LED Lighting and the Pitfalls of Power Quality Issues
The LED won a Noble Prize. Specifically, the team behind inventing the blue light-emitting diode (LED) won the prestigious prize in 2014. Red and green LEDs had been around since the 1960s but with the innovation of the blue LED, bright and energy-saving white light sources became possible. LEDs provide a long life cycle, are non-toxic, and feature high-energy efficiency and low-energy consumption. Like the 1889 Land Rush, the sprint to transform the old lighting technology to this greener, more cost-effective choice has persuaded many to take advantage of it. Also pressuring the change are new government regulations. LEDs lead to industrial and facility savings. They consume one-sixth the energy of incandescents and last up to 25 times longer. (Popular Mechanics, March 2014) Los Angeles has swapped in 155,000 LED fixtures, a move that has reduced municipal energy bills and light pollution. Ed Ebrahimian, who directs the L.A. Bureau of Street Lighting, says, “We’re at the tip of a...