LED Projects and Economic Test Cases in Europe

Abstract

Solid-State Lighting (SSL) is a fast evolving, promising energy-efficient technology, offering a wide range of potential uses. The article presents the status of the existing light emitting diode (LED) pilot actions in Europe, analyzing 106 LED test cases from 17 European countries. Projects from the public and commercial sectors form the focus of this article, with special attention devoted to the economics of LED projects – particularly in terms of energy savings. The results of the test cases demonstrate wide variation. Installations offer energy savings of 59% on average (savings range from 10% to more than 90%). In many applications, LEDs are competitive (with payback time ranging from two to 10 years), yet a large number of projects are still in the trial phase. From the test cases reviewed, the most successful applications are, in terms of savings and economic considerations, replacement of both (1) incandescent light bulbs in traffic light systems, and (2) halogen spotlights in indoor applications. The LED projects bring many co-benefits, including lower maintenance costs, improved lighting characteristics, or improved ambience. Some challenges remain to be addressed, such as to improve the quality characteristics of LEDs and the quality of information and data provided by manufacturers/suppliers, and optimality of LED technology for existing street lighting systems.

Keywords:

• Light emitting diodes (LEDs)
• Energy-efficient lighting
• Solid-state lighting (SSL)
• Public sector
• Commercial sector

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the respondents who kindly provided details on LED test cases as well as those who provided further contacts. This work was done in the context of the European Commission study “Preparing for the wide deployment of Solid State Lighting (SSL) in Europe” (SMART 2011/0069) in cooperation with the European Commission’s Photonic Unit (DG Information Society and Media).

Notes

¹ For more information on other energy efficient lighting technologies that are not analyzed in the article, see, for instance, Yang and Hsiao (2006) for high-pressure sodium lamps, or Teng (2013) for fluorescent lamps.

² Methods of economic calculations at lighting installations are described in detail in, for instance, Li et al. (2009).

³ The GreenLight Programme is an on-going voluntary programme whereby private and public organizations commit toward the European Commission to reducing their lighting energy use, thus reducing polluting emissions. GreenLight was launched in February 2000.

⁴ City of Koenigsfeld, City of Tilburg, Municipality of Piombino, Delhaize Belgium, Gemeinde Diex, Gemeinde St. Georgen, Hamburg Streetlights, Intesa SanPaolo, Nyborg Street lights and Nyborg gas stations, Unibail-Rodamco, City of Utrecht, Stadt Villingen Schwenningen, Vossloh-Schwabe Optoelectronic GmbH & Co. KG.

⁵ The difference in street and road lighting, as perceived in the projects, is in the level of traffic, where streets evoke residential areas or areas with less traffic (and consequently lower luminance needs). In this sense, street light projects largely prevail in the sample.

⁶ Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) is a proven and cost-efficient instrument for tapping existing energy saving potentials in the buildings sector. EPC is a contractual arrangement between the beneficiary and the provider of an energy-efficiency improvement measure, according to which the payment for the investment made by the provider is in relation to a contractually agreed level of energy efficiency improvement or other agreed energy performance criterion such as financial savings (European Commission 2011a).

⁷ The costs include dismantling of old luminaires, installation, use, maintenance, and end-of-life. The purchase price may have been higher than average due to the size of the installation – only four pieces of luminaires.