News
Climate Group Champions Benefits of LED Street Lighting in New Global Report
Published 19 June 2012 in Climate Change
A report by the Climate Group launched at the Rio+20 summit has found that LED street lighting can generate energy savings as high as 85%, as well as bringing social and environmental benefits to localities. The Group are calling for all public lighting to be LED by 2020.
The findings of the new report, Lighting the Clean Revolution: The rise of LED street lighting and what it means for cities, are based on four years of trials involving 13 cities and 27 different LED products.
The trials revealed that, on average, LED units generated an average energy saving of 60% compared to existing lighting fixtures, as well as being highly durable, and producing a better quality of light.
Key findings from the report include:
- Surveys in Kolkata, London, Sydney and Toronto indicated that citizens prefer LED lighting, with 68% to 90% of respondents endorsing city-wide rollout of the technology. Among the benefits that were highlighted in these surveys, were a greater sense of safety and improved visibility.
- The lifespan of LED lighting trialed ranges from 50,000 to 100,000 hours indicating a high return on investment.
- LED lighting was found to be a durable technology with the need for minimal repairs; the failure rate of LED products over 6,000 hours is around 1%, compared, for example, to around 10% for conventional lighting over a similar time period.
- The LED market is at a tipping point, with white light LEDs (used in outdoor lighting) at the early stage of the technology curve. Market penetration is accelerating as the market is expected to expand by 60% by 2020.
- The trials concluded that LEDs are now mature enough for scale-up in most outdoor applications, to bring the economic and social benefits to the masses.