Incandescent light bulbs lit the 20th Century; the 21st Century will be lit by LED lamps. White LED lamps emit a bright white light, are long-lasting and energy-efficient. They are constantly improved, getting more efficient with higher luminous flux (measured in lumen) per unit of electrical input power (measured in watts). The most recent record is just over 300lm/W, compared with 16 for regular light bulbs, and close to 70 for fluorescent lamps. As about one fourth of world electricity consumption is used for lighting purposes, the LEDs already contribute to saving the earth’s resources. We can look at history and see that its (or at least appears to be) pretty much a straight line, 0.7 per cent of income. When incomes rise we use more light if light stays the same price. If the price of light drops then well have more light (thank you), up to that same portion of income. And yes, we do also note that there are times when well pay to have light taken away: this is known as “a curtain”. But when is the inflexion point? When will we be satiated with light and thus energy efficiency, in its provision, will lead to less energy use? Some thing interesting read recently about LED lamps.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 01:53:05 +0000