Lifecycle Energy Costs of LED, CFL Bulbs Calculated

necro81 writes "The NY Times is reporting on a new study from Osram, a German lighting manufacturer, which has calculated the total lifecycle energy costs of three lightbulb technologies and found that both LEDs and CFLs use approximately 20% of the energy of incandescents over their lifetimes. While it is well known that the newer lighting technologies use a fraction of the energy of incandescents to produce the same amount of light, it has not been proven whether higher manufacturing energy costs kept the new lighting from offering a net gain. The study found that the manufacturing and distribution energy costs of all lightbulb technologies are only about 2% of their total lifetime energy cost — a tiny fraction of the energy used to produce light." The study uses the assumption that LEDs last 2.5 times longer than CFLs, and 25 times longer than incandescents.

Comments

Great assumption

[CrazyJim1]

Assuming LEDs last 2.5 times as long as LEDs, we conclude that LEDs last infinitely long and there is nothing superior except for LEDs.

Re:Great assumption

[startled]

Assuming LEDs last 2.5 times as long as LEDs, we conclude that LEDs last infinitely long and there is nothing superior except for LEDs.

The study was commissioned by an LED manufacturer. In order to reach the desired result, they had to redefine 2.5 as the multiplicative identity. At least they're up front about it. ("Up front" being, in fact, quite important-- you don't want to see what they did to the associative property.)

Re:Great assumption

[Inner_Child]

ME TOO!

Re:Great assumption

[ihuntrocks]

That divide by zero could mean undefined and could be infinity. This leads me to the startling conclusion that LEDs don't actually produce light, but actually consume darkness. There is a strange event-horizon inside of LEDs that prevents us from observing what's going on inside. On the inside, I postulate that the mechanism inside of the LEDs let's virtual pairs of "no-tons" and "anti-no-tons" form, orbit, collide, and destroy one another. This releases the occasional photon. There is virtually no heat from this, since no-tons, by nature, are incredibly low energy particles. This must happen at a tremendous rate for the "light output" they give. I am both amazed and slightly afraid of LEDs now that I know how they work. I only hope the manufacturers continue using this awesome ability for good. ...Silly article typos....

Summary fail

[jaxtherat]

"LEDs last 2.5 times as long as LEDs"

yeah...

Easy Bake Ovens

[Dan East]

Doesn't anyone ever think of the children? What about Easy Bake Ovens? Have you ever tried to bake a tiny little cake from the heat emitted by LED bulb? No adult, let alone child, has that sort of patience.

Re:Easy Bake Ovens

[MichaelSmith]

I once blew up ten old style 20mA LEDs by mis configuring a bench top power supply. I got some heat out of the arrangement but you wouldn't want to eat the cake afterwards, or for that matter breathe the air.

Re:No shit, sherlock.

[ThreeGigs]

in an objective, blind test

Personally, I'd never trust a lightbulb test done by the blind.

Re:Eh

[hitmark]

these days, i wonder whats not a carcinogen...

Re:Eh

[Timothy Brownawell]

these days, i wonder whats not a carcinogen...

Probably not much besides CO2.

Re:Bu.. bu.. but...

[glwtta]

Since this is an energy-saving technology, surely it has some fatal yet under-appreciated drawback that fully justifies my foregone decision never to change my habits or lifestyle for any reason

In this case the drawback is that they produce a light spectrum that makes you want to stab yourself in the eye after prolonged exposure.

I know, it's a small nit-pick. I'm probably just trying to justify my foregone decision to not change my "not stabbing myself in the eye" habit.

Professional light-bulb changer?

[SteveFoerster]

I am practically a professional light-bulb changer

So, how many of you does it take to... oh, never mind.

Re:Bu.. bu.. but...

[lotho brandybuck]

Let me try to help...

Packaging large amounts of vacuum in incandescent lamps and CRTs increases the concentration of air we've got to breath if we're not living in a lamp or CRT.

Switching to these so-called green technologies could see us run out of air!!!

Re:Another things to consider

[jackchance]

I absolutely agree. In winter, instead of turning on your heat, you should just run your computer doing folding@home or whatever to try to put out enough heat to keep your place at a comfy temp. It's crazy to just put the electricity through a resistor when you could be getting CPU cycles out of it!!!

Re:Oh for fucks sake

[TapeCutter]

"So how many DOES it take to screw in a light bulb anyway?"

I'd say about 10, one to do it the first time and the other 9 for the dupes.