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LED Lighting Technology - Clean Lighting for Poor |
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rbpode |
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Date : 2008-10-08 / Hit : 1194 |
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About 1.6 billion people around people around the world live without access to regular electricity. Many people in Asia and Africa without electricity currently use kerosene lanterns as a light source. But kerosene emits unhealthy fumes, is an extremely dim light and far too often ends up burning people or homes in accidents.
Kerosene lamps pose a fire hazard and the fumes (each kerosene lamp gives off about 250 kg of carbon dioxide every year) harm people’s eyes and lungs and contribute to global warming. Moreover, these lamps use kerosene, which has to be imported and is expensive or unavailable in rural areas.
Kerosene is far more expensive than electric lighting. The cost of useful light energy ($/lumen hour of light) for kerosene is 325 times higher than the inefficient incandescent bulb, is 1625 times higher than compact fluorescent light bulbs.
In remote areas, the high cost of kerosene can consume much of a family’s income. One lamp consumes 0.04 to 0.06 litres per hour, and the daily usage of three to four hours burn time. 1 litre of kerosene per week times $1.00 USD = $52.00 USD per year.
Kerosene Health Risks
Burning kerosene lamps indoors produces the following pollutants:
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2) causes global warming.
• Carbon Monoxide (CO) replaces the oxygen indoors and can be fatal
• Nitrogen Oxides and Sulfur Oxides (NOx, SOx) cause lung and eye infections, respiratory problems and cancer. They are also contributors to acid rain and ozone depletion.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) cause eye, nose and throat infections, kidney and liver afflictions, and are carcinogenic substances that are released into the atmosphere
The World Bank estimates that 780 million women and children breathing particulate laden kerosene fumes inhale the equivalent of smoke from two packs of cigarettes a day. The result is that two thirds of the adult female lung cancer victims are non-smokers.
Many homes have poor ventilation and fuel based lighting poses serious health hazards that are serious and debilitating, such as respiratory and eye problems. The indoor air pollution often results in illness and death. In developing nations, acute respiratory infection, influenza and pneumonia kill nearly two million children annually.
Kerosene Fire Danger
Many families cannot afford a proper bottle and wick and rely on a fragile glass bottle and a piece of rope for a wick. Kerosene and candles cause countless fire catastrophes every year. Each year many homes burn to the ground when a lamp is knocked over. Each year, many homes and even entire communities burn to the ground when a lamp is toppled.
Kerosene is an Inefficient Source of Lighting
The light provided by a kerosene lamp is not very bright and is inefficient. The amount of light from the lamp is only about 0.2% of what the people in industrialized countries have for the same price. The light is only 2 to 4 lumens compared to a 60 watt bulb with 900 lumens). The light is so poor that children can only see their books if they are almost directly over the flame. They inhale even more of the toxic smoke. Besides being unhealthy, trying to do school work with a kerosene lamp creates a barrier to education and learning.
Kerosene creates Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The alternative way to reduce greenhouse gases associated with lighting energy use is to replace kerosene lamps with white LED lighting systems in developing countries. Fuel-based lighting in the developing world is a source of 244 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere each year, or 58% of the CO2 emissions from residential electric lighting. Also, subsidized kerosene for domestic lighting sometimes finds its way into vehicles with additional environmental consequences.
Solar Powered LED Lighting
LED Lighting technologies use Light Emitting Diodes. A diode is the simplest sort of semiconductor device. Broadly speaking, a semiconductor is a material with a varying ability to conduct electrical current.
Solar powered LEDs are trying to limit the use of kerosene. Replacing kerosene with the LED lights offers several benefits: reduced air pollution, improved studying conditions for children, saved lives from kerosene risk, reduced spending by poor families on kerosene, reduce health risks.
The LED bulbs offer significant advantages over the traditional kerosene: emitting a brighter light, requiring less maintenance, improved studying conditions for children, saved lives from kerosene risk, and lasting longer. One of the greatest benefits, however, would be the elimination of fumes and smoke which would both improve the health of families and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
by
Ramchandra Pode
(Author is a Professor of Physics, Kyung Hee University, Seoul Campus. He is working on the development of WOLEDs for lighting and teaching a course on “Energy Efficient Lighting Sources.)
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