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LED lighting is also a smart choice in terms of business sense for the same reasons, actually. Due to rising energy costs (ConED is raising their rates by 23%), a reduction in energy consumption very quickly translates into big monetary savings. It’s difficult to put an exact number on the savings since there are many variables (demand rate, cost per kwh, wattage of current lamps, number of lamps, annual hourly usage, etc.), but the studies we have done indicate that energy costs due to lighting can easily be cut by 30% to 40%.
In addition to saving money by reducing total energy consumption, LED lighting will also save money by virtually eliminating maintenance and relamping costs (which for many facilities are larger than the energy expenditure). Furthermore, because LEDs use much less energy and emit only a narrow spectrum of visible light, they are much cooler than other lighting technologies, thus they reduce the air conditioning load.
For retail operations, having low-to-no heat output can increase sales. We were informed by a major retail clothing outlet that their customers only browse for short periods of time because they feel that the existing halogen lamps are “burning their heads.”
The heat output you feel from halogens and fluorescents is UV radiation. LEDs do not produce any UV rays so they can easily extend the life of anything that is heat- or light-sensitive, such as produce and artwork. This is yet another way in which LED lighting can save.
In today’s economy, what you make is really dictated by what you save. In other words, the ability to get the most out of every cent is what separates the businesses that will survive the current situation and eventually thrive from the ones that will falter and subsequently fall by the wayside. The key is conservation, and its importance increases exponentially as the application size increases. An LED lighting upgrade will save one store a lot of money, but an LED lighting upgrade will save 50 stores A LOT of money.
Although LEDs are certainly more expensive upfront, we have found with our clients that the payback period is between 18 to 30 months.
LED*Waves! Different companies specialize in different areas of lighting, and I cannot speak for other companies, but LED*Waves does offer a wide variety of solutions for general lighting purposes. We have the brightest LED PAR38 on the market as well as higher output solutions designed for tunnels and street lighting.
It depends on what type of bulb is being replaced.
I don’t believe there are any federal incentives as they are determined by each state. New York has NYSERDA. USGBC might have some incentives; they developed the LEED certification standard. Of course, the White House introduced the Energy and Security Act of 2007 last December which calls for the phasing out of incandescent bulbs over the next decade or so. This is more of a mandate than an incentive, but it is indicative of an emerging trend that is not simply good for the environment, but good for everyone's wallets.
LED*Waves - Changing the world, one bulb at a time.
Lighting is expensive. Just ask any facilities manager.
But it doesn’t have to be. According to the government agency Energy Star, the total national demand for electricity would be reduced by over 10% if only efficient lighting were adopted in areas where it would be clearly profitable (i.e. pay for itself at least once over). This would mean over $15 billion in ratepayer savings, as well as a 202 million metric ton reduction in yearly carbon dioxide emissions. Saving the earth is certainly an important issue, but it is often perceived as costly and simply not profitable. But if you could save money and the earth, why not?
The problem of lighting being a large slice of any given business’s operating expenses is certainly nothing new; the common solution is a combination of fluorescent lamps with dimming and timing systems that adjust output or shut lights off automatically at certain times or intervals. Of course, fluorescent technology has been around for a long time, and it has indeed already saved a lot of companies a lot of energy and money (if we take the incandescent to be par for the course). It is 7-10 times more efficient, and it lasts 5-10 times longer. In fact, a vast number of businesses across America have already adopted this technology as a matter of course. The widespread implementation of fluorescents has over the years brought the average percentage of energy expense attributable to lighting down to about 38%. But what if your building or business could save another 50% on its energy bill? And if you haven’t upgraded to fluorescents already, what if you could save 90%?
I am of course referring to the LED. Once nothing more than an indicator light on a toaster oven, the LED has evolved into a powerful and immensely efficient general lighting source. Incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, silver halide, mercury... they are all slowly but surely heading for the exit sign (which is probably already lit with LEDs).
For evidence of the money-saving potential of practical LED applications, look no further than retail superpower WalMart, which has decided to upgrade the fluorescent lights in the refrigerators of over 500 of its stores to LED equivalents. This upgrade will save the corporation an estimated $3.8 million in one year by reducing immediate energy expenses attributable to the fixtures themselves, as well as reducing refrigeration expenses due to the LEDs being cooler than their fluorescent counterparts.
Consider this: The average office building spends $1.52/sq. ft. on electricity and $0.58 of that rate is attributable to lighting. Considering the fact that LEDs stand to save up to 90% of any given lighting scheme’s energy consumption, that figure could easily drop to $0.06/sq. ft. spent on lighting.
Who says the penny is obsolete?
Certainly not the Bardavon Theater in Poughkee, NY. Rescued from demolition by avid locals and currently maintained by its own small non-profit organization, the Bardavon recently updated its iconic marquee with LED lighting. Though it is nowadays largely an anachronistic thing-of-the-past, the classic theater marquee, replete with hundreds of colorful incandescent bulbs, is designed to catch the eye of the passer-by, thereby generating patronage. Because the incandescent bulb is so inefficient, a marquee of this kind in today’s economy is a steep investment, and any opportunity to reduce this expense without reducing the kitsch is sure to be seized. LED lighting has reduced the Bardavon’s operating expenses in a twofold manner: by reducing the marquee’s energy consumption by 88% and virtually eliminating its maintenance expense of over $50,000. In the end, this rather small-scale upgrade will save the Bardavon an estimated $57,271 in its first year and will increase once the savings generated by the efficiency of the LEDs pay for the fixtures themselves.
When the Green movement began many years ago, sustainability was considered by the most thick-skinned economists to be a fringe cause fueled by paranoia. Today in 2008, not only are those folks eating their words, but sustainability has emerged as the clear way of the future, standing to save money and the earth in ways never imagined heretofore. Regardless of whether your business or organization is driven by a bottom line or a humanitarian cause, operating expenses present a logistical issue that if not diligently addressed will quickly become an Achilles heel. The economic viability of sustainable technologies is now given; how will your bottom line benefit?
LED*Waves – Changing the world, one bulb at a time.
Thanks to Shane Richmond and Laurat for the story heads-up and photograph respectively
Incandescent bulbs may very well become a thing of the past in a mere few years, thanks in part to the White House. Signed by President Bush on December 19 of 2007, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 was big step for energy efficient lighting. Beginning January 1st of 2012, 100W lamps must be 30% more efficient than they are today or else be banned from manufacture and import. Beginning January 1st of 2013, the same will apply to 75W lamps, and beginning on January 1st of 2014, 40W and 60W lamps will be obliged to comply. At first blush, this act spells a mere “shaping up” of current lighting technology; it does not suggest a revolution of any kind. However, these mandates do indicate a nose for the greater issue at hand: energy conservation. Just because it will still be perfectly legal to sell 40W incandescent lamps in 2014 (as long as their 30% more efficient than they are now) does not mean it will be economically viable. As we have covered in a previous article, LED bulbs that are as bright as 50W halogens are already capable of paying for themselves four times over in energy and replacement savings. As this information increases in volume and more people are enlightened, incandescent lights will fall by the wayside, victims of their own inefficiency. Thus, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is a subtle but sure gesture designed to guide economic forces that will (so it seems) inevitably result in the widespread adoption of energy efficient lighting. The act also states firmly that by 2020, lighting efficiency at large must increase to at least 45 lumens per Watt. Luckily for people who like to be on the cutting edge, a large number of our LED lights are specifically designed for general illumination and are rated at 70 lumens per Watt. Who wants to wait 12 years to start saving money and energy that is possible to start saving today with bulbs like the PAR-20?
LED*Waves – Saving the world, one bulb at a time.
From streetlights to floor lamps, artificial light helps to constitute our very reality, and though most of us are unaware, it is immensely expensive. More than any other type of lighting, however, street lighting is especially costly due to its vast quantity and immense wattage. What makes this cost worse, however, is the fact that the technologies in place are completely outdated and are easily upgradable to a fixture that will use a fraction of the energy and last five to ten times longer.
For the sake of argument, let’s say that a given load on a given grid (attributable to street lighting) is 1,000,000 kWhs. If every fixture were switched to an LED, not only would that load be reduced to around 500,000 kWhs, but the replacement and maintenance costs would be zero over the given life of the lamp, which if used 10 hours per day, is up to 13 years. Over a period of thirteen years, hundreds upon hundreds of conventional replacement lamps (sodium, mercury, etc.), not to mention man hours, are expended, thus adding a large cost to the already immense energy cost.
We currently offer two models of streetlight head, a 56-168W variable Street Light and a 28W E40 replacement Street Light. Both heads are available with Cree® LEDs and have the following features:
Last year, Ann Arbor, MI launched an initiative to switch their entire public lighting scheme over to LEDs. According to their research, this switch will cut the town’s lighting-related energy consumption in half. Similar initiatives are cropping up around the US, from San Francisco, California to Raleigh, North Carolina.
Next time you go downtown, take a good look at your traffic lights. Chances are they are already LEDs. Indeed, it’s only a matter of time before LED streetlights are as common as evening strolls. Talk to your local representatives today about how your town can start saving money by drastically reducing its carbon footprint.
LED*Waves – Saving the world, one bulb at a time.
How is the price of LED bulbs going to change over the next few years?
Tim: Pricing is largely influenced, or outright set, by the chip’s manufacturer. Different types of chips will also reveal differences in prices because, as with most products, the higher a chip’s quality, the more expensive it will be. However, as LED technology continues to improve, prices will probably come down.
Joel: Actually, the pricing may not come down, but the best chips are doubling in light output every 12-18 months, so the compensation is increased light output.
What are the technical challenges faced by the R&D department when trying to design a replacement bulb?
Tim: There are two basic challenges faced by researchers and designers of LED lights - heat dissipation and Color Rendering Index (CRI) rating. The former is normally solved with a heat sink of some kind while the latter is achieved with a phosphorous coating that adjusts the light’s color temperature by making it “warmer,” i.e. closer to sunlight or traditional incandescent light.
Any interesting new bulbs in development?
Joel: Not really. Standard bulbs – like A-19, MR-16, PARs, fluorescents, etc. – are what we are set on replacing, and we have models designed to do just this already in production.
According to my research, LEDs aren't very expensive. What makes the bulbs so expensive?
Tim: What LED did you research? The old 2-pin 5mm? Super-flux? SMD? High Power?
Joel: The best chips on the market – Cree, Luxeon, Nichia – are not inexpensive. In fact, it is by and large the price of the chip that sets the price of the fixture, be it cheap or expensive. We deal largely with professionals who stake a lot of money on the quality of our product, so it wouldn’t make sense for us to sell fixtures that use cheaper, far less reliable chips.
Why is the warranty so short when they are designed to last much longer?
Joel: This is a common question as well as a logical one. It is true that LEDs (the Cree XRE type that we use in our best bulbs) can easily last 80,000 hours in a perfect environment. What we are afraid of is the lamps being used in what I will call, for lack of a better term, an abusive environment. In other words, it protects manufacturers like us from wholesale replacement situations where a large quantity of bulbs has failed prematurely due to improper ventilation and installation.
How does LED dimming work?
Joel: It’s important to keep in mind that the LED is a computer chip. As such, it cannot be dimmed by varying the amperage (in a series type situation). What we do instead is keep the amperage constant and vary the voltage. It is certainly at first blush more complicated than standard dimming, but it is quite possible and practicable.
How are today’s LEDs that are used in light fixtures different from classic LEDs used as indicators?
Tim: LED’s in light fixtures for the most part are using High Power chips specifically designed to be used in lighting fixtures and bulbs in place of things like incandescence and fluorescence. Indicator lights use older, low-brightness LED technology that has been around for decades.
What is on the horizon in terms of advancement of brightness?
Tim: The best chips we use are rated at about 60-70 lumens/Watt. The problem facing this figure, as I indicated earlier, is heat dissipation and CRI rating. There are indeed much brighter chips in existence, but many are difficult to put in a fixture or are downright impossible to at this stage of the technology’s development, and their CRI ratings are poor. We keep abreast of all aspects of the LED world, so you can rest assured that the LED lights we sell, though they may not be the brightest possible, are the best possible.
*Joel Slavis is the president of LED*Waves.
*Tim Seeto is one of LED*Waves’ premier LED experts.
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LED*Waves – Saving the earth, one bulb at a time.
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