Recently, I gave a presentation at Green Business Network about the benefits of green homes. The topic on energy efficient light bulbs came up. CFL’s have been in use for quite a few years and LED is the emerging product.
CFL’s can save you 75% of energy compared to incandescent bulb and the bulbs are inexpensive. Unlike the older CFL’s which produces poor light quality, today’s products offer a range of colors to suit different consumer needs. A common complaint was the warm-up delay (time for a CFL to get to full light intensity). This delay has been reduced to a practically imperceptible level in the better products today. Some people are concerned about the presence of mercury in CFL’s. According to a Lawrence Berkeley National Lab study, the level of mercury in the CFL is less than in a can of tuna. However, at the end of its life cycle we need to dispose them properly at a hazardous facility, just as linear fluorescent lights or batteries.
LED efficiency is comparable to that of CFL now but the efficiency is improving. LED’s prices are coming down. A 800-lumen LED bulb (equivalent to a 60-watt incandescent bulb) is priced at about $25, down from $40 just a few months ago. The manufacturers are targeting sub $10 units in 2-3 years and the Department of Energy is projecting price drop of 30% per year for the next 5 years. In fact, a 500-lumen LED bulb (equivalent to a 40-watt incandescent bulb) can be bought for as low as $10 recently. LED’s are still expensive but they last for 50,000 hours and you don’t have to change light bulbs for many years. Not having to throw away many bad light bulbs certainly helps environmental sustainability. The LED light source is very focused and so works well for recess lighting. They also reduce the hassle of replacing hard to reach recess lights too frequently. Another good use is placing them in freezers and refrigerators. LED lights emit less heat so that food in the refrigerator can last longer. I have replaced my refrigerator lights with LED and they are working well. Refrigerator manufacturers have started to put LEDs in their high end products.
Earlier LED products suffered from poor light qualities and colors like CFL’s. Both of these problems have been solved by manufacturers and the high quality products are now readily available.
LED lights are not just replacements for incandescent bulbs. It is a new technology that offers new ways of lighting. More fixtures built with LED will be coming to the market that will give customers much more control of how they want spaces to be lit. LED is looking pretty good as the future of lighting.
