I am happy to be writing this
today. At a time when the world is mulling ways on conserving energy, LED comes
to me as a pleasant surprise. It is a new, technologically advanced form of
light and promises to bring about dramatic reduction in energy usage.
What is LED?
LED or Light Emitting Diode is a
new form of lighting, technologically advanced, more efficient, brighter as
well as consumes much less energy. It uses only 20%–25% of the energy and last
up to 25 times longer than the traditional incandescent bulbs they
replace. LED lights are far more
efficient than any other lighting alternative commercially available at the
moment. LED bulbs have a 100,000 hour lifespan, and will last for 11 years at
continuous operation, or 22 years at 50% operation. Compare this to the
approximate lifespan of 5,000 hours for an incandescent light bulb and 10,000
hours for a fluorescent light. An LED
bulb is capable of converting 80% of the electrical energy used into light
energy. The remaining 20% electrical energy is lost as heat energy.
Incandescent light bulbs only convert 20% of the electrical energy used into
actual light energy, which means that a staggering 80% of electrical energy is
lost as heat energy.
According to Ministry of Power,
the country plans to build 80 new coal-fired power plants to keep up with the
rising electricity demand over the next five years. But the potential savings
from simply changing light bulbs to the new LED technology can significantly
reduce the country's electricity demand by as much as 40 per cent.
What's The Need
“There is a clear need for having large-scale use of energy saving lighting devices – be it at home, offices or commercial complexes. In brief energy efficiency is the need of the hour. Energy efficiency is the fastest, cleanest, and cheapest way to meet energy needs -- India alone could save $42 billion each year by largely improving energy efficiency in buildings, which currently consume more than 30 percent of the country's electricity,” says Mr Abhijit R Vaish, Executive Director, Instapower, a company which is into LED lights. With a projected skyrocketing increase in building-occupied area in India, from 8 billion square meters in 2005 to 41 billion by 2030, any building constructed without optimizing efficiency represents a lost opportunity to lock in energy and cost savings for decades, according to McKinsey Global Institute.
LED Key to Sustainable Growth
In order to maintain a high GDP growth rate for the foreseeable future, India needs to quadruple its current energy supply by 2031. Unfortunately India is now the fourth biggest Green House Gas emitter in the world. Emission volumes have skyrocketed in line with economic growth, and this means that India now needs to start considering energy quality as well as quantity. To this end, the government of India has launched a national mission to promote energy-saving schemes and initiatives and reduce overall energy consumption. This requires creating an environment that encourages state and local governments throughout the country to formulate and implement specific energy reduction strategies while also achieving significant participation rates from the private sector. Poor energy consumption efficiency casts a shadow over future economic growth in India.
LEDs would significantly reduce the lighting load, peak demand and overall energy consumption without compromising on the environment safety as it has no mercury and heavy metal content.
The nationwide LED Village Campaign by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has come as a booster. Under the campaign, LED-based street lights are being installed in villages. LEDs are also being used on a large scale in appliances like air-conditioners and televisions.
We are happy to be running this Future is Light: Use LED, Save Energy which is a campaign to promote awareness on energy conservation by using LED lights as well as encourage its use among individuals, communities, organisations and government agencies. Fijeeha believes energy saved today shall lay the foundation for a brighter tomorrow.
Join us in making this campaign a success. Sign the online pledge on Saving Energy Using LEDs!
Navneet Anand, Fijeeha
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