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Technical Information on
LEDs
LEDs are very fast
emerging technology in lighting that is considered as brilliant
a
technology breakthrough as the Edison light two centuries ago
and is considered by
the World Bank to be the solution for lighting up the 'bottom of
the pyramid'
(discussed below). LEDs are more commonly thought of as the tiny
red and blue
dots of light on household remote control units, but the new
generation of LEDs give
out useable white light that can be used in any light product.
LEDs are durable semi-conductors that provide one of the world’s
most energy
efficient light sources, with the newest models delivering
around 70 to 100 lumens
per watt. This means LED lights use approximately 10% of the
energy consumption
of incandescent bulbs (normal light bulbs) and 30% of the energy
of compact
fluorescent lamp ('CFL') bulbs, respectively. The lights have
very low failure rates
(less than 1 in every 1000) and consume very little power
(either from the grid or
from solar recharging).
LEDs have a lifetime of over 100,000 hours, which means they
last more than 50
times longer than incandescent bulbs and 15 times longer than
CFL bulbs.
Even after 100,000 hours, the LEDs don't just burnout - they
just lose 10-20% of
their rated intensity, which may not be noticeable in many
applications. A summary
of the differences between the performance and usage of THRIVE's
LED home
light compared to competitors' LED and solar lights is provided
below:-
Major global
corporates are investing huge sums of money in developing LEDs
and
LED based products as they believe this represents the future of
lighting. As
THRIVE has already successfully developed its LED home light it
is very well
placed to take advantage of this market opportunity. At this
point in time, the
market for LED remains relatively immature, which is why THRIVE
has the
opportunity to become the first player to produce LED lights on
a large scale
(>100,000 units per year). Management expects larger firms to
enter this market in
the near future as the technology becomes proven.
LED lights offer significant cost savings compared to normal
incandescent
lights. By way of illustration, the US Department of Energy
estimates that
approximately 22% of the electricity consumed in the US goes
toward lighting,
and if 25% of the light bulbs in the US were converted to LEDs,
the country
could save $55 billion in utility costs cumulatively by 2025
(cost of LEDs v
normal bulbs ?). A saving of $55billion would alleviate the need
to build 65 new
coal-burning power stations. Furthermore, future developments in
LEDs are
expected to result in future LEDs having twice the current
lumens per watt
which would double these savings. The US example can be applied
across the
world.
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