At the March meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Association, Skip Butler answers the question "Why LED?" According to the Department of Energy, no other lighting technology offers as much potential to save energy, enhance the quality of our building environments and contribute to climate change solutions.  The public is invited to the free program, which will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, at 1 TEK Park, 9999 Hamilton Blvd., Breinigsville, 18031.  

Butler, who works with New Tek Partners of Emmaus, represents LED GREEN, a small American technology company that designs and manufactures LED lighting products. 

With widespread implementation, the DOE estimates that by 2030 the annual energy savings from solid-state lighting would be the equivalent annual electrical output of 24 coal-fired power plants. At today's energy prices, that would equate to approximately $15 billion in energy savings in that year alone.  Today, there are 38 coal-fired plants in Pennsylvania spewing carbon dioxide, mercury and assorted garbage.

The highest quality LED lamps last up to 50,000 hours and generate 90 percent less heat than a typical incandescent bulb. Unlike compact fluorescent bulbs, LEDs are fast starters and contain no mercury.

As solid-state light sources, LEDs have very long lifetimes and are generally very robust, according to LEDs magazine. While incandescent bulbs may have an expected lifetime (to failure) of 1000 hours, LEDs are often quoted of having a lifetime of up to 100,000 hours - more than 11 years. However, this figure is extremely misleading; like all other light sources, the performance of LEDs degrades over time, and this degradation is strongly affected by factors such as operating current and temperature.

Although LEDs have high efficiency and consume a small amount of power, the devices produce a small total number of lumens. For example, a 60 W incandescent bulb produces 1200 lumens. A one-watt LED with produces only 30 lumens, requiring 40 such LEDs to produce the same amount of light as the incandescent.

To determine the financial benefits of LEDs, Butler uses an ROI lighting model as part of a lighting audit that's applicable to both commercial and residential projects. 

Following the talk, there will be a networking session and planning meeting for this fall's Pennsylvania Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Festival. Volunteers are needed and anyone with an interest in renewable energy or sustainable living is welcome to participate.  

The seventh annual festival will be held September 16-18, 2011 at Kempton in Berks County. MAREA, which was formed in 2005, is a nonprofit, grassroots educational organization that supports citizen participation in renewable energy and sustainable living projects. 

Sources:

Skip Butler skip@newtekpartners.com

New TEK Partners 

 
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