The First Country Banned Incandescent Lamp - Australia

According to a 2006 International Energy Agency report, lighting absorbs nearly one-fifth of global electricity generation, more than is produced by hydro or nuclear stations and about the same amount produced from natural gas. From Australia to Russia, energy-efficient light bulbs are gaining political traction around the globe. Governments are promoting energy-efficient light bulbs like LED in place of incandescent lamp across the world.

Australia is the first country to launch a plan for banning incandescent bulbs. Australians are among the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters per capita, and the country has refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol. The new law reduced Australia’s current emissions by 800,000 tons by 2012 and simultaneously cut household lighting costs 66 percent.

More and more Lawmakers from other country hope to follow Australia’s lead. They are the United Kingdom, Canada, California, the New Jersey. Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty estimates that a ban of the energy-sucking incandescent would save enough energy to shut down one coal-fired power plant, according to the Toronto Globe and Mail.

The European Lamp Companies Federation, with includes General Electric, Siemens, and Royal Philips Electronics, said it plans to promote “public incentives to encourage consumers to purchase more efficient products and set performance standards that will eliminate the least efficient products from the market.”

European bulb makers announced that they would work together to promote energy-efficient lighting to European consumers, including light emitting diodes, or LEDs, which can save even more energy than CFLs.

Even Russia, a country with huge oil and gas reserves, is beginning to join the plan of banning incandescent lamp. As Moscow resident Nastya Meshkova observed, “It’s important to save energy, and if it’s going to save my energy bill of course I'll do it.” The IEA reports that a global switch to efficient lighting systems would cut the world’s electricity bill by nearly one-tenth.

Several Types of LEDs

Light emitting diodes, or LEDs, are electronic lights. They are produced in a variety of shapes and sizes. There are several types of LED lights, which can be found in any number of electronic devices and have various functions.

The first is Miniature LEDs. They are some of the most common types of LED lights and can be found in small electronic devices. Miniature LEDs are used in an array of devices with surface-mount or through-hole designs and mostly used as indicator lights on devices such as calculators or cell phones.

 It is possible to use a miniature LED light without package, such as a cube or dome. Lights not packaged are simple semiconductor chips connected to conductive wires. Miniature LED lights are divided into three categories: ultra-high output, standard and low current.

The second is High-Power LEDs(HPLEDs). They are produced a much stronger light source than most other LEDs and becoming more popular for house decorating and lighting.Their initial cost is relatively high but due to a long lifespan, they typically save on energy costs in the long term. So they are good replacements for fluorescent and incandescent lights as they are proving to be more energy saving. HPLEDs are known as solid state lights. Their electroluminescence is generated through a small, solid mass, rather than through more sensitive and brittle bulbs or fluorescent tubes. The danger of an HPLED overheating is high and must, therefore, be mounted on heat-absorbent material, allowing the light to cool through convection. Too much heat can cause an HPLED to burn out quickly.

The third is Super Flux LEDs. They can be found most commonly in large panels like billboard advertising. Large video screens are often made from LEDs. Large Panels types of LEDs are designed for maximum light emission, as they consist of two positive and two negative leads.

The forth is Flashing LEDs. They are stand-alone lights that serve as indicators. To make a LED flash or blink, a vibrator is integrated into the circuit that interrupts its flow in intervals.

The fifth is Bi-color LEDs. It combines two light emitting dies connected to one lead in one encasing, allowing for the case to emit two different colors. The current flow of the dies alternates to produce the color variation. Bi-color LEDs can also produce a third light when the flow of both dies is equal.

The last is RGB and Tri-color LEDs. RGB LEDs are the red, green and blue light emitting diodes, commonly found in LED televisions and projections. The LEDs are emitted through a four-wire connection on a common lead.  Tri-color LEDs combines two light emitting dies in one encasing. In contrast to the bi-color LEDs, the tri-color dies are connected to two leads. This enables the two LEDs to light up simultaneously and be controlled. The third lead shares one of the common leads.

Argentina Joins Incandescent Ban

Governments are promoting energy-efficient light bulbs like LED in place of incandescents across the world.  In order to keep up with the pace of the developed countries, Argentine Senate approved a law to ban incandescent light bulbs in 2010. The rule establishes that from December 31, 2010, the importing and commercialization of incandescent light bulbs for residential use will be forbidden in the country.

With this measure, Argentina joins the list of regions and countries that have already said goodbye to regular light bulbs, which includes the European Union, Australia, and Canada.

The law Argentine established in 2008 has five articles:

The first establishes the ban of importing and commercialization of incandescent light bulbs for residential use in all the Argentine territory.

The second gives the Executive Power the ability to establish exceptions to the rule for, "technical, functional and operative reasons."

The third says that the Executive will be able to announce measures to encourage the imports of finished efficient bulbs or their parts for production.

The fourth article says the law will enter force when published at the governmental Official Bulletin.

The finally is only operational.

The idea is in deed a great step for Argentina, considering the country's energy crisis. However, environmental law conquers don't always prove themselves useful in Argentina. After all, changing incandescent light bulbs for energy-saving lights like LEDs is only one of the simplest ways to reduce the amount of energy people spend at home. But your little change will give great contribution to the earth’s environmental protection.

Are LED Lights Brighter Than Incandescent Bulb?

LED lighting is an emerging technology. More and more people are switching to this kind of energy-efficient lighting source For the sake of saving money and environmental protection. At the same time, increased energy efficiency makes LED lights an attractive option. The use of LED lighting has many benefits, but it's important to be sure that whether they are bright enough for your needs.

A single LED may not offer considerable light output. Clustered together, however, a group of LEDs can put out an amount of light comparable to most other types of household light bulbs on the market. For example, a 12-watt LED cluster bulb offers output similar to a 60-watt incandescent bulb.

Most LED lights produce 25 to 45 lumens per watt. White LEDs can produce 80 to 129 lumens per watt. While the brightest incandescent lights are rated at 52 lumens per watt. And compact fluorescent lights usually produce 60 to 72 lumens per watt. So if you need the light bright enough, white LED lights will be more suitable for you.

In addition, while most LED lights achieve less lumens per watt than incandescent and compact fluorescent lights, they also use much less energy. Most LED lights are around 5 watt bulbs, while compact fluorescents are typically 20 to 25 watts, and common incandescent bulbs are 60 to 100 watts. This allows you to power up to 5 LED lights for each fluorescent and 20 per incandescent bulb used.

Five Global LED Manufacturers

1. OSRAM  OSRAM Opto Semiconductors is the world's second largest manufacturer of lighting products, sensors, and image processor. The company is headquartered in Germany, R & D and manufacturing base in Malaysia, about 3,400 employees, 2004 sales of 45.9 billion Euros. OSRAM most famous product is the LED, only a few mm in length, a variety of colors, low power consumption, long life.

2. NICHIA  Nichia, the famous LED chip maker, Japan Company, founded in 1956, developed the world s first blue LED (1993), the world's first a pure green LED (1995), in the world has a sub- company.

3. Agilent  As the world's leading LED supplier of products for the automotive, electronic information boards and traffic signal lights, industrial equipment, consumer products such as cellular phones and a large number of products to provide efficient and reliable source. These components ensure high reliability of the equipment is usually no need to change during the life of light sources. Agilent's low-cost dot matrix LED display, a wide variety of seven-segment code, and Agilent's LED light bar display products have a variety of packages and colors for selection.

4. TOSHIBA  Toshiba Semiconductor is a major automotive supplier of LED, in particular, instrument panel backlighting, car radio, navigation system, climate control unit. Use of technology is InGaAlP, wavelengths from 560nm (pure green) to 630nm (red). Recently, Toshiba has developed a new technology UV + phosphor (UV + fluorescence), LED chip can be ultraviolet light to stimulate phosphor issued after the combination of a variety of light, such as white, pink, turquoise and other light.

5. LUMILEDS  High power LED Lumileds Lighting is the world leader in lighting and solid, and its products are widely used for lighting, television, traffic signals and general lighting, Luxeon Power Light Sources are the patented product, combining the traditional lamp and LED's small size, long life characteristics. Also offers a variety of LED chips and LED packaging, red, green, blue, amber, and white LED. Lumileds Lighting based in the United States, factories in the Netherlands, Japan, Malaysia, the joint venture of Agilent and Philips in 1999, 2005 Philips full acquisition of the company.