Secondary Environmental Benefits of LED Lights Being Investigated

As the cost of production of LED lights continue to decrease, so does the sale price and the reasons for individuals and companies to avoid using them. It is becoming more and more financially viable to invest in LED technology both in the short term and in the long term. Ergo, increasing numbers are enjoying the environmental benefits of LED lights – the decreased carbon emissions.

Now, however, companies and authorities are beginning to explore some pertinent secondary benefits of intelligent LED technology. In the Danish capital, Copenhagen, the Government is currently installing 20,000 LED streetlamps that have the potential to monitor the carbon dioxide levels of the city.

This could help the authorities determine exact and accurate causes of surplus carbon dioxide emissions and tackle the issue accordingly. Furthermore, the streetlamps are being used to monitor and control road traffic systems. Something as simple as allowing traffic to flow better and more effectively through the city could reduce the total car emissions due to the limiting of fuel inefficient stop-starting.

Another feature of the installed LED streetlamps monitors the level of waste in the habitant’s garbage bins. This will allow the council to send out refuse collectors to only necessary areas, cutting down excessive travel and the subsequent carbon emissions.

Anwar Adam, Director of Astute Lighting Ltd, is enthusiastic about the potential of LED technology: “It is well established that LED technology brings with it a much stronger energy efficiency but so far we are really only scratching the surface of the potential of LED lights. There are almost limitless possibilities for the industry in the ways in which it could help to lower the environmental damage caused by lighting.”

As Governments around the world continue to stress the importance of improving energy efficiency in public and private areas, this cost-effective management by street lamps is a welcome opportunity for numerous, far-reaching techniques.

Asim Nawaz, Director of energy efficiency consultants EPCarlson, believes that authorities must use all of the tools available to them to help improve the fortunes of the environment: “We need to consider the far-reaching and long-term effects of all the technologies that we implement. Short-term planning will only render negative energy efficient results.”

This article has been supported by Astute Lighting and EPCarlson.