The following is a re-print of an ALA Technology Newsletter that was written by Terry McGowan at the ALA. It contains some interesting facts about current lighting usage and future trends.
"Reliable data about the energy
use of lighting products, together with numbers about the types and the
quantity of products sold into the residential market, has become an
increasingly important part of ALA activities in recent years. I pay particular
attention to lighting energy data and the mix of light source products in
various lighting applications. Those numbers indicate market trends and
information about the technology being used. Demographic numbers are a good
predictor of market activity too. An example is the market for elderly-friendly
lighting which is growing because every day more than 11,000 people reach 65
years of age in the U.S.
Starting in 2002, the U.S.
Department of Energy began publishing detailed lighting inventory and energy
consumption data by sector - residential, commercial, industrial and
outdoor. An update was published in 2012 based upon 2010 data, but
last December, for the first time, residential lighting energy use was examined
in detail.
Report Results fromResidential Lighting
End-Use Consumption Study: Estimation Framework and Initial Estimates
(Download
at no charge, here: http://alturl.com/qgbh2)
- In U.S. residences,
the average daily use per bulb is 1.6 hours.
- The average bulb
uses 47.7 watts. (That's down substantially from the 67 watt average
reported in the 2002 report.)
- There are more
than 67 bulbs in the average home considering all home types
(single family, multi-family, etc.); but single family homes average more
than 85 bulbs/home. (The average reported in the 2002 report
was 37 bulbs/home.)
- Household
lighting energy use varies substantially by region but averages
- 1,700 kWh/home
per year. New York and California use the least averaging
- Less than 1,500
kWh while states including Montana, Wyoming, Arizona and Missouri used the
most averaging over 2,100 kWh per home annually.
- The cost of
energy used for residential lighting also varies by region, but total home
lighting energy costs range from $200-300 per year.
- Bulbs in
bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms and kitchens consume the most lighting
energy in the average home.
- Dimmers control
only 4% of the bulbs in the average home and almost 80% of those bulbs are
in ceiling fixtures.
- Incandescent
bulbs (2010 data) remain the most widely used light source in homes (They
are in more than 62% of the sockets); but the use of CFLs and LED bulbs
has increased with CFLs at slightly more than 20% of the socketson average
(also 2010 data).
Since the 2010 data above didn't
include the rapid growth in the use of LED bulbs during the past couple of
years, I looked at another DOE report which uses the same database, but which
analyzed the LED adoption rate over the 2010-2012 time period.
Adoption of Light-Emitting Diodes
in Common Lighting Applications.
(You can find that report
at http://alturl.com/7z6yd)
- What the
2010-2012 report shows is that the conversion of residential sockets from
standard incandescent to halogen incandescent, CFL or LED bulbs has
rapidly increased over this last two-year period.
- Some of that
increase is due, of course, to the phase-out of standard incandescent
bulbs; but lower prices for CFL and LED bulbs, better bulb performance,
more product choice and market activities such as rebates and the entry of
new manufacturers into the market have all played a role as well.
- Of the
"A-line" bulb sockets, 62% of the 3.2 billion in homes contained
standard incandescent bulbs in 2010. That number has now dropped to 55%.
- But, LED bulbs,
even though some 20 million have been installed over the last two years,
still fill less than 1% of the total available sockets.
- The next two
years, however, will likely see a dramatic change in those numbers because
of the phase-out of the standard 40 watt and 60 watt bulbs beginning on
January 1, 2014. Those two bulb types represent almost 60% of the standard
bulb market.
The big question is: What will
consumers put into those sockets as the conventional bulbs are replaced? The
answer to that question will make 2014-15 an unusual and interesting time in
the lighting business."
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