LED Lights, Bargain or Ripoff?

Salon's Enviro-expert Pablo takes on LED lights. Read an excerpt below:

A 7W LED can be compared to a 10W CFL, which also emits 500 lumens. The closest incandescent bulb that I could find was a 460-lumen or 40W bulb. The next thing is to compare the efficacy of the bulbs. This is done using the measure of lumens per watt, or light emitted per electricity input. The incandescent bulb has an efficacy of 12 lumens/watt while the CFL has an efficacy of 50 lumens/watt, only to be outdone by the LED at 71 lumens/watt. So it's clear that LEDs are by far more efficient than incandescent bulbs. But does this justify forgoing CFLs in favor of LEDs? At over $50 per bulb, the high upfront cost will give everyone pause. But is the long lifetime or the high efficiency worth the cost?
A 10W CFL, available online for $6.90, has an expected median lifetime of 10,000 hours. While this is about 10 times longer than the life expectancy of an incandescent bulb, it is only one-fifth the expected life of the LED. So LEDs have the potential of cutting down on ladder time by a factor of 50 over incandescent bulbs! At about 25 cents apiece, the incandescent has by far the lowest upfront cost, which is why many people still use them. If we normalize the cost of all the bulbs over a 50,000-hour period, the incandescent bulbs cost $12.50, while CFL bulbs cost $34.50, and the LED bulb costs $59.95. But, as you may already know, the upfront cost of a bulb is by far the cheapest part. It's the electricity required to operate the bulb that adds up.
Over a period of 50,000 hours, a 40W incandescent bulb will use 2,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh). At 15 cents per kWh, this will put $300 in the pocket of your local utility, bringing the total cost of the incandescent bulb, over 50,000 hours, up to $312.50. The CFL bulb only uses 500kWh over the same time period, or $75, totaling $109.50. Finally, the LED bulb will use 350kWh for $52.50, with a total cost of $112.45. So, in this example, the LED light does cost a few dollars more but the difference is negligible. Think of the time you will save by not running to the store to buy bulbs and climbing the ladder to change them.



As for their disposal, LED lights, unlike CFLs, contain no mercury and many of them are compliant with the European Union's Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive. Like CFLs they do contain electronic circuits, which are hard to separate back into individual materials for recycling. But with a life span of 50,000 hours, the relative amount of waste created will be quite minimal.
There are still some limitations to LEDs. The best idea is to figure out your lighting needs and speak with a lighting professional at a local lighting store or at LED Waves to find the solution for you. Be sure to tell them if you are looking for area lighting or spot lighting, bright light or colored light, indoor or outdoor, on/off or dimmable. There are a growing number of options in the LED bulb market and you should be able to find the right bulbs for you. An exciting lighting innovation that comes with the commercialization of LED lighting is the versatility of LEDs in creating changes in brightness and color using a computer controller. It's now possible to wake up to a simulated sunrise or to set the mood for a romantic dinner at the touch of a button.
Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 26 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.Check out the National IPL Blog.Find discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/

Disposing of broken CFLs

Every once in a while it happens: a compact fluorescent bulb breaks in the home. Since the bulb contains a small amount of mercury, here is how to handle the break, according to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection:

If a CFL bulb breaks, open a window and leave the room for at least 15 minutes. Wear disposable gloves and pick up the broken pieces. Take a damp cloth and wipe and clean the area. Use duct tape to pat the area to remove any other small pieces.Place the broken pieces, cloth, disposable gloves and tape in a sealed bag and dispose. DO NOT VACUUM. Remember to recycled burned out bulbs in hazardous waste collections to keep mercury out of the environment and the landfills. HG in a circle design indicates mercury. Also remember that coal plants release mercury and using CFLs, if properly disposed of, means less mercury since less energy is used.

Many Thanks to Judi Friedman of PACE for sending this item.

Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 25 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.Find discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/

The Greening of Apple

Apple has pledged to improve its record on environmental issues following an award-winning lobbying campaign by Greenpeace, which wants the company to go even further, according to the Guardian.
Steve Jobs, chief executive, announced yesterday that the technology giant is taking steps to stop using toxic chemicals in its computers, displays and iPods.
By 2008, it will have completely removed arsenic from all its displays, and stopped using flame-retardant chemicals and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in any products. It also pledged to stop using mercury in its monitor backlighting, when this becomes "technically and economically feasible".

IREJN is Connecticut's Interfaith Power and Light. Visit us at www.irejn.org.