Lights Out!
Does any one know the real cost of energy efficient lighting?
Energy efficient lighting is taking the world by storm. Who wouldn’t want to save money and save the planet at the same time? However, like all energy saving products these forms of lighting take energy to make and create potentially harmful waste when they have reached the end of their usable life. The industry is still young with many technologies untested and recycling programs in most countries still in their infancy.
What do the manufacturers have to say about their product’s lifecycle impact?
Eco Build asks Adam Cameron, COO, looking after Etrilum, a Chinese based OEM manufacturer of energy efficient lighting:
LEDs use less electricity than other forms of lighting but how much do they use to manufacture? (what is the embodied energy?) Is there any way to reduce that?
At this point I’m not sure how to measure that, most of the manufacturers are not thinking at that level yet, nor are they thinking of the end life of the product. Probably most of the energy use would be focused on whether they are using recycled aluminium or virgin aluminium, the later being incredibly energy and carbon intensive.
How do LEDs fare compared to other lighting options in terms of recyclability? As there been any requests from clients for a lifecycle costing and environmental impact of the LED product or is it too early to provide that information?
We have had one request from a large multinational company in Australia who requires this information as part of their submission to the Australian government for a tax rebate. I would say they fair much better than CFLs as the are about 50 percent aluminium at the moment (to cool the LEDs) which is an attractive metal to recycle. As of right now there are no formal recycling programs for LED bulbs, they are just too new to the world market. Fortunately they contain no harmful or toxic substances and the aluminium in them will make sure they do get recycled by someone.
We next ask a spokes person from wellknown LED brand Optiled: LEDs use less electricity than other forms of lighting but how much do they use to manufacture?
There is no recognizable research data on how much energy is used to produce LEDs. However, predicting with common logic, the energy is very small compared with that for other forms of traditional lamp. LEDs are not produced in a hot environment because they contain no gas unlike other traditional lighting products. The energy used to produce the raw materials that constitute LEDs is also insignificant.
How do LEDs fare compared to other lighting options in terms of recyclability? Have there been any requests from clients for a lifecycle costing and environmental impact of the LED product or is it too early to provide that information?
Most parts of a LED lamp can be recycled in a similar way to traditional electrical products whereas for CFLs or fluorescents or other forms of traditional lighting, stringent chemical treatment processes are involved due to presence of mercury, large amounts of phosphorus and electronic components. As a matter of fact, clients are not up to recycling LED lamps yet due to their long life characteristics.
Have other unexpected advantages of LEDs come to light in recent times?
It would be its absence of mercury and other heavy metals in the LEDs [as compared to the first round of compact fluorescent tubes: ed]. When high brightness LEDs were first used, attention was mainly focussed on energy efficiency. It was only after countries actively promote use of compact fluorescent lamps that environmental contamination was discovered, revealing the benefits of LEDs.
Lighting brand Thorn has made some steps with its ecoCALC tool
Thorn has presented a software programme to help specifiers calculate precisely the costs incurred by a lighting solution throughout its service life. The ecoCALC package not only calculates the investment cost, but factors in the financial aspects of an environmentally sound lighting system, including CO2 emissions, energy consumption, maintenance cost and waste disposal.
Good luck making your selection!
