Myth: LEDs Don’t Work

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Jan 102013
 
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Light Bulb Question Mark Green 300x300 Myth: LEDs Dont Work
This post is the second in a series about disproving popular myths surrounding LED lights. We’ve already covered the myth that LEDs don’t save energy, and you can read it right here. 

LED light bulbs are still new and mysterious to many of us, and many of us are fearful of putting these strange new devices into our own familiar light sockets. It’s a big change. Maybe some of you have even tried them out, tried them out and hated them. You didn’t like the light’s color, it made your paint look funny, or it just stopped working.

“LEDs just don’t work,” you hear. “They’re a passing fad.” “Don’t waste your money.”

At the time those concerns were probably valid, and to tell you the truth, for many LEDs they still might be.

LEDs Do More Than You Think….

So why do we call this qualm a myth? First, let’s look at all the industries that have made LEDs work for them: car manufacturers use them, TV makers swear by them, streetlight manufacturers have gone for them, and industrial developers can’t get enough. LEDs have helped all these industries, among others, create revolutionary products.

Looking at these industries, LEDs have helped them change for the better in a very rapid, very short time. So, even if you tried an LED light bulb in your home a year ago, 6 months ago, they’ve come a long way since then.

Working It

LED lights, in fact, have a number of features that allow them to work better than other, more familiar light sources. Continue reading »

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Pegasus Lighting Roundup: Getting Smarter

 Pegasus Lighting Roundup  2 Responses »
Oct 292012
 
PinExt Pegasus Lighting Roundup: Getting Smarter

LIFX 300x225 Pegasus Lighting Roundup: Getting Smarter

Image via Kickstarter.com


In lighting news…

Over the past month, I’ve seen so many smart-controlled energy efficient light bulbs popping up on the market, growing what Forbes.com calls “The Internet of Things,” in which objects (and not just people) communicate over the web. Each light bulb has an Internet IP address that you monitor wirelessly with a smartphone, tablet, or computer. Some popular models include LIFX (featured on Light Reading earlier this month), and Philips’ Hue coming to Apple Stores tomorrow, October 30!

According to ThinkProgress.org, New York City was the first U.S. jurisdiction to publicly post energy efficiency information for its building stock last month. A series of mind-numbing spreadsheets might not seem so exciting at first, but this is a key step in establishing energy transparency in the real estate market.

In lighting tips…

EnergyStar Pegasus Lighting Roundup: Getting SmarterSpeaking of energy efficiency, have you seen the new Home Advisor from EnergyStar.gov? It’s an online resource that gives you detailed information on just about every way you can save energy at home. All you have to do is answer a few simple questions (Where you live, how you heat/cool your home, etc.) and they’ll give you a list of everything you can do to save a little more power. Continue reading »

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Reliable LEDs: Fact or Fiction?

 Buyer's Guides  No Responses »
Oct 102012
 
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LED Dimmable Reliable LEDs: Fact or Fiction?
50 years ago yesterday, Nick Holonyak Jr. demonstrated the first LED to General Electric suits. Back then, while the only existing LED emitted crimson infrared light, Holonyak predicted his invention would replace standard household incandescent light bulbs. Today LED manufacturers haven’t stopped being idealistic.

Since LEDs have only been around for half a century, the 20, 25, 30 year expiration dates on the brand new technology might be difficult to believe. Honestly, LEDs have barely been around long enough to find a niche in the market, let alone undergo 20, 25, 30 years of definitive testing. The claims and the benefits of LEDs are impressive, but how can we make sure they’re not a farce?

Enter the U.S. Department of Energy and their new Lighting Facts program, created to help you navigate the teeming sea of new lighting technology. The program addressed this issue of LED luminaire depreciation in depth, to help people like you and me know what we’re getting into.

How do manufacturers come up with these numbers?

Instead of traditional testing, where a large sample of lamps are operated until 50% burn out, developers must determine an LED’s rated life a different way. Since the LED doesn’t burn out, but dims gradually, the rated life comes from the estimated lumen depreciation, not accounting for other causes of decline.

What causes LED failure?

Other factors besides age that might increase the rate of gradual dimming include:

  • Exposure to extreme temperatures
  • Contact with moisture and humidity
  • Voltage and current fluctuations
  • Driver or other electrical component failure
  • Damage to material encapsulating the LEDs
  • Damage to any wire bonds connecting the LED to the fixture
  • Degradation of phosphors

Since very few of us live in sterile, mellow, laboratory-like houses, the entire light bulb’s rated life will not live up to the life span of its LED. Continue reading »

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The Quest for Quality Light

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Sep 282012
 
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Since the advent of the incandescent (and even before), quality of light has been on the tip of everyone’s tongue. Regrettably, that quality has mostly been unfortunate. When incandescent lights were the only choice, the early 20th century population complained about the glare and the possible dangers of electricity.

Case in point: on an episode of Downton Abbey (Masterpiece’s smash hit about an elite family living on an estate in the early 1900’s), the prim and hilarious Dowager Countess laments the new electric lamps:

“Such a glare! I couldn’t have electricity in the house – I wouldn’t sleep a wink. All those vapors seeping about. Feels as if  I were on stage at the Gaiety.”     

Downton Abbey 1024x576 The Quest for Quality Light

The Countess shielding herself from the electric lights. Courtesy of Downton Abbey.

Not only were people of the time dissatisfied with the brightness of the lights, they also were afraid electricity was going to leap out of the walls and plug points and infect them!

Even when fluorescent and mercury vapor lights came along in the 1930s, their blue-green hues and poor color rendering indexes made them sorry alternatives. The people were left to compare the poor quality of gas-discharge lamps vs. the poor quality of phosphor-generated lights vs. the incandescent lights they had learned to live with.

Finally, according to the LIGHTimes Online, quality of light may be gaining a positive spin thanks to LEDs. Yes, like many of the lights before them, LEDs have provided their share of poor quality with cheaply manufactured lamps that claimed way more than they actually could deliver. But now, all the major LED manufacturers have incorporated quality of light into their daily vocabulary. Continue reading »

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Pegasus Lighting Roundup: Dreamers, Skeptics, and Current Affairs

 Pegasus Lighting Roundup  1 Response »
Aug 282012
 
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HiRes 300x187 Pegasus Lighting Roundup: Dreamers, Skeptics, and Current Affairs
Surprise, surprise, everyone’s talking about energy efficient lighting. We’re no exception in this blog post. But here’s a twist: not everything we’ve heard recently is as bright and pretty as a brand new LED. This lighting roundup is a mixed bag…

In lighting news…

New energy efficient lighting has the potential to supercharge the job market in Michigan. Jay Wrobel, Executive Director of the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance explained, “Michigan is on the cusp of becoming a manufacturing leader in one of the advanced technologies of the 21st century. New energy efficient lighting technologies provide an ideal platform for new jobs and energy savings in Michigan.” As the demand for LEDs increases, so will the supply of jobs. You can learn more MWAlliance.org.

Meanwhile, though the 2012 Summer Olympics have ended, London is only beginning to reap the benefits of their new LED lighting installations. The new lights on the Tower Bridge (more than 2km of GE Lighting’s Tetra Contour architectural LED lighting installed just in time for the games) are expected to last the city at least 25 years, while saving 40% of the bridge’s previous energy consumption.

Tower Bridge 300x173 Pegasus Lighting Roundup: Dreamers, Skeptics, and Current Affairs

Courtesy of Olympic.org

While energy efficient lighting seems to always be on our minds and in our light fixtures, there are times when we must realize it’s still a developing technology. The PLUS (Public Lighting Strategies for Sustainable Urban Spaces) project conducted a recent study on LEDs as a possible solution for the problem of finding energy efficient public lighting. The study determined that LED lights are one of the most energy efficient options, but they might not be the best answer for all cities at the moment. LEDs certainly offer a new set of innovative possibilities, but today they’re not the final answer. Many cities are better off waiting until the cost of LEDs goes down, or until the rapidly improving technology reaches a relative stasis. Continue reading »

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The Low-Down on High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lamps

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Jul 182012
 
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HID Lamps EnergySavers.gov 197x300 The Low Down on High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lamps

Courtesy of EnergySavers.gov

HID lamps offer bright, efficient alternatives to filament lamps like incandescents and halogens. They’re found illuminating parking lots, streets, and indoor arenas, among other commercial, industrial, and outdoor locations. What is an HID lamp, you ask? Read on to find out…

All HID (High Intensity Discharge) lamps produce light by passing electricity through a gas (called an arc discharge) between two electrodes at either end of the lamp’s arc tube. There are four different kinds of HID lamps, each with its own unique properties:

  1. Mercury Vapor is the oldest of the HID lamps, and is on the way out. New federal laws have begun prohibiting the manufacturing and importation of this product. A mercury vapor lamp’s rated life ranges anywhere from 16,000 to 24,000 hours, but with an output of only 25-60 lumens per watt and a poor CRI of 50, there are better choices out there.
  2. Low Pressure Sodium lamps are classified as HID, but lack a compact, high intensity arc. Instead, the long stretched-out arc has more in common with a fluorescent light. Low pressure sodium lamps are the most efficient of HID lamps, producing the most lumens per watt (up to 150 l/w), but their stark yellow color produces extremely poor color rendition (a CRI of 0),  limiting their use to lighting streets, tunnels, and parking lots. They last anywhere from 14,000 to 18,000 hours.
  3. High Pressure Sodium light sources have become increasingly more popular over the years, and with their efficacy of 50-140 lumens per watt, we can see why. Compared to low pressure sodium lamps, these lights produce a slightly less severe yellowish white light, making them a more versatile light source. Their lifetime ranges from 16,000 to 24,000 hours, which makes them a smart choice for most outdoor lighting applications.
  4. Metal Halide lamps have a CRI that ranges from fair to very good (between 65 and 90) – the best color rendering index of the bunch. This high CRI means that metal halide lamps thrive in many applications that require white light with good color rendering – they’re replacing high pressure sodium lamps in some applications and certain MH lamps are even used in retail displays!  The lamp itself is very similar to a mercury vapor lamp, but the added metal halide gas provides a higher light output, more lumens per watt (65-115 l/w), and a better color rendering. The biggest drawback to a metal halide lamp is its rated-life, which is capped at about 20,000 hours. Continue reading »
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A Few Halogen Light Bulbs On The Way Out

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Mar 052012
 
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On the way out A Few Halogen Light Bulbs On The Way OutWhen the Department of Energy issued new energy efficiency standards in 2009, they didn’t just affect T12 fluorescent lamps. PAR 20, PAR 30, and PAR 38 halogen lamps will face the new standards as well. As a result, many inefficient halogen reflector lamps will no longer be manufactured or imported in the U.S. beginning July 14, 2012.

Of course, old lamps that don’t meet efficiency standards will still be available after July 14th until stock is sold out, just like with the T12 fluorescent lamp regulations.

For information on exactly which halogen light bulbs are on the way out, check out these very helpful brochures from Osram Sylvania, Westinghouse Lighting, and Philips Lighting respectively.

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New Life-Cycle Comparisons of LED, CFL, Incandescent

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Feb 292012
 
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led lilifecycle1 300x215 New Life Cycle Comparisons of LED, CFL, Incandescent

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The Department of Energy just published a new report comparing the life-cycle of LED, compact fluorescent, and incandescent lamps.

According to the report, CFLs and LED lamps are very comparable in terms of average energy consumption. They both use about one-fourth of the energy that incandescent lamps do.

However, the energy used to manufacture an LED lamp is expected to fall significantly in the next several years (see the purple pie charts).

What do you think … Is this what you would’ve expected to see? I was surprised to find that LED and CFL were neck and neck; I would’ve expected LED to win out in low energy consumption.

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The End of the Road for T12s

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Feb 172012
 
PinExt The End of the Road for T12s

end of road The End of the Road for T12sIt’s only five months away. T12 fluorescent lamps used to be the standard for commercial lighting systems, but they will soon be totally off the market.

It started back in July 2010, when the U.S. Department of Energy introduced a fluorescent lighting mandate that stopped the production of the magnetic ballasts most commonly used for T12 lamps. And on July 14, 2012, the manufacture and import of most T12 lamps in the U.S. will be halted. After that date, suppliers may sell their remaining inventory, but there will be no more production once the existing stock is depleted.

Now, keep in mind that T12 fluorescent technology is 70 years old. John Philip Bachner of the National Lighting Bureau wrote a fantastic article recently about why they’re being phased out. He challenges facility managers to think of the change as an opportunity rather than a nuisance, and relates a T12 fluorescent lamp to a ’38 Chevy: Both were technological marvels of their eras. You’d think it were strange if someone used a ’38 Chevy for their daily commute, yet millions of T12 fluorescent lamps light U.S. buildings every day.

T12 fluorescent lamps are simply fluorescent tubular light fixtures that are 12/8ths of an inch in diameter. Since the technology of T12 lamps was developed so long ago, it’s leaps and bounds behind in terms of efficiency. T12 lamps can now be replaced by T5 lamps (5/8ths of an inch in diameter) and T8 lamps (8/8ths of an inch in diameter), and building owners will see energy savings as high as 45% per year. Also, there’s a simple payback of just one to three years. Finally, the lighting upgrade will ensure reduced maintenance costs and concerns. Continue reading »

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10 Years of Lighting in the U.S. – What’s Changed, and Why Fluorescent Lighting is Making a Difference

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Jan 252012
 
PinExt 10 Years of Lighting in the U.S. Whats Changed, and Why Fluorescent Lighting is Making a Difference

Ten years ago, the Department of Energy released a report on the state of the U.S. lighting market. This week, they published the follow-up report. The numbers reveal how far the lighting industry has come in ten years, and they indicate a few interesting trends:

We’re becoming more efficient. This one’s no surprise. Technological advancements improve energy-efficient lighting in terms of performance and efficacy month by month, so ten years certainly showed strides toward sustainability. Most notably, fluorescent light fixtures made a big impact. In the residential sector, the shift was from incandescent to compact fluorescent lamps; in the commercial sector, it was from T12 to T8 and T5 fluorescent lamps. As you can see in the chart below, linear fluorescent light fixtures now make up the largest portion of the commercial sector as well as the largest portion of the total.

Overall, the efficacy of lighting improved by 29 percent – an increase from 45 lumens per watt in 2001 to 58 lumens per watt in 2010.

doe chart3 10 Years of Lighting in the U.S. Whats Changed, and Why Fluorescent Lighting is Making a Difference

Continue reading »

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