Thursday, May 14, 2015
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Role of LEDs in our daily lives
Crop production
Most of the world’s crops are currently grown outdoors in sunlight. But some food producers are moving farming indoors to make crop production more efficient. This can improve yields throughout the year and reduce water and fertiliser use.
The cost of traditional fluorescent growing lights is high, so indoor farms are starting to use LEDs instead. This includes the world’s largest ‘plant factory’ in Japan, which uses 17,500 LEDs to harvest 10,000 heads of lettuce every day.
Along with significant energy savings, LEDs generate less heat so they can be placed closer to the plants, allowing more plants to be grown together in a tight space. Manufacturers are also trying to fine-tune the type of light emitted by the LEDs to maximise plant growth.
Home lighting
We use roughly 20% of our electricity to light our homes, so making small changes to our lights could give big energy savings. Although most UK homes still use traditional incandescent filament bulbs, the sale of these for household use has been banned by the UK government in favour of low energy alternatives.
A 60W incandescent bulb can be replaced by a 12W ‘energy-saving’ CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) bulb or a 10W LED light. As LEDs continue to improve in construction and design, their efficiency could double, compared to CFLs, in just a few years. Along with savings in electricity bills, they last longer, can produce ‘warm’ or ‘cold’ light and, unlike CFLs, don’t contain toxic mercury.
Backlit screens
TV and computer screens were among the first mass market uses of LEDs, in the 1990s. LCD screens brightened by LEDs generally use 20–30% less energy than those backlit by older CCFL (cold-cathode fluorescent lamp) technology. As LEDs are compact and lightweight, they’re ideal for this use. LEDs are used to backlight all handheld devices such as mobile phones and by 2016, all backlit screens will be illuminated by LEDs.
Car lights
Car LED headlamps
LEDs are already commonly used in rear car lights, brake lights and interior displays. Their ability to be switched on almost immediately is a great advantage when reaction times are critical. LEDs are starting to be used in car headlights too, with one manufacturer predicting that 20% of headlights will incorporate LEDs worldwide by 2020.
A typical halogen headlight might use up to 65 watts of power. An equivalent LED headlight needs around 15 watts. LEDs need replacing less frequently because of their more durable design.
But there is one drawback; the low heat of LEDs mean headlamp lenses may be more likely to frost over on cold mornings.
Street lighting
It's not just energy savings; LED street lights produce directional white light rather than the yellow glow of traditional sodium lamps. This could be more aesthetically appealing and help to reduce light pollution across the skyline and into people’s homes
Street lightning is being changed with LEDs in London and across UK with other countries hoped to follow suit
source: BBC I wonder
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