LED lightbulbs can save you hundreds in energy bills

Despite costing six times as much as halogen bulbs, LEDs can return on their investment within two years.

With prices up to £25 per bulb, the received wisdom that LED lighting is too expensive seems deserved. But rising electricity prices and falling LED costs mean that for homes with a large number of halogen bulbs, the new generation of low-energy lighting finally makes financial sense.

Concerns over the weak or cold quality of LED light have abated, say energy experts, whose verdict is backed up by shoppers posting positive online reviews on Amazon and energy-saving forums. Despite usually costing more than six times as much as halogens, the payback for LEDs now comes in 15 months or less – and for homeowners changing dozens of halogen bulbs, the savings can be in the hundreds of pounds every year afterwards.

James Russell, technical development manager at the Energy Saving Trust, said: "If customers are prepared to pay the up-front higher cost they will quickly calculate that they will see a return on their investment within the first couple of years – and will go on making financial savings for many more years. Customers will also not have the hassle of continuously replacing burnt-out halogen lamps." LED bulbs come with advertised lifetimes of 10,000 hours and up, compared to the typical 1,000-hour lifetime of hot-running halogen bulbs.

Read More - http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/08/led-lightbulbs-save-energy-bills?newsfeed=true

LED street lights bring 85% savings to world’s largest cities

Light emitting diode (LED) street lighting can yield up to 85% energy savings, according to a trial of the technology in 12 of the world’s largest cities.

The two-and-a-half-year independent LightSavers trial of LED street lamps in cities including London, New York, Toronto, Sydney and Kolkata in India also found that residents felt safer with LED lighting and reported better visibility.

In a report outlining the findings of the trial, Lighting the Clean Revolution: The Rise of LED Street Lighting and What it Means for Cities, LED street lights were found to last from 50,000 to 100,000 hours and have a failure rate of just 1% compared to around 10% for conventional lighting technologies.

LEDs are now mature enough for a major scale-up to outdoor applications like street lighting, where the technology could save some 670 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year.
The Clean Revolution campaign, which launched the report as part of its efforts in the run up to Rio+20 UN Global Compact Corporate Sustainability Forum together with The Climate Group in partnership with Philips, says governments should now accelerate the rollout of LED street lighting as a priority.

Read More - http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/articles/i/5191/?cid=6