Making Buildings Better
TM
COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL ENERGY CONSULTING
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO
(505) 918-8476
Case
Study
MIDDLE SCHOOL GYMNASIUM
PROJECT
Indoor illumination improvement
After consulting with the middle school, ECOterra Energy Consulting suggested then implemented an energy-saving plan using LEDs to dramatically upgrade lighting in their gymnasium.
The results in the comparison photos below speak for themselves. The photo on the left is very even, bright and natural. It emulates sunlight. The photo on the right shows the lighting before the upgrade.
Not only will this school district save an substantial money by using LED lighting, the quality of the lighting is far superior.
AFTER
BEFORE
WHY IS LED LIGHTING SO SUPERIOR?
A Light Emitting Diode (LED) is a type of solid-state lighting that uses a semi-conductor to convert electricity into light. LEDs can reduce energy costs by 80% over incandescent lighting. An LED bulb has a life of three years if run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With a life of 25,000+ hours, they work 25 times longer than traditional light bulbs.
LEDs use energy far more efficiently with very little wasted heat. In comparison, old-fashioned bulbs release up to 90 percent of their energy as heat. Not an energy-efficient method as you then must mitigate that heat.
LEDs are quite versatile in the ways they can be used as well. From traffic lights and vehicle lights to TVs and display cases, LEDs have many unique characteristics including compact size, ease of maintenance, resistance to breakage and the ability to pinpoint the light in a single direction.
LEDs contain no mercury, another huge advantage over compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). LED technology has been steadily improving since its introduction and will continue to improve in the years to come.
LEDs were invented in 1962 by Nick Holonyak, Jr. when he was working for GE. By 2011, global sales of 60 watt equivalent LED bulbs alone increased by 22 percent while the cost of 60 watt equivalent bulbs of other sorts declined by 40 percent.
In 2012, close to 49 million LEDs were installed in the United States, saving about $675 million in annual energy costs. This reduces energy consumption by nearly 50 percent thereby avoiding 1,800 million metric tons of carbon emmissions. By 2030, it is estimated that LEDs will account for 75% of all bulb sales.