[ A guest article written by Rob Lobitz from LEDLightsWarehouse ]
There is a lot of debate about the different lighting options available on the market and what is the best choice for each job. One of the most common debates is how green a certain option is. There is a lot to consider when determining how much of an impact something will have on the environment.
The first consideration when choosing a piece of lighting hardware should be whether or not it can do the job in the space provided. If you are trying to light a stage you are going to need a lot more output than you will in an RV and some lamp types are just not going to be up to snuff. Since most of us arenít putting on theater productions we are not going to worry about that here. If you are using an fixture type that can’t cut it you will end up using more fixtures overall and negating any advantages they originally had in regards to environmental impact.
LED lighting produces a considerable number of lumens for the amount of electricity used when compared to other options like halogen, incandescent and compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs. A good LED lighting fixture will produce about 100 lumens per watt used where CFL bulbs are slightly less efficient at around 40 lumens while halogens and standard incandescent bulbs are the low end of the scale producing only about 11 lumens per watt. High quality LEDs are definitely the winner here.
The second consideration is life span. The average CFL bulb has a lifespan of 8000 work hours but this is reduced if they are turned on and off on a regular basis. Incandescent bulbs only have a lifespan of around 1000-2000 hours. Halogen bulbs are a bit better ranging between 4000-8000 hours but they will burn out quickly if they get dirty with things like the oil from your fingers. LEDs take the cake here with a low of 15,000 hours and some as high as 80,000.
Lastly, in regards to how green each lighting option is, we must consider the waste that is produced when these lights finally die. We all know that incandescent bulbs produce glass and metal waste that is very difficult and inefficient to reclaim. Halogen bulbs contain halogen gases like iodine and bromine. CFL bulbs contain mercury gas that is very toxic and should be disposed of properly. LED lamps contain no such gas, are more easily recycled and donít use any glass.
These are the major points that need to be considered when choosing a lighting solution based on their environmental impact but I believe that LED lighting is the clear winner.
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