The Path to Drawdown: LED
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were invented in 1994 as high-brightness, highly efficient light bulbs. LEDs work like solar panels in reverse, converting electrons to photons instead of the other way around. They use 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs, and half as much as compact fluorescents, for the same amount of light. While other lighting technologies convert energy into heat (and most of it wasted), LEDs convert 80% of their energy use into creating light.
There are many environmental advantages of LEDs. Their efficiency in converting energy into light, rather than heat, helps reduce electricity consumption and air-conditioning loads. For people without access to ample energy, LEDs can be powered with small solar cells and can replace expensive kerosene lamps and their noxious fumes and emissions. When LEDs are used in streetlights, they can save up to 70% of energy and significantly reduce maintenance costs.
Project Drawdown predicts that if LED lighting becomes ubiquitous in both the residential and commercial lighting market, it can help avoid between 10.2 - 10.8 gigatons of CO2 emissions in residences, and between 5.9 - 6.7 gigatons in commercial buildings. But to get there, the global market share of LEDs needs to scale rapidly:
- <::marker> In 2018, LED lights comprised 3% of the total commercial lighting market and 2% of the residential lighting market
- <::marker> By 2050, LEDs should account for 95% and 90% of the residential and commercial markets, respectively
- <::marker> That’s 12.82% CAGR for residential LED, and 11.21% CAGR for commercial LED lighting between 2018 and 2050.