LED Lights Could Offer Easy Route to Efficiency

Studies indicate that converting to LED lights could cut emissions associated with lighting in half over a period of just 20 years. In the U.S., that would represent an overall reduction in energy use of about 3 percent.

That’s why McKinsey & Company recently pointed to LED lighting conversion as one of the easiest and most cost-effective short-term solutions to fight global warming.

LED lights are more efficient than CFLs and lack some of the other bulbs’ drawbacks, such as incompatibility with dimmer switches and the need for special disposal to reduce mercury contamination.

While LEDs have been regarded as prohibitively expensive, the Obama stimulus package will help accelerate their adoption. The city of San Jose, for example, will use $2 million in efficiency grants to install 1500 LED streetlights. Other cities, from Ann Arbor to Toronto to Los Angeles, have started using LEDs for lighting on streets and in parking garages.

The money promises to grow the industry rapidly—from a $297 million industry in 2007, to a billion-dollar industry in 2013. General Electric and Philips have begun manufacturing the bulbs, indicating they see the technology is here to stay.

Still, challenges await. One is the risk that in trying to make the lights cheaper, manufacturers will produce a product whose lifespan is significantly less than the decades they claim.

Additionally, LEDs are better suited for providing “directional light” than the all-around glow people expect from many bulbs. This means they are a good choice only for certain applications.

However, in light of increased interest in—and spending on—the technology, the industry is hard at work solving these problems.

Return to June 2009 Western Energy News

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