Last month, the U.S. government granted $37 million to 17 projects developing light-emitting diodesfor various applications ranging from lighting systems to screen technologies. All the while, ongoing research and development is finally driving down the costs and increasing the efficiency of LEDs and their organic, increasingly popular cousins. With lifespans exceeding 50,000 hours, LEDs have incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs beat hand down. But so far they have been prohibitively expensive. Most of the work taking place at big companies like Cree and Bridgelux are all about bringing down these costs to make the technology practical for everyday consumers. It’s one thing that Rockefeller Center’s iconic tree was lit with LEDs last year — it’s quite another for average homeowners to be buying LED fixtures at Ikea. Now, a stream of recent news makes this area look even more promising:

Philips sees results: Foreshadowing broader adoption, electronics giant Philips announced that LED-based lighting accounted for more than 10 percent of its lighting sales in the third quarter of 2009. This prompted predictions that LED technology, or solid-state lighting as it is sometimes called, will grow annually at a rate of 24 percent, transforming into a $15 billion business by 2013.

Cree reports strong earnings: Public LED company Cree (CREE) just announced solid earnings for its second fiscal quarter. Following a big deal to supply 650 Wal-Mart Stores with LED lighting systems, the company reported a 35 percent increase in revenue, totaling $199.5 million. Profits also jumped from $10.7 million the previous year to $33.8 million. As a result, its stock price went up 9.7 percent to $59.49 a share. Today, it’s back down to $56.11.

Bridgelux eyes cost drops: LED maker Bridgelux says that prices for LED fixtures designed to replace burnt out incandescents will drop sharply this year. They could even come in under $10 by the end of 2010 — eight times cheaper than they are currently being marketed for. Bridgelux has also recruited a new CEO, former Seagate chief Bill Watkins, signaling a new, more aggressive strategy.

More lumens for your buck: Seoul Semiconductors‘ Ariche brand has unveiled the first LED bulb to hit 100 lumens per watt — said to be 25 percent more efficient than its competitors’ runners up. Ariche’s products don’t require an AC-DC converter. This means that LEDs can be used in shapes that otherwise wouldn’t accomodate solid-state lighting. It also avoids the energy losses inherent in standard power converters. The company also claims that the carbon emitted by its LED systems is 10 percent of that emitted by incandescent bulbs.

Combined, the news coming out of these four companies, and the government’s stimulus investment in LED development could make 2010 the year that LEDs finally invade the home.

In-home lighting has come a long way throughout history, from candles and flames to incandescent light bulbs and then compact fluorescent light bulbs.  Now there is a new contender on the scene – light emitting diodes (LEDs).  However, can the benefits of LEDs outweigh the potential problems associated with them?  While the battle between incandescent and compact fluorescent lighting is over (compact fluorescents being the clear victor), the battle between LED and compact fluorescents has just begun.  Overall, LEDs have a huge potential for the future, but are not necessarily the best choice at the current time.  Here is a quick comparison of the differences between LEDs and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).

Benefits of LEDs Compared to CFLs

LEDs last about ten times longer than CFLs.  This will save you the time and effort of changing your light bulbs on a frequent basis.  Many LEDs will last for more than ten years of continuous use.

An LED light uses about half the amount of electricity as a CFL with the same lighting capability (sometimes even less).  This is even more important when you are powering your home with solar panels or other sources of alternative energy in an effort to reduce your reliance on the electric grid and fossil fuels.

CFLs contain mercury which can make them harder to recycle or dispose of.  LEDs do not contain mercury.  (LEDs are basically electrons moving along a semiconductor material.)

Drawbacks of LEDs Compared to CFLs

LEDs are directional, which means that they focus light in a single direction.  CFLs, on the other hand, are omni-directional and disperse their light in an array around them.  This means that to have the same effect of lighting a room with LEDs that you would have with CFLs, you would need many LEDs clustered together and pointed in different directions.

Currently, LEDs are more expensive than CFLs for lighting a room.  However, as technology advances, LED prices are projected to drop to more affordable levels for the average consumer.  One potential technological advance is the OLED (organic light emitting diode).  This technology consists of very thin organic materials which are then layered between electrodes.  The electrodes produce light when an electrical charge is applied.  Many people predict that OLEDs can have a significant impact on reducing the price of LED technology and might make it more affordable in the future.

LEDs have a “colder” light appearance than CFLs do.  CFLs tend to produce a more “warm” lighting effect which simulates incandescent and daylight better than LEDs do.  One possible solution to this problem is the use of OLEDs in the future.  The OLED (organic light emitting diode) produces a warmer light than a traditional LED would.

Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) have been the talk of green lighting and display for what feels like ages now. In the last few years, we've started to see the technology applied to consumer electronics like digital photo frames, cell phones, and more recently, televisions. OLEDs are to be the next generation in lighting, in computer monitors, in seemingly anything we can dream up that has a need for light or displays. So, where are we seeing OLEDs turn up, why aren't they common yet, and what technology will beat out this purportedly ultra energy efficient technology that is moving forward at a snail's pace?

What's OLED Technology?

First off, you probably have heard of OLED but might not know quite what it is. Rather than go into detail here, we'll point you to HowStuffWorks, which gives a concise but through explanation.

One of the reasons OLEDs have the eye of the green community is because they're more energy efficient than LCD technology, currently the darling for displays like computer monitors and televisions. They provide exceptional color quality while sipping energy, and can be made so thin that they even hold potential for flexible displays and lighting, making designers chomp at the bit (though that hasn't stopped many from dreaming up uses already). We've heard that OLEDs will start to appear more prominently in the market place around 2015. But why not now? Well, several things hold OLED technology back.

Why Aren't We Seeing OLEDS on the Market?

First, price. It's still very expensive to create OLEDs and therefore the prices of what they're used in go up. Kodak brought out a digital photo frame priced at an astounding $1,000 and LG recently brought a 15" OLED TV to market but that was priced at $2,500...for a 15" TV. With pricing like that, OLEDs have to be brought down to parity with LCDs in order to compete. We're already seeing OLEDs in much smaller scale devices like cell phones, but for anything larger, we have a wait.

Second, somewhat surprisingly, is efficiency. OLED technology is about 15 years behind LED technology, it's big sister. When it comes to electronics like LED-back-lit televisions and computer monitors, OLEDs don't come close to competing in efficiency. At least not yet, and not for a long, long time.

Finally, lifespan is a large hindrance. Currently, OLED displays only last for about 1,000 hours. That means that we'll be replying on LED and LCD displays until they manage to catch up.

However, the potential for low power, flexible displays make OLED technology of great interest for everything from glowing wallpaper to luminescent fabric, let alone for TVs and lighting. The market is set to be huge...just, not quite yet. Here are some of the places we're already seeing OLED technology applied.

OLED Lighting

Lighting designs incorporating OLEDs are already well underway. The fact that they can be made exceptionally thin and flexible - as well as their potential for energy efficiency - makes them a favorite medium among green designers.

As for greater efficiency for lighting, the industry is getting a boost from private companies and the government alike, showing we have a particular impatience when it comes to innovative lighting.

And innovative we'll get. The technology is inspiring everything from reading lights to glowing wall paper. It seems the future is limitless for OLEDs...if we can make them as cost efficient as other lighting technology.

OLED Televisions

This is one of the biggies for the OLED market. Both Sony and LG have already put out OLED televisions, though they're both small (11" and 15" respectively) and very, very expensive, underscoring the point that OLEDs don't yet have a spot in the marketplace except among really early adopters. While LG is working hard on making 40" OLED TVs available by 2012, it's not probable that anyone but the super rich could afford them. However, the market isn't just among individual consumers. Businesses will also have a hand in the TV market as there is the possibility of large-scale displays utilizing high efficiency OLEDs constructed to various shapes and sizes for display walls and billboards.

OLEDs for Hand-held Devices

Unlike the larger size of the TV display, we are already seeing OLED technology pop up all over the place, thanks to the smaller size. The miniature displays of cell phones are perfect for OLED use. This is where the efficiency of OLEDs stands out, especially when color requirements are minimized. Everyone from AT&T to Google with their new Nexus One phone are utilizing OLED technology for displays.

OLED Computer Screens

Computer monitors and notebook screens are the middle ground between TVs and cell phones, and we're going to see OLEDs pop up more often here before they really make it in the TV market. Computer screens are where OLEDs will shine, specifically among notebooks, once they catch up in efficiency and price. Apple is looking at OLEDs for new notebooks, and it was rumored that the iPad might have had an OLED display, should there have been a supplier of 10" screens available soon enough. Alas, there wasn't, but we still got energy-efficiency LED-backlit LCD screens in that device. However, designers are already dreaming up where flexible OLED screens will be useful in laptop design, and it's only a matter of time.


OLEDs in Games

Even games won't be passed up by OLED technology. Innovators are already figuring out how OLEDs can be used in board games, to create video games based on interactive pieces. Whether or not OLED or e-Ink technology is better for this medium is yet to be seen, but the possibility of seeing our board games become much more lively is already here.

OLED...Clothing??

Yep, even clothing isn't left out. There has already been one dress created out of OLEDs - a complete PR stunt, but still... - and as designers start to incorporate lighting into their fashions more and more, OLEDs will indeed play a role.

Other Technologies Competing with OLEDLEDs LEDs are currently more energy efficient and more affordable than OLED and LCDs, and they're a primary focus for lighting and display technology. They have a roughly 15 year lead in research, and researchers are still making leaps and bounds in making them more energy efficient. OLEDs have quite a horse race to run if they want to one day catch up. For now, the real market focus for the big ticket items like light bulbs, computer monitors and televisions is on LEDs.
Photo via Jaymi Heimbuch

LED-Backlit LCDs

This hybrid of LED and LCD technology is starting to come onto the market more strongly. It was talked about quite a bit last year, with electronics companies developing some gadgets and appliances, but this past year we've seen more come onto market. They provide a great image quality for a far smaller wattage requirement, but are still price prohibitive. Nanosys is one company working to make LED-backlit LCDs even better, creating a coating that increases the quality of the LED backlight so that the colors are incredibly rich. This will give OLEDs an even bigger run for their money.

PHOLED

OLEDs, however, aren't at a complete loss. Researchers are working on ways to utilize phosphorescence to make OLEDs even more energy efficient. Called PHOLEDs, the technology promises to increase efficiency by a factor of four. Impressive!

Laser Phosphorescent Displays

One more interesting technology that only just hit our radar is LPD technology. By utilizing lasers to stimulate the phosphors that produce the images on a screen, it claims to cut energy consumption by 75%. We have yet to see this actually pan out and be adopted. But if true, it could also be a strong competitor with OLEDs.

In response to a question posed to me by Waine, it dawned on me that some people might not understand why energy efficiency anywhere and everywhere is critically important to those wishing to make a move in the future to an off-grid Electricity System i.e. a system where you produce most if not all of your own electricity using Eskom grid supply as a back-up.

Why is this a goal you might ask? Well, one only has to look at the recent happenings with Eskom - their lack of initiative, corruption, theft has left the South African consumer and businesses reeling from massive tariff hikes. And with the 3 x 45% hikes already tabled with NERSA the picture being painted is not getting any better.

Even if your household can afford these enlarged bills, I don’t think everyone is comprehending the entire picture. EVERYTHING will increase, CPI will shoot up, Interest Rates will adjust upwards to combat this - Your Bond, Your Car, Your Debt - All will increase as a result.

The food that you buy will increase because as we all well know the food industry needs no second invitation to increase their prices willy nilly.

Jobs will be lost, businesses will close down - if one takes into account all prior and future electricity increases by 2010 you will be paying 240% more than you were in 2008, and by 2012 500% will be the increase you will be subject too.

One has to start now, installing LED’s or Solar Water Heating or Energy Efficient Showerheads - will free up much needed cash flow come April 2010 when the 1st increase takes hold. If you were to wait your ability to afford anything else will be hampered by the expected increases in all costs.

The Off-Grid goal is my businesses aim - I would like to assist ALL South Africans to achieve this, but it is still Cost Prohibitive and very few people can afford it.

But other products are affordable and more than that they make MUCH more financial sense than your typical products. They save you money and pay for themselves in a given time frame.

They also set you up for the future if you have LED Lighting, Solar Water Heating, Efficient Water fittings, Gas Stoves/Fridges - what are you left with? A much reduced energy usage and therefore cost. In fact if you have ALL of the above installed one can easily expect a 50% - 80% reduced energy bill.

So therefore if one eventually does decide to go off-grid with Photovoltaics, Wind Power etc you now have a MUCH smaller system to install - your requirements and therefore system costs will be substantially reduced - you will never again care about what Eskom does!

Of course one has to take into account maintenance but based on the below facts it is substantially lower compared with en-ending monthly electricity bills…..

• Solar Water Heating: 5 Year Gaurantee, 15+ Year Life Span
• LED Lighting: 50,000 Hours Use, If used 3 hours a day it would last 45 years
• Gas Stoves/Fridges - Reduced electronics, connect the gas and go!
• Shower Heads: Made out of a material similar to teflon, you’ll never need to replace it!

So there you go - a Guide to My Off-Grid Goals!

Why LED? The lighting efficiency of the new high power led light bulbs is nearly eight times that of incandescent lights, and twice as high as compact fluorescent lights. Led bulbs also emit a much higher percentage of light in the desired direction. This makes them even more efficient compared to either incandescent or fluorescent for task lighting, desk lamps, reading lights, spotlights, flood lights, and track lighting.     

Led light bulbs also generate very little unwanted heat. The energy savings may be doubled in air-conditioned environments where each watt of incandescent lighting can add another watt or more to the power needed for air conditioning.

Led bulbs can operate for 30,000 hours or more. One led light bulb can easily outlast 30 incandescent bulbs, or 6 compact fluorescents! Led bulbs cost less than the bulbs they replace. Operating 12 hours per day, led light bulbs can last 7 years or more!

Led light bulbs are not sensitive to shock, vibration, or the extreme temperature changes that can quickly ruin fragile incandescent bulbs. And unlike fluorescent bulbs which wear out much faster if they are frequently turned on and off, led bulbs are not affected by frequent on-off switching.   

Environmentally Friendly You’ll never again have to choose between inefficient incandescents and fluorescents that contain mercury. LED lighting is safe, environmentally friendly and contains no toxic mercury.

LED lights use 90% less energy than conventional incandescent bulbs and less than half the energy of compact fluorescent lamps. Consuming less energy results in fewer greenhouse gas emissions being released into our environment.

Also, because each LED products is designed to last for 50,000 or more hours, there is less landfill waste from burned-out incandescent bulbs and no dangerous mercury waste from fluorescents. 

Ultra Efficient Lighting The light output is comparable to that of a 40 to 100 watt incandescent light. Our LED lighting provides efficiency and enables consumers to save over the life of the light, without compromising beauty or the environment.

LED Lights uses only 10% on average of power. That’s 90% less energy spent per incandescent light, and 50% less than a CFL.

On average in the running a 60-watt light for 50,000 hours would cost R2,100 in electricity alone. Because the LED lights uses only an average of 10 watts, running the light for 50,000 hours will cost only R420 under the same scenario. In addition, you will no longer spend time or money replacing lights. Over the lifetime of one led light, you will save R1,680  or more on your electricity cost alone.

Making the change to LED Lighting

Traditional incandescent globes (light bulbs) should be replaced by LED’s

. These use substantially less electricity and have much longer lives.

Harnessing the power of the sun

Installing a solar water heater at home can reduce the costs of heating water by up to 70%. Solar heating also benefits the electricity. A 240 Litre solar water heater

means that 10kWh/day of electricity is not required.


Switch to Energy Saving Shower Heads

Water heating is the biggest electricity expense for the average household and, the more hot water you use, the more it costs you.

South Africa is a semi-arid country and our average national rainfall of 450mm is well below the international average of 860mm. This makes water a scarce and precious resource so we should all use water conservatively. There is a lot you can do to save water. For instance, instead of allowing the water to run when you wash your face or while you shave, you should fill the basin with just the amount of water you need.

Similarly, when brushing your teeth, turn off the tap while you complete your routine and use a cup filled with water for rinsing your mouth.

Did you know that you can significantly reduce the amount of water your household consumes by simply switching from bathing to showering and, that you can achieve additional savings if you use an

Microwave ovens

Microwave ovens are great electricity savers. Using them correctly can add to your electricity savings efforts. Remember that: 

• Allowing food to defrost in the refrigerator instead of using the microwave is much more economical.
• Microwave ovens are better suited to cooking small to medium quantities of food
• Large portions of meat should be cooked in a conventional oven.
• Compare cooking times on packaging and use the method that takes the least time and power 

Energy saving tips for electric stoves

Taking a few basic steps in the kitchen can significantly reduce the amount of electricity used by electric stoves. Think about: 

• Using a pressure cooker when preparing foods that normally take a long time to cook. They speed up the cooking process and save electricity.
• Consider buying a stove with a convection oven.
• Making sure that oven doors stay closed until food is cooked.
• Bring food to the boil on the ”high” setting, but then turn down to simmer until cooked.
• Keeping stove plates and reflectors clean.
• Only using pots and pans that completely cover stove plates.Water

Water Bathing
Bathing and showering: Opting to take a shower over a bath can save up to 50% of the water you use. A bath consumes 80 – 100 litres of water whereas a shower consumes 40 – 50 litres of water.

Families with children, particularly in periods of water restrictions, can
choose to share a bath.

Toilets
Toilets use up to 15 liters of water in one flush. Water can be saved by:-
(a) Installing a dual flushing toilet, or
(b) Placing ½ a brick in the cistern to decrease its water holding capacity.
It is important to attend to water leaks in the toilet as quickly as possible.

Taps

Water–saving devices can be installed on taps to reduce the consumption
of water.

Taps should be turned off while hands are washed and/or teeth being brushed and only turned on again for rinsing purposes.

Leaking taps, dripping shower heads, broken washers, etc. should be attended to a.s.a.p. Alternatively, a bucket should be placed under the leak to catch the water for its re-use elsewhere in the home/garden until such a time as the leak can be fixed.

Gardening

Homeowners etc should be encouraged to mulch their gardens in an attempt to increase the moisture content of the soil and reduce the evaporation levels off the soil.

Gardeners should be encouraged to water the garden in the early morning or the early evening to prevent evaporation rates during the day (evaporation peaks between 10am – 5pm)

Dishwashing water

Homeowners etc should be encouraged to use readily available biodegradable cleaning products that have no adverse affects on the quality of the water which can then be used to irrigate plants, herb gardens, potted plants, lawns etc. There are a number of readily available products around such as the Pick & Pay Green range, Enchantrix, etc.

Clothes washing/Washing machines

Opting to wear hardwearing articles of clothing (such as jeans, jerseys, etc) more than once before placing them in the wash basket can assist in reducing water consumption.

Washing machines can be placed on low/minimum and energy saving cycles rather than on full cycles – this saves the household on both water and energy consumption.

Biodegradable products are also available that can allow for the water to be re-used in the garden, around the house, etc.

Cars

Car owners should get accustomed to using a bucket of water rather than a hosepipe to clean their vehicles - and not simply in periods of water restrictions and water shortages.

Energy

Lights and plug points

If you are building a new house, limit the number of plug points and light bulbs for each room. If you are in a house that has numerous light points, choose to only put low-energy globes in those that are required.

Use candles more often – they also create a great ambiance in the room. Candles can be put into a freezer overnight – this lengthens their lifespan by a couple of hours – particularly the small round tea lights.

Use energy saving globes. It is not possible to use energy saving globes with dimmers – but you can choose to use the lowest wattage available for these light points.

Turn off lights when you leave the room.
Turn off plug point switches when you are not using a device consistently (even though it may remain plugged into the socket).

Geysers

It helps to think of a geyser as a large kettle that is permanently on the boil to keep the water hot.

Turn off your geyser overnight before you go to bed and on in the morning approximately 1- 1½ hours before you shower or bath. If this proves inconvenient, bring in an electrician to install a timer switch in order for the geyser to turn on and off automatically. This is well worth the expense.

Turn off geysers when you go away on holiday.

When your electric geyser no longer works – consider replacing it with a solar water geyser. Speak to your insurance company and ask if they can fund the replacement of the geyser and if not for the full amount, at least for the amount that they would have funded had you replaced it with another electric geyser.

Electrical Appliances

Buy AAA rated electrical appliances. These appliances are more energy efficient than non-AAA rated appliances. Ask the sales person at electrical appliance store for the options … some companies only offer AA-rated appliance. This is still a better option than no energy saving aspect at all.

Use the energy saving option on all electrical appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines, etc.

For all tumble drying options, hang out the washing to “half dry” before putting washing into the machine.

When you boil water in a kettle for any purpose, boil only the amount you need to use. For example, if you are boiling water for ONE cup of tea, only put one cup of water in the kettle. Boiling water is the most energy consuming method and this will keep the energy required to boil water to a minimum.

Think about the electrical appliances you buy before doing so …
Appliances that require opening and closing of doors (such as ovens and fridges) use up energy every time the door is opened and closed. Be aware of closing and opening doors quickly to reduce the losses …

Cars

Choose to buy cars that are light on fuel. The bigger the car the greater the energy (fuel) needed to get it going.

Drive sensibly and do so bearing fuel saving techniques in mind:

o    Avoid warming up the engine for extended periods of time;

o    Ensure that the automatic choke is disengaged after the engine has warmed up;

o    Avoid “revving” the engine;

o    Accelerate slowly when starting from a “dead stop”.

o    Choose your fuel brand carefully.

o    Instruct the fuel operator not to fill the tank to the top – request that they fill the tank to the automatic first “click” of the fuel nozzle.

o    Travel at fast rates in low gears consumes more fuel than travelling at fast rates in higher gears.

o    Keep windows closed when travelling on highways at highway speeds. Open windows cause air drag and rise fuel consumption.

o    Drive consistently – slowing down or speeding up wastes fuel.

o    Stoplights are timed for your motoring advantage. By travelling at the recommended speed limit you improve your chances of “catching” the green light all the way ..

o    Avoid rough roads if possible; gravel roads can use up to 30% extra fuel.

o    Driving on deep tyre tread all uses up more fuel.

o    Avoid excessive “reversing” to save fuel consumption.

o    Keeping your tyres properly inflated will reduce fuel consumption.
 

Paper

Re-use the paper from your printer.

The back of all your office paper can be used for children to draw on, donated to schools/local community centres, etc.

Use the paper rings inside the toilet paper roll to protect your seedlings or collect them and donate them to a pre-primary school.

For paper products (magazines, etc) that have no apparent “re-use” function … donate to primary schools, community centres, etc … children always need books to cut out of for school projects – especially those who have no access to computers/the internet etc.
Fires

Learn to make energy efficient fires. There is a method known as “basa njenjo Magoga” where the coal is laid down first, then the paper, then the wood .. and a few additional lumps of coal laid on top of the fire once it has been lit … as opposed to laying the coal ON TOP of the wood.