Energy Savings Forecast of Solid State Lighting: Part 2 General Service Lighting

Becoming more efficient in how we light the nation is a major priority for the U.S. government. The future of our country depends on reducing energy waste and generating less pollution in order to remain competitive in the global landscape. One of the easiest things we can do to make a difference and curb greenhouse gas emissions is to make our lighting more environmentally friendly.

This is part two of our series on the U.S. Department of Energy’s report on its Energy Savings forecast for LED lighting. If you haven’t checked out part one yet, please click here to read the introduction.

Briefly, the “Energy Savings Forecast of Solid-State Lighting in General Illumination Applications” report gives an overview of the role solid state, or as it’s more commonly referred to, LED lighting, will play in the nation’s efforts to lower power consumption. It provides estimates of energy savings as forecasted by experts through the year 2030.

Why Upgrade General Service Lights with Solid State Lights?

If your organization is typical, you will have some type of energy hogging, general service lighting installed on the premises that you can easily upgrade today. Omnidirectional service lights are manufactured in abundance since they have so many applications. You can also see them being used in track lighting and downlight lighting installations, further expanding their usage.

Businesses rely on powerful lights for maximum safety of customers, employees and vendors as well as to deter crime. Many companies will keep some lights on all the time to discourage burglars, vandals and other intruders.

Incandescent general service lights burn out too often to be practical. Most companies avoid using them whenever possible since they are being phased out. Halogen, fluorescent and compact fluorescent lights are still less efficient than LEDs.

This underscores the need to replace wasteful bulbs with more efficient LED lighting. For even greater savings in service light usage, it would be a good idea to connect them to motion sensors so they aren’t activated when no one is around.

General Service Lighting Forecast

It’s useful to begin considering the role of LED lighting in America with a focus on general service lighting, since these types of lights are ubiquitous and represent a large category that is ripe for change with LEDs. Light-emitting diodes are a great choice because they are long-lasting, do not produce excessive waste heat and require less service since you don’t have to change them as often. 

Governmental motivation to improve efficiency in general lighting is strong since the signing into law of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. EISA’s standards for general service lights were enacted in 2012 and force manufacturers to make them with 25% better efficiency.The DOE predicts that LED lighting will become the dominant lighting technology by 2020 and will obtain an overall market share of 55% in the three indoor sectors (commercial, industrial and residential). Commercial electricity savings should reach 37% by 2020 and industrial electricity savings are expected to increase to 47% in the same period.

The general service lighting needs of your organization will be easily satisfied if you make the transition to LED lights from less efficient incandescent or CFL lights. As the world moves toward the use of solid state lighting, we can expect to see reduced pollution levels as well as a decrease in power costs through better efficiency.

Figure 3.6: General Service Market Share (% of lm-hr sales) Forecast, 2013 to 2030