Save the Planet: Screw in a New Lightbulb

June 25, 2006 – Vol.11 No.14

SAVE THE PLANET: SCREW IN A NEW LIGHT BULB.

The hundred-plus year old incandescent light bulb is only 5-percent efficient; 95 percent of energy it consumes is radiated into a room as heat. In cold weather that heat can aid in space heating, but in warm it must be removed, adding to the bulb’s overall inefficiency.

Planet-wide, lighting consumes about 19 percent of all electricity generated. Lighting uses up as much electricity as all the world’s natural gas fired power generation or about 15 percent more electricity than generated by hydro or nuclear power.

Lighting is responsible for carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to about 70 percent of those produced by the world’s fleet of automobiles.

The energy used by lighting will be 80 percent higher in 2030 than it is today.

A global switch to more energy efficient lighting would reduce energy consumption by 10 percent and have greater impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions than all the solar and wind energy installed to date.

Clearly, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) - Light’s Labour’s Lost - Policies for Energy Efficient Lighting - the world should get its lights under control.

The IEA thinks regulation as well as government incentives are needed to get consumers - businesses and individuals - to switch to more efficient technologies already available and to design lighting systems that utilize light more efficiently.

--- Light emitting diodes (LEDs) may be in our near future but at the current state of the art compact fluorescent bulbs have about the same energy efficiency. There’s no need to wait for LEDs.

--- Halogen transformers and halogen uplights - torchiers - need to go.

--- Old-style fluorescent fixtures that use magnetic ballasts need to be replaced with fixtures using electronic ballasts.

--- Task lighting - lighting only the areas that need to be illuminated - is far more efficient than lighting whole spaces. Task lighting needs to be the norm.

--- Of course lights don’t need to illuminate unoccupied spaces. Changes in habits can shut them off, so can technology.

The 350-page report, aimed at professionals, is available through the IEA for a fee. Visit the IEA at http://www.iea.org/