The environmental benefits of LED lamps

Since the 1960s, worldwide environmental pollution and ecological damage have become increasingly serious, and environmental problems and environmental protection have gradually attracted the attention of the international community.

 

On June 5, 1972, the United Nations held the first meeting on the human environment in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, and adopted the famous "Declaration on the Human Environment" and the "Action Plan" for protecting the Earth's environment, and improving the environment”. This is the first conference in human history to study and protect the human environment worldwide.

With World Environment Day 2022 approaching, UN Environment promulgated this year's theme - Only One Earth. It calls on countries to change their policies and choices, promote the practice of cleaner, greener, and more sustainable lifestyles, and achieve harmonious coexistence with nature. Earth the only home belongs to all of us, and we must protect the limited resources.

 

"Only One Earth" was the motto of the 1972 Stockholm conference that saw the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Fifty years on, as the three crises of climate change, loss of nature and biodiversity, and pollution and waste continue to threaten our planet, we realize how rational and relevant this adage is.

 

As ordinary people, we can also make our own contribution to the protection of the earth and the environment, such as saving electricity in our daily life, such as using more efficient lamps and appliances.

 

As an initiated by the Department of the Environment, there is no doubt that LEDs are significantly better for the environment than other lighting options such as energy-saving lamps, especially incandescent bulbs.

The study considered a variety of factors and assessed the degree to which each lightbulb could affect our planet's air, water, soil, and resources. This is not surprising. LED bulbs cost less energy, longer lifespan, and use safer materials than any other bulb.

 

Low energy consumption for smart lighting

When it comes to energy consumption, smart light bulbs dominate. Traditional incandescent light bulbs consume a lot of energy, and in fact, most of the energy lost is heat generation: up to 90%, which means that only 10% of the energy actually emits light. 

Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) have significantly lower heat loss coefficients, which is one reason why they can produce the same amount of light with 75% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs. They don't use electricity to heat a filament like incandescent bulbs but instead pass electricity through a chamber to excite mercury molecules inside to produce light.

 

While compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are very efficient at using energy, LEDs in smart bulbs actually improve energy consumption by 80% over incandescent bulbs. This is partly due to the solid-state structure of LEDs, which means there aren't really any moving parts. Electricity is simply sent through a semiconductor, forcing electrons to jump from place to place, a process that results in the production of light.

 

These savings not only help reduce monthly electricity bills but also help reduce global energy production and reduce carbon emissions. For example, in 2012 alone, U.S. consumers saved more than $675 million by switching to LEDs, and switching entirely to LEDs by 2032 could save the U.S. energy costs more than $250 billion.

 

Smart Bulb Lifespan

The long lifespan is the second most environmentally friendly feature of smart light bulbs. A typical incandescent lamp typically lasts about 1000 hours, or about 6 hours per day, for about 4 months. CFLs provide a lifespan of about 10,000 hours, which is about four and a half years at the same usage rate.

 

LEDs, on the other hand, offer a staggering 25,000 hours. This means that if you leave an LED light on for 6 hours a day, it will last nearly 11 and a half years, far exceeding energy-saving lamps, especially incandescent bulbs.

 

The benefits of longevity bulbs are easy to see. The time to use one LED is equivalent to about 33 incandescent lamps, which means we don't have to produce as many bulbs, which means less landfill usage, lower manufacturing cost, and less transportation, which of course makes cleaner air.

 

Mercury Free Lighting

Another important point about the environmental impact of smart light bulbs is that they do not contain the same harmful substances as other light bulbs (ie CFLs).

 

As we've pointed out before, fluorescent lamps use the interaction of mercury and electricity to create light. Many people know that mercury can have some very bad effects on our health. Because mercury poisoning is most happens when inhaled, so we need to clean up broken fluorescent tubes immediately.

 

In fact, fluorescent light bulbs have special handling steps to deal with this potentially deadly compound. While mercury levels in fluorescent light bulbs are much lower today than they used to be, exposure to this element should be kept as little as possible.

 

On the other hand, LED lamps to contain no mercury. While it's still important to watch out for broken smart bulbs, you won't have to worry about inhaling mercury during the cleanup process.

 

Other functions

 

While smart light bulbs' energy consumption, longevity, and safe materials are one of the main reasons for being eco-friendly, they also have other features that can help reduce you for other functions.

 

LEDs have a more concentrated light distribution than other light bulbs. Incandescent and fluorescent bulbs emit light in all directions, and LEDs can illuminate an area without affecting the surrounding environment. Think of the other bulbs as a torch and the LEDs as spotlights. This means that instead of 8 incandescent bulbs to light a room, 5 smart bulbs can be placed in the right place to achieve the same effect.

Smart lighting also lets you set schedules so they turn off automatically. So, if you're in a rush to get to work in the morning and forget to flip the switch off, you won't be wasting all day with the lights on.

 

The ability of smart light bulbs to dim can also reduce a lot of energy consumption. Over time, you'll notice that such a simple method can really help you lower your electricity bills.