EXPERIMENTAL COMPARISON OF LIGHTING PERFORMANCE OF LED WITH CFL

LIGHTING PERFORMANCE OF LED WITH CFL

Abstract

Lighting has been identified as one of the areas where energy conservation can be achieved in the shortest possible time, when the right technology is deployed. This experiment compares the performance of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) with Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) to ascertain the energy efficiency of the lighting types. Five distinct brands of 3 W LED were purchased from the market, with the brand comprising a set of five (5) lamps each. With the aid of a light meter, the Illumination of the lamps was measured at the manufacturer’s rated operating voltage to obtain the luminous efficacy of the lamps. The luminous efficacy of 5 W and 8 W compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and LEDs were compared at the same operating voltage to ascertain the best performance. The efficacy of the LED lamp was observed to be higher when compared to that of the CFLs under test. In the analysis that followed, a typical household which deployed ten (10) lamps each of LEDs, CFLs, and incandescent lamps revealed that, although the initial cost of purchasing LED was higher, the energy saving was quite significant when compared to CFLs and incandescent bulbs. It is concluded that if energy efficiency is considered a priority when lighting systems are being deployed in buildings, LED provides the technology that can help achieve the desired performance even though the initial cost of purchase is higher.