LED lighting to save GCC millions

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The GCC could save US $400 million and 5.1 megatonnes of carbon dioxide per year by switching to LED lighting, an expert has said.

Speaking to Facilities Management Middle East, RWN Trading marketing director Carol Prince said huge maintenance costs to replace incandescent bulbs can be virtually eliminated by introducing energy efficient solutions.

“The operational life of white LED lamps is 50,000 hours. This is more than 10 years of continuous operation, or 20 years of 50% operation. The long operational life of an LED lamp is a stark contrast to the average life of an incandescent bulb, which is approximately 5000 hours. The long life-span of the LED has naturally a direct impact on maintenance requirement,” she explained.

With correct design, an LED circuit will realise approximately 80% efficiency, this means 80% of the electrical energy is converted to light energy. The remaining 20% is lost through heat energy.

“Incandescent lamps operate at about 20% efficiency, with a staggering 80% of the electrical energy being lost as heat. Furthermore, LEDs do not cause heat build-up, producing only 3.4btu’s (British Thermal Unit) per hour, compared to up to 88btu’s for incandescent,” Prince added.