Research and practice: Sustainable Lighting Design: LED and beyond
For more than a decade now, LEDs are being offered as an architectural light source. In the beginning we were enchanted by how small fittings could be made, by effective colour in light, and by promises that they would last forever. Since this beginning we have learned a lot. Probably the most important lesson was that we need to look very carefully at what we are told by those who market lighting! In this same period the focus on energy efficiency in lighting and buildings in general has also become a major design factor. The early emphasis on LED life has, sadly, not been borne out, and has been refocused on the "low energy" aspect of this technology, with regular announcements from major LED manufacturers of higher and higher efficiencies of the chips themselves. Unfortunately, this isn't reflected in the actual lighting products available on the market.
