R.I.P. for CFLs? LEDs to Light our Future

Jim Gunshinan Post on Aug 22, 2008 by
Topics: Engineering, Environment, Partners

I've been a cheerleader for compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) in this blog and will abandon the technology in a millisecond. When it comes to technology, my loyalties are short lived. I'm writing this from Asilomar State Park in Pacific Grove, California, during the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) bi-annual Summer Study on energy use in buildings. Early in the week, the plenary speaker and a 2008 ACEEE Champion of Energy Efficiency, Philips Lighting's Kevin Dowling, Vice President for Innovation in Solid State Lighting, turned my head from CFLs to light emitting diodes (LEDs), my new little darling, hero, and true lighting love.

Philips Lighting was the first manufacturer to commercialize CFL bulbs in the 1970s, and has long been an innovator, as well as being the largest manufacturer of lighting products in the world. "We aren't even near the limits to this technology," said Dowling. Technically, solid-state lighting, or LED lighting, is ready to be the next big thing after CFLs. The challenge that remains is making LED lighting affordable and ubiquitous. That is a challenge when you consider that today's incandescents work in 1880s-style fixtures. Dowling proved it in a backroom of the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. And in the progressive Pacific Northwest, after 15 years on the market, CFLs have achieved only 8% market penetration.

But LEDs are an easy sell. Compared to incandescent lights, which produce 10–12 lumens per watt (lpw), and fluorescents, which produce 90-100 lpw, the best LEDs produce approximately 100 lpw, have the potential to reach the 150–200 lpw level, can last 35 years and don't release any mercury into the environment. History has shown that the cost of LED technology has decreased, while performance has increased– both exponentially. Dowling expects LED lighting performance to continue increasing 35% per year while the price decreases about 20% per year, and that in 24-36 months LED lighting will reach the level of linear fluorescent lights in light output per watt of energy use.

LEDs have evolved from mostly lighting that attracts attention to lighting that illuminates. LEDs can produce a range of color temperatures, from cool to warm. It has been installed in the Old North Church in Boston to rave reviews from the curators of the historic church. Legislation is supporting the evolution of the lighting technology. Legislation and guidelines will raise lighting efficacy to at least 45 lpw by 2020, according to Dowling, making LEDs an easy choice.

Goodbye CFLs, it was good while it lasted.

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  • David Coale

    When the price per watt for LEDs (all things considered) is equivalent to CFLs, along with the lpw and you can do area lighting, I will be ready too.

  • http://cltc.ucdavis.edu/ Sylvia Wright

    Jim — Here at UC Davis, the California Lighting Technology Center's engineers and designers have energy-saving research projects underway using LEDs:
    • In downlights;
    • In tandem with occupancy/motion sensors in parking garages and on community park pathways; and
    • In ceiling fans.
    To learn more, go to http://cltc.ucdavis.edu/ and look under Projects -> Research.

    They also recommend using LED holiday lights to reduce energy use by 75 percent.

  • Dave

    When LED technology reaches the warmth and color of my 45w halogen down lights I have throughout my house I may consider them. They are my best friend all winter. I run them on dimmers and have a very very low utility bill. You do goods can go pound sand for all I care I wish you did better research before calling yourself experts and recommending replacement for everything, you bunch of green washers. Everybody jumping on the green cfls when many of us knew all along they pollute the environment with mecury when your standard bulb wont.

  • http://www.homeenergy.org Jim Gunshinan

    Dave,

    People like you who don't have the facts shouldn't be so rude. Using your halogen lights to warm your house is not very cost effective. By the way, using CFLs saves you money even in heating climates.

    The mercury that may get into the ground from CFLs is dwarfed by the amount of mercury that gets into the ground from power plants powering incandescents and halogen bulbs.

    When it comes to technology, my best friend is my brain. There are no magic solutions to our problems, and every new technology brings its benefits and downsides. It's best to get all the facts and choose wisely what's best for you and your environment.

  • Dr. Pablito

    I just finished a house remodel, and we took the opportunity to install LED downlight fixtures. They rock. The cost was about $100 per can fixture, which ain't cheap, but isn't so outrageous compared to a halogen can light.
    They are dimmable, use regular 120 v wiring to the fixture, containing a solid-state transformer inside the fixture to convert to low-voltage necessary for the LED's. They come in three "temperatures" (i.e. different flavors of white light), and the "warmest" one is darned nice. No fluorescent pallor. They use about 5 watts each, and should last something like 20 years. It's pretty clear to me that this is the wave of the future in lighting. The screw-in replacement bulb element with LED (to replace your incandescents) is not quite there yet, so it does require a fixture replacement. But if you're remodeling a house or building a new one, why wouldn't you use a new efficient technology?

  • http://www.affordablelamps.com/ Alan Williams

    Finally, the lighting manufacturers are getting it! LED’s that is! Light Emitting Diodes have been around for a while. We use them for reader boards, stop lights, Turbo Flares (I use to sell those), car stereo displays, computers, etc. Now, the major designers in lighting are getting into the act, for track and monorail systems. And LBL Lighting is heading up the pack.
    LBL head and pendant options are colorful and efficient, and will add aesthetics and energy conservation for your office, business or home environments. What had held back LED’s before was the lumen or light output, but that now seems to be dealt with more than sufficiently by LBL. The power consumption is 5.8 watts, color temperature is 3000 degrees Kelvin, lumens are rated at 300, and the lamp life is 30,000 hours. These fixtures use 83% less energy than the equivalent Xenon or MR-16 halogen fixture. They are easily replaceable (unlike some fixed LED light fixtures), so after 30,000 hours (or 1,250 days, @24 hours a day), you just replace the LED module. There is no UV, no hazardous waste like mercury (which is the one complaint about CFL’s), and they are dimmable, to boot.
    LBL offers 33 varieties of shades, more than Baskin Robbins! Their glass selection is outstanding, with such wonderful choices as The Cuttle, Carolina, Waive Crush, Rachel and the Rosetta.
    The only drawback is that they are not yet compatible with the LBL 2 circuit monorail system.
    Please consult your lighting designer, technician, or one of our staffers, before ordering LED’s for your monorail lighting system.
    So, join the Light Emitting Diode Explosion, with LBL lighting.