According to a new report published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), a global switch to efficient lighting systems would trim the world's electricity bill by nearly one-tenth. The carbon dioxide emissions saved by such a switch would, it concludes, dwarf cuts so far achieved by adopting wind and solar power. Wow. According to Paul Waide, a senior policy analyst with the IEA and one of the report's authors, "19% of global electricity generation is taken for lighting -- that's more than is produced by hydro or nuclear stations, and about the same that's produced from natural gas." For the individual TreeHugger, the report concludes that the easiest, most obvious switch to make is from incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent systems, and to watch out for the LED revolution, just around the lighting corner. ::BBC News via ::Gristmill

Image couresty David Hobby at Strobist.com

Office Building Lit by 100% LED's

Here's an example of an office building that has been converted to 100% LED light. The new bulbs consume 48% less energy than those they replaced (mostly fluorescents lights). The workplace in question is the headquarters of Cree, a company in North Carolina that specializes solid-state LED lights. The parking lots, entryways, lobby and conference rooms at Cree’s headquarters are now lit by eco-effective XLamp LEDs. Even the high-pressure sodium parking lights and spotlights were converted to LED lights.

Cree wanted to demonstrate that LED lights are a viable option today for businesses and residences. The company claims that their lights render the same type of light that is produced by fluorescents or incandescents. It looks like the LEDs in the photo above are producing a full-spectrum light.

When LEDs replace incandescent bulbs, there is also the added advantage of reducing AC requirements in the summer.

The only method of lighting more energy efficient than LEDs is daylighting (e.g. through the use of sun tubes, for example).