As we all know, when you begin to develop an energy efficiency plan of action the first step is to identify the low-lying fruit. What quick, easy, and cheap changes can be made that will give us the biggest bang for our buck? Usually, replacing your existing lighting systems are at the top of the list. Better bulbs, smarter controls, intuitive design—all these elements can be changed or tweaked in a way that reduces energy use and cuts costs.
But what does the future hold for energy-efficient lighting? LEDs, according to the panelists that gathered at the 2010 Santa Barbara Summit for Energy Efficiency that I attended earlier this month. Below, some highlights from a series of presentations focusing on how we are moving towards a “viable, large-scale LED market.”
According to Robert Karlicek, director of research at the Smart Lighting Center at Rensselaer, the challenge facing the lighting industry is how to negotiate the transition from LED as a technical concept and “bring it into the real world.” Although there’s a long way to go before LEDs go mainstream, Karlicek discussed some additional LED applications that will alter the way we see lighting and energy efficiency in the future, including the use of LEDs for UV curing (which can cut industrial emissions by a factor of four), the possibility of using LEDs to for digital data transfer, and the therapeutic benefits of LED light therapy.
One intriguing question posed by Karlicek, if the future of lighting includes bulbs (like LED) that can last as long as the life of the building they’re in, shouldn’t lighting design move away from the “bulb-socket paradigm” that currently exists? What will the buildings of the future look like, once lighting design is freed from the demands inherent to a replaceable commodity?
Other highlights included comments from Professor James Speck (Materials Science, UCSB), who pointed out that About 22% of US Electricity consumption is used for lighting, making that “low-hanging fruit” not so insignificant. Speck also explained that LED lighting can significantly reduce the cooling load of a building, because traditional lighting systems “run hot,” thereby impacting the indoor temperature and adding an extra burden to HVAC systems.
Meanwhile, Noah Horowitz, Principal Scientist of the National Resource Defense Council, discussed the “Policy Side” of LED implementation. Horowitz started out by discussing current LED products. According to Horowitz, the CALIPER website includes the results of the DOE’s national lab testing results on existing LED products, and the results indicated that many products leave a lot to be desired. Among existing LED products for consumer use, many of are “not particularly efficient, have mislabeled wattage, and diminished performance.” For LEDs to compete, new products must overcome these hurdles. As of 2012, the Federal Energy Security Act requires that all new light bulbs use 30% less power, and this requirement, along with other standardization protocals, will help LEDs gain consumer confidence and begin to make inroads as the “go-to” product for large-scale, energy-efficient lighting installations.
For more information on the Summit and the Institute, go to: http://iee.ucsb.edu/sbsee2010.