It is a mistake to assume that more efficient lighting leads to lower consumption. We review the evidence.
According to data consultancy IHS Markit . l LED you use much less energy per lumen produced. LED lighting uses an average of 40% less energy than fluorescent lamps, and 80% less than incandescent lamps to produce the same amount of light.
“Using LEDs to illuminate buildings and outdoor spaces reduced total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from lighting by an estimated 570 million tons in 2017. This reduction is roughly equivalent to the closure of 162 coal-fired power plants. “explains the consultancy in a statement, explaining that they tracked the market share of all LED companies, suggesting that each LED sold is a direct replacement for an older and less efficient light.
“The efficiency of LED lighting is essentially what makes it environmentally friendly. So LED conversion is different from other measures, which require people to reduce consumption or make lifestyle changes. LED component companies and lighting companies have transformed their industry – they are fighting climate change much more effectively than other industries, and they should be given credit for that, “says Jamie Fox, Principal Analyst at IHS Markit.
Evidence from space says otherwise
Not all that glitters is gold. The consultancy assumes that these companies are replacing inefficient lighting with LEDs but the evidence is pretty clear: thanks to LEDs we are using more energy than ever and we continue to imagine new and ingenious ways to use LED lighting in places we have never seen before.
A study published in the journal Science Advances used photos from space to show that we are using more lighting than ever. The artificially lit surface of the Earth at night increases in luminosity and extension. There is no room for doubt.
“Although a central goal of the lighting revolution is to decrease energy consumption, the goal could be undermined by a rebound effect from higher energy use in response to lower cost of light.” , the authors explain.
“We used the first calibrated satellite radiometer designed for night lights to show that from 2012 to 2016, the artificially lit outdoor area on Earth grew by 2.2% per year, with a total radiance growth of 1.8%. per year. Continuously lit areas were lit at a rate of 2.2% per year, “the researchers continue.
Everything indicates greater light pollution, with the corresponding negative consequences for flora, fauna and human well-being.
Lighting has become so inexpensive, thanks to the low cost of energy and efficient lighting, that we are using much more around the world.
The reduction in the cost of energy and the environmental impact of lighting should have been accompanied by large absolute decreases in observable light emissions from space. But it’s not like that. We should not forget that even UNESCO formally declared that the Dark Sky is a Right of Future Generations. With the exponential increase in light thanks to economic and efficient LEDs, we endanger that right to contemplate the starry sky as part of our natural heritage, in addition to other parallel considerations.
Referencia: Artificially lit surface of Earth at night increasing in radiance and extent. Enviromental Sciences 2017 http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/advances/3/11/e1701528.full.pdf
