It said the prototype tube lighting LED is twice as efficient as those currently used in offices and industry around the world but offers the same amount of light. Being able to halve the amount of energy used could bring huge cost and energy savings. Lighting accounts for more than 19% of global electricity consumption. The prototype tube lighting produces 200 lumens per watt (200lm/W) compared with 100lm/W for equivalent strip lighting and 15lm/W for traditional light bulbs. “This is a major breakthrough in LED lighting and will further drive the transformation of the lighting industry,” said Rene van Schooten, chief executive of light source and electronics at Philips. “It’s exciting to imagine the massive energy and cost savings it will bring to our planet and customers,” he added. The lamps are intended to replace the fluorescent tube lighting used in offices and industry, which currently account for more than half of the world’s total lighting. In the US, for example, such lighting consumes around 200 terawatts of electricity annually. Swapping to the energy-efficient lamps could save $12bn (£7.8bn) and stop 60 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere, according to Philips. LED light bulbs are more efficient than traditional incandescent ones because there is less energy loss through heat. However they tend to be more expensive than ordinary light bulbs. Philips expects the light to go on the market in 2015, initially to replace office lighting. Ultimately though it is seen as a real alternative to lighting in the home. The company has not yet published prices but a spokesperson told the BBC that the cost would not be significantly more than current LED tube lights. The Energy Saving Trust – a UK charity which provides advice on how to cut carbon emissions – said manufacturers’ claims always had to be treated with caution, but added that if Philips could bring the product to market it would represent a major advance.
