Part 2: LED there be light
The original light bulb was not a light source. It was in fact a heating element that also emitted some light.
This was actually a frequently referred to joke, because light sources were so inefficient, they generated more heat than light. Traditional incandescent light bulbs only transferred 20% of the energy used into light. The other 80% of the electricity was lost as heat. Luckily, we have come a long way since these first light sources and related initial efficiency numbers. These days, Light Emitting Diodes or LED use about 85% less electricity than conventional bulbs. Hopefully this immediately illustrates why choosing your light source is an important part of any sustainability strategy. Until recently however, LED applications were fairly limited in terms of light color and direction, but the range of possibilities are rapidly becoming the new standard.
Huge energy savings are not the only reason why LED should be the light source of choice for private and business applications. LED light sources have significantly longer expected life spans – in other words less replacements are needed, which saves the energy of both production and end of life processing. In reality LED is one of the best sustainability investments any individual or businesses can make, both in terms of kgs of C02 saved in production emissions and the energy needed to illuminate them.
You might think; switching to solar panels or another sustainable energy source has a much bigger impact than switching to LED. This is true in relation to the significantly higher amount of investments made in this sector, but also means considerably more costs are needed to implement. Concluding that LED is clearly the sustainability ROI winner. However, to truly become more sustainable the initial step is to find ways to reduce energy use, rather than looking for ways to make more energy in sustainable ways.
ACS helps clients with this by providing more efficient light sources, which require less electricity. This also means that clients need to buy less energy due to the energy efficient equipment we install. Get in touch to see how we can help you make your next event more sustainable.