Intended to replace incandescent and halogen lamps, it is still early days for LED light bulb technology in terms of its performance. So too is the price tag relatively high at present. However, believes the company, over the next two to three years the positive benefits of LED lighting promise to be huge, in terms of both its long lifetime and energy saving properties. Recent research by Philips has shown potential energy savings of 40 per cent. In monetary terms, this is a global saving of around US$64 billion. This equates to 555 million tones of CO2, 1,560 million barrels of oil per year or the annual output of 530 medium sized power stations.
"Commonly used products like incandescent light bulbs can easily be replaced by energy saving lamps," states DP Smedema, general manager for Philips in the Middle East and North Africa. "This replacement will save 80 per cent on energy consumption right away, which reduces CO2 by 41kg per year, per lamp. It also lasts two to three times longer, which dramatically reduces maintenance and saves time and money."
Aside from the environmental and cost benefits is the adaptability of LED technologies. Aeshetially, LED lighting can provide any desired colour and create effects not possible with existing technologies. For road lighting, with no need for filters (coloured filtered incandescent lamps can lose 90 per cent of available light), the energy savings are significant. For industrial lighting, the extra low voltages of LED lighting (typically 12 or 24 volt) is a major safety advantage.
"Each segment asks for a different approach," explains Smedema. "Where road lighting mainly uses high pressure sodium lamps, offices ask for fluorescent lighting solutions and fashion shops are moving from halogen towards compact discharge lamps. What they all have in common is the increasing need for energy efficiency."