Energy Efficient LED Lighting Offers Many Good Options

January 2, 2008
From the Wall Street Journal

Regarding "Dim Bulbs," (Review & Outlook, Dec.21), and two letters (Dec. 27), incandescent bulbs are replaceable now, by fluorescent and other lighting.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), already gaining market share, both improve safety and reduce energy consumption for applications mentioned in your editorial.

When an incandescent flashlight bulb expires, it can be replaced with an LED lamp which will last much longer. Or, throw the flashlight away, as suggested, and replace with a cranking charger and eliminate the need for a battery.

Power-on and indicator lights on many electrical appliances are regularly configured with LED lamps. Look at most computers, and the flashing lights, which dim.

As for Christmas tree lights, LEDs offer an impressive return on investment. Initial LED cost is nearing incandescent strings. Safety is also significantly enhanced with less heat and almost unbreakable bulbs. An outside holiday decoration which I light, that used to run with incandescent bulbs at 550 watts, now runs with LEDs at 6 watts.

Bicycle headlamps and taillights are almost universally converted to LED lamps. They are smaller, more easily mounted on bikes and bike helmets, and run longer. The flashing red taillights many cyclists use have been mostly LEDs for several years. Check out any bicycle store, catalog or cycling Web site for a most impressive selection. You will be hard pressed to find incandescent offerings.

Roadway warning signs and signals are increasingly switching to LEDs, for lighting enhancement, incredibly lower operating costs, and longer life. And remote roadside emergency signage, running from solar panels, clearly excels for safety. One might wonder why traffic signals are not being switched faster.

The shift to LEDs is indeed illuminating.

Ed Lehr
St. Paul, Minn.

Boy, did I have fun with the naysayers who bemoan the death of the incandescent light bulb.

As to the mercury issue, I have to agree that this is a very real problem that can only be solved the same way that soda cans no longer cause quite the infestation that they once did -- deposits and redemption areas. IKEA has already taken the lead in recycling CFLs, but IKEA stores are not everywhere, so more recyclers are needed. Let's step into the 21st century with a little less dread.