There is a quick write up on some DOE testing on LED vs CF vs incandescent lighting. They evaluated everything from the life cycle of the product; manufacturing, transportation, use, and disposal. There is some very interesting info. I haven't read the full DOE reports. They do appear to be fairly lengthy.
LED vs. CF vs. Incandescent | Home Power Magazine
Here are some interesting tid bits:
Quote:
According to the analysis, the “use” phase of incandescent, CF, and LED lamps is the most energy-intensive portion, accounting for approximately 90% of a lamp’s total life-cycle energy. The manufacturing and transport phases follow, respectively—with energy use due to transportation representing less than 1% of life-cycle energy for all lamp types.
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By 2015, if LED lamps meet performance targets, their life-cycle energy use is expected to decrease by approximately 50%, which will give them a big efficiency gain over both CF and incandescent lamps.
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By 2030, the DOE forecasts that LED lighting will represent 74% of lumen-hour sales in the U.S. general illumination market. From 2010 to 2030, the cumulative energy savings is estimated to be 2,700 terawatt-hours, which at 2010 energy prices and electricity-generation-mix conditions represents approximately $250 billion in savings and a greenhouse-gas emission reduction of roughly 1,800 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
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The environmental impact of the incandescent lamp’s energy use were markedly more significant than for CF and LED lamps because of its low efficiency. The CF lamp is slightly more harmful than the 2012 LED lamp against all but one criterion: hazardous waste sent to the landfill. The energy and environmental impact of the manufacturing of the aluminum heat sink used in LEDs causes the impacts to be slightly greater for the LED than for the CF. The study notes that heat sinks should diminish in size for succeeding generations of LED lamps as efficiency gains are made. Environmental impacts of a 2017 LED, for example, are predicted to be about 50% lower than the 2012 LED and 70% lower than the CF.
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