential’ is the key here.
