"Let's cut in half the energy wasted by our homes and businesses over the next twenty years." - President Obama's 2013 State Of The Union Address
The United States is the 2nd largest energy consumer in the world. Around 40% of total U.S. energy consumption in 2013 was in commercial and residential buildings. A major reason behind such high energy consumption was the use of traditional incandescent bulbs, which are based on a technology that dates back to more than 130 years. While producing light, incandescent bulbs waste a lot of energy as heat. It was therefore not a surprise that the U.S. government declared the 100W, 75W, 60W and 40W traditional incandescent bulbs obsolete as per the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
Light-emitting diodes or LED lights come as an innovative solution to reduce energy consumption. It allows consumers to slash their electricity usage by as much as 80% and save money in energy consumption. Thus, switching to residential and industrial LED lighting can help to achieve much of President Obama's goal as according to the U.S. Department of Energy, lighting accounts for around 19% (one-fifth) of electricity consumed in the average household.
Where is LED Lighting Going?
The application of LED lighting technology in our HDTVs and cell phones is quite common. LEDs are also gaining popularity as energy-efficient replacements for traditional incandescent bulbs. They are even better than CFLs in terms of electricity consumption and longevity. However, the only barrier to the extensive use of LEDs for lighting is their high upfront costs. But with technological advancements, the prices of light-emitting diodes are lowering dramatically, not to mention their ability to produce high quality light and their higher payback value. For example, a 9.5W LED light by CREE which costs $10 and produces 85 Lumens per watt is good enough to replace an old style 60W globe.
Around 49 million LED lights were installed in the U.S. in 2012 to save $675 million in energy costs annually. Therefore, switching to LEDs could save the U.S. around $250 billion in total energy costs over the next two decades. This will also result in 50% reduction of energy consumption for lighting and avoid carbon emissions of about 1,800 million metric tons.
Therefore, it is quite natural that government as well as private organizations and home owners are switching to LED lights. Consider the following examples:
The Green LA initiative allowed the city to save $5.3 million annually by replacing 114,000 high-pressure, traditional sodium street lights with modernized LED lighting. Once completed, this project will allow taxpayers to save $10-million-a-year, which is equivalent to two-thirds of the amount Los Angeles had been paying for its street lighting.
The renowned gas station chain and convenience store Sheetz has installed light-emitting diodes for interior and exterior lighting at over 130 of its stores and gas stations across six states. The company saved approximately 45 percent on its interior lighting and 55 percent on its gas pumps' exterior lighting.
Advantages of LED Lights
With further development in lighting technology, it is now possible to break the cost and performance barriers associated with LED lights that mostly prevented consumers (especially homeowners) from switching to light-emitting diodes.
Consider this. An LED light can produce 250 lumens per watt. Thus, it will take just a 3W bulb to light a room. With a normal incandescent bulb, it will take at least 60 Watts of power to light the same room. Therefore, you can save 95% in energy consumption for lighting with LEDs.
A better product means less expensive light, which equates to saving significant amounts of money over the long run.
Reduced power consumption is probably the biggest advantage of light-emitting diodes. A properly designed LED circuit has 80% efficiency. This means it will convert 80% of the electrical energy to light energy. In contrast to incandescent bulbs, which waste 80-90% of energy as heat, you will lose only 20% of the energy as heat with LED lights.
Now let's consider these facts in monetary terms. You're using a 100 Watt incandescent bulb with an electrical cost of around $88 for 1 year to light your living room. Out of that $88 expense, almost $70 has been used to heat your living room. It means only $18 is used to light the room and rest of the money has been wasted. With an 80% efficient LED light, it would cost you only $23 per year, meaning a saving of $65 on electricity bill.
In fact, the cost saving would be much higher as incandescent bulbs tend to blow out within a year and require frequent replacements. Here comes another advantage of LEDs over standard lights.
LEDs have longer operational life than traditional incandescent bulbs and CFLs. Light-emitting diodes can be used for decades without burning out. Their operational life is around 50,000 hours, which means they will last for almost 11 years if you're using them continuously or for 22 years for 50% operation. In contrast, an incandescent bulb lasts only for 1,200 hours and the operational life of a CFL light is around 10,000 hours.
Therefore, using LED lights virtually eliminates the need to replace your bulbs.
Apart from these, there are other advantages of LED lights such as they are mercury-free, recyclable, durable and safer to use. These bulbs do not cause any kind of heat build-up, therefore, they reduce the risk of accidental burns should you come in contact with one.
The Rising Demand
As the cost factor shrinks, the demands of LED lights continue to increase. Its ability to reduce power consumption and its shorter payback timeframe on the upfront expenditure are the prime reasons why consumers are opting for LED lighting. The industrial and commercial lighting market is largely adopting the trend and any remaining barriers are more likely to diminish as lighting manufacturers are working to establish price parity between traditional lighting and LEDs. This will further accelerate the adoption rate of LEDs.
Lastly, light-emitting diodes not only save Americans money in electricity bills and replacement costs, but also eliminate a lot of physical waste, reducing our carbon footprint. LED technology, therefore, truly comes across as an eco-friendly solution.
