The New York Times recently printed an article describing the promising future of LED lighting (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/science/earth/30degrees.html?_r=1&src=tp).  LEDs were invented in the 1920s, but have been slow to catch on for commercial use because they only produce red, green or blue light.  However, rapid developments are taking place which give LEDs a much wider application.  Environmentalists are especially keen to see their use expanded, as LEDs are more than twice as efficient as compact fluorescent bulbs and last for decades.

Many American cities are taking advantage of incentives in President Obama’s stimulus package to retrofit streetlights with LEDs.  Los Angeles is leading in this trend; a project is currently underway to convert 140,000 streetlights.  This change will save the city $10 million annually and reduce carbon emissions by 40,500 tons a year.  It will also reduce the immense light pollution created by the city’s dense population because LED light is direct, rather than diffuse.

(picture from nytimes)

Significant progress has been made in the development of the LED, but in my opinion they are not yet ready for in-home use.  LEDs cannot reproduce the color or brightness of traditional indoor lights, but they should certainly be considered for outdoor and colored-light needs.  The steep upfront cost is wholly justified by the energy savings and long life of these lights.  With the amount of research and development currently going into LEDs, it will only be a matter of time before they are developed for indoor use.

(picture from nytimes)