The Path to Drawdown: LEDs
Invented in 1994, Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are designed as high-brightness, high-efficiency light bulbs. LEDs work like solar panels in reverse, converting electrons to photons rather than the other way around. LEDs 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 turn 80% of their energy use into light.
LED lighting has many environmental advantages. Its efficiency in converting energy into light helps reduce electricity consumption and air-conditioning usage. For people without access to ample energy, LEDs can be powered with small solar cells and can replace costly kerosene lamps and their noxious fumes and emissions. Where 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 widely used in the residential and commercial lighting markets, it can help avoid between 10.2 - 10.8 gigatons of CO2 emissions in housing, and between 5.9 - 6.7 gigatons in commercial buildings. To achieve this, the global market share of LEDs needs to scale fast:
- <::marker> In 2018, LEDs 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 - 2050.