Lasers & Sources

DOE report estimates savings for use of LEDs in common lighting applications

May 6, 2013

Washington, DC--The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released a report analyzing markets where light-emitting diodes (LEDs) compete with traditional lighting sources (for example, incandescent and fluorescent).

John Wallace

Figure ES.1 from the report: Comparison of current and potential source energy savings.

Washington, DC--The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released a report analyzing markets where light-emitting diodes (LEDs) compete with traditional lighting sources (for example, incandescent and fluorescent). The report, "Adoption of Light-Emitting Diodes in Common Lighting Applications," provides estimates of current energy savings, as well as potential savings if these markets switched to LEDs overnight.

Nine markets were analyzed:

--Four indoor lamp applications (A-type, directional, MR-16, and decorative)
--Three indoor luminaire applications (downlight, troffer, and high-bay)
--Two outdoor luminaire applications (streetlight and parking lot/garage).

In 2012, about 49 million LED lamps and luminaires were installed in the nine applications. LEDs in these markets saved approximately 71 trillion British thermal units (tBtu), equivalent to an annual energy cost savings of about $675 million—an amount that far exceeds the total DOE Solid-State Lighting Program investment of $270 million.

Average and most efficacious LED products from DOE’s LED lighting facts database; LED efficacy values based on Lighting Facts database query from March 2013.

In addition, if these nine markets switched to LEDs overnight, annual source energy savings could approach 3,873 tBtu, or about 3.9 quadrillion Btu (quads), saving nearly $37 billion in annual energy costs. This amount represents approximately half of the total national lighting energy consumption in 2012.

The report notes that "the energy consumption and savings estimate results are highly sensitive to the state of LED
technology"; accordingly, it considered the best available existing LED technologies (see table below), rather than trying to do any projections based on upcoming but not yet available technologies.

For more information, or to download a PDF of the report, go to www.ssl.energy.gov/tech_reports.html.

About the Author

John Wallace | Senior Technical Editor (1998-2022)

John Wallace was with Laser Focus World for nearly 25 years, retiring in late June 2022. He obtained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and physics at Rutgers University and a master's in optical engineering at the University of Rochester. Before becoming an editor, John worked as an engineer at RCA, Exxon, Eastman Kodak, and GCA Corporation.