POWER February 2014 - 6

SPEAKING OF POWER
Let There Be (LED) Light
Y
ou've no doubt heard that U.S.
power plant emissions have been
dropping overall and that one of
the reasons has been decreased thermal
generation resulting from essentially flat
demand. As of Jan. 1 this year, you have
former president George W. Bush to blame,
or thank, for a major factor contributing
to that nearly flat demand growth: more
energy efficient lightbulbs.
More Heat Than Light
Incandescent bulbs (or lamps, as
they're called in the industry) convert
less than 10% of the energy used into
light, wasting over 90% as heat. That
heat can add to space-cooling needs,
which adds to overall energy costs. The
energy-efficiency standards Bush signed
into law in 2007 require new bulbs to
use about 25% less energy than common
incandescent models, but some are
even more efficient.
As of the new year, producing and importing
100, 75, 60, and 40 W bulbs is
banned. But that doesn't mean the " death "
of incandescents. The law has loopholes for
" rough-service, " specialty (as in appliances
and chandeliers), colored, low-wattage,
three-way, and halogen bulbs-technically,
a more sophisticated, and expensive,
type of incandescent. However, for most
applications, you'll have to choose something
else when your stockpile of Edison
filament lamps burns out.
Cost Containment
Lighting accounts for roughly 10% to
12% of average residential electricity
costs and 19% of power use nationwide.
Cut that percentage by 25% to 80%, and
over time, more expensive bulbs pay for
themselves. However, in our immediategratification,
throw-away culture, low
first costs get all the attention. We can
tell ourselves we are saving money by
buying replacement incandescents at a
lower price than the light-emitting diode
(LED) bulbs displayed on the next shelf,
but eventually, we pay the price for firstcost
thinking-in higher electricity bills
and more-frequent bulb purchases.
6
LED prices range enormously, depending
upon the style, rating, quality, and
where you buy them, so I'll use the example
of eight recessed flood lights we
recently bought at Costco to replace a
hodgepodge of " traditional " and compact
fluorescent light (CFL) models we
were testing in our kitchen. (Our first
LED switchover was made in the garage.
No regrets there, as we have higher lumens,
zero flicker, and no cold weather
performance penalty, as with fluorescent
tubes.)
Our LEDs (for replacing the equivalent
of 60 W bulbs) are shaped like the original
lamps, use 13 W, and deliver 750 lumens
for an estimated annual cost of $1.57
per bulb, according to the manufacturer
(based on 3 hours/day at 11¢/kWh). At
the same electricity rate and usage level,
a 60 W incandescent's energy cost would
be $7.23/year. With savings of $5.66/
year/bulb, each $18.75 LED should pay
for itself in 3.3 years. (It's possible to get
other styles of 60 W-equivalent LEDs for
even less.)
Yes, low-income consumers may need
to budget for a gradual transition to
LEDs, putting them first in fixtures used
most frequently (so they save the most
on their electricity bills) and using CFLs
as a " bridge " technology elsewhere. They
will also find that many utilities offer
bulb replacement incentives.
Go Directly to LED
The Department of Energy claims that by
2027, " widespread use of LEDs could save
about 348 TWh (compared to no LED use)
of electricity: This is the equivalent annual
electrical output of 44 large electric
power plants (1000 megawatts each). "
Does that mean more plant closures? Perhaps,
though they are more likely to be
fossil than nuclear plants, despite the
title of Michael Kanellos' Oct. 28 Forbes.
com article, " Can LED Bulbs Make Nuclear
Plants Obsolete? "
As noted, initial costs for incandescent
alternatives may determine technology
choice for some. But of the available
options, LEDs are clearly the way to go.
www.powermag.com
Energy efficiency is the main reason they
are being promoted, but LEDs also offer
superior safety, lighting quality, and longevity
benefits.
Current LED bulbs are sold in a range of
lumen (rather than wattage) ratings and
can offer dimmable capability and wider
angles of light dispersion than earlier
models. You can also choose bulbs along
the spectrum, from " cool " to " warm, " depending
on their Kelvin rating. Though
we all grew up under yellow-toned incandescent
light, " cool white " bulbs provide
" cleaner " light, more like natural daylight,
which can be useful for settings where you
want to reveal true colors.
Compared to CFLs, LEDs promise longer
life (22.8 years at 3 hours/day for
the model we bought) as well as full lumens
when you flip the switch, instead
of the warm-up period needed for fluorescents.
And, unlike CFLs, they contain
zero mercury (I'm with my predecessor
in finding the Environmental Protection
Agency's instructions for cleanup of broken
CFLs impractical).
Longevity offers benefits beyond lifecycle
cost. For our house, it means we
should never again have to drag out the
pole light bulb changer to replace bulbs.
For power plants, which are increasingly
switching to LEDs, it means both lower
operating costs and decreased maintenance-a
growing concern for budget-
and staffing-constrained plants. For
example, portions of Arizona's Palo Verde
Nuclear Generating Station, the largest
nuclear plant in the U.S., have been upgraded
using 130 LED fixtures. The fixtures'
manufacturer, Albeo Technologies,
claims expected savings in energy consumption
will pay for the cost and installation
within two years.
If you still can't handle this year's
sticker price for LEDs, manufacturers claim
prices will fall as demand for LEDs ramps
up. You can thank me for being an early
adopter when you buy your first LED lamps
next year. ■
-Gail Reitenbach, PhD is editor of
POWER. Follow her on Twitter @GailReit
and the editorial team @POWERmagazine.
POWER | February 2014
http://www.powermag.com
POWER February 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER February 2014
