Multiplying Illumination Requirements May All Be Solved With LED Lighting

Sep 18
08:24

2012

Tracy Narvaez

Tracy Narvaez

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In the world of safety there is a concept referred to as blood priority, which refers to the unfortunate notion that people wait until there is a cris...

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In the world of safety there is a concept referred to as blood priority,Multiplying Illumination Requirements May All Be Solved With LED Lighting  Articles which refers to the unfortunate notion that people wait until there is a crisis before they respond, even when they have long known of the problem. So it is with fossil fuels a finite resource mankind has know was diminishing for decades, but over which are only now beginning to react. The solution will be many-pronged, but switching to LED lighting can make a huge difference. Because transportation is such a vital part of the modern world, the primary focus on energy remains on gasoline. The so-called oil shock in 1972 demonstrated how tied to fuel our economy and lives had become, and the connection is even clearer today. At the same time, people realize the enormous damage to the environment that burning coal and oil cause. Luminescence is almost always taken for granted, with the exception of power outages from storms or the occasional power line failure. In truth, every building needs light for it to be functional, even those with plenty of widows need lights at night. Mankind is no longer able to live within the limits of the daylight hours. Most suggestions that result in a net decrease in power consumption require the loss of some convenience, like hanging clothes out to dry, or keeping the thermostat at less than desired settings. The reluctance to compromise convenience or comfort makes most of these ideas only marginally successful. The notion of changing our source of luminescence from incandescent or fluorescent to light emitting diodes, however, impacts neither convenience or comfort. The differences in how luminescence is created from electricity accounts for the difference in efficiency. An incandescent bulb produces illumination by heating a filament until it glows, using most of the energy to produce heat, and only some to produce luminescence. A light emitting diode captures the photons released when electrons shift levels of energy, creating almost no heat. The standard light bulb has in use in homes and offices for over 130 years, with the fluorescent bulb its only challenger until recently. Individually, they require little power at reasonable cost, but with around 50 per house-hold, the cost is not insignificant. Each home in the United States could reduce power consumption by nearly 10,000 KW with almost a thousand dollars in savings. With an approximate 115 million households, just changing the bulbs in homes to light emitting diode types could potentially reduce energy consumption by 1.13 trillion KWh annually. Without reducing any illumination or incurring any hardship, the savings could be more than all the electricity produced at all the nuclear power plants in the US, or at 150 coal power plants which introduce 550 million tons of carbon dioxide in the air each year. The diode bulbs allow manufacturers to make them in many sizes, from room bulbs to the tiny light sources in high definition television. They have a lifespan of approximately 50,000 hours compared with 700 for an incandescent model. Switching to LED lighting can help end dependence on fossil fuels, save money and do it all while maintaining the same luminescence people expect.