LED Update
This article, which will appear in RESIDENTIAL LIGHTING MAGAZINE, interviews PNNL's Kelly Gordon and presents the interview in question and answer format. The topic is a light emitting diode (LED) lighting also known as solid state lighting. Solid state lighting will be a new category in an energy efficient lighting fixture design competition called Lighting for Tomorrow sponsored by the US Department of Energy Emerging Technologies Office, the American Institute for Lighting, and the Consortium for Energy Efficiency. LED technology has been around since the ’60s, but it has been used mostly for indicator lights on electronics equipment. The big breakthrough was the development in the 1990s of blue LEDs which can be combined with the red and green LEDs that already existed to make white light. LEDs produce 25 to 40 lumens of light per watt of energy used, almost as much as a CFL (50 lumens per watt) and much more efficient than incandescent sources, which are around 15 lumens per watt. They are much longer lived and practical in harsh environments unsuitable for incandescent lighting. They are ready for niche applications now, like under-counter lighting and may be practical for additional applications as technological challenges are worked out and the technology is advancing in leaps and bounds.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1013955
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-51073; BT0303000; TRN: US201110%%844
- Journal Information:
- Residential Lighting Magazine, (September 2006), Journal Name: Residential Lighting Magazine, (September 2006)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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