LED lamp life cycle assessment shows that LED lamps have excellent environmental performance

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors publishes complete Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) results for LED lamps, demonstrating their excellent environmental performance

OSRAM's Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study on LED lamps shows that the latest generation of LED lamps performs well in terms of environmental protection and has received very high scores. The study has conducted an in-depth and detailed analysis of the entire life cycle of LED lamps, that is, the energy and raw materials consumed in the production, use and disposal of LED lamps and the impact on the environment in this process. The results show that today's LED lamps have reached the LCA score of compact fluorescent lamps and are far superior to traditional incandescent lamps.

To evaluate LED lamps and study their actual consumption of energy and resources, it is not enough to consider only the energy consumption during use. The purpose of the LCA implemented by OSRAM Opto Semiconductors is to analyze the environmental impact of LED lamps throughout their entire life cycle and compare them with compact fluorescent lamps and incandescent lamps. The assessment determined the relevant material and energy supply for all components and production processes of LED lamps. In addition to a detailed analysis of the various production stages such as LED chips and housings, all necessary transportation links were also studied. In addition to the direct input of raw materials, energy inputs, materials and emissions related to resource recovery are also recorded. The assessment results include not only conclusions on resource consumption and primary energy consumption, but also include assessment results in terms of acidification, eutrophication, greenhouse effect, ozone layer depletion and toxicity.

The most important factor is that LEDs are very efficient

The first LCA carried out by OSRAM Opto Semiconductors shows that LED lamps are still a good alternative to incandescent lamps, even after taking cumulative energy input and environmental factors into account.

These very different lamps are often compared by wattage. Traditional filament lamps lag far behind LEDs; for example, if you replace a 40-W incandescent bulb with an 8-W compact fluorescent or 8-W LED, you save 80% of the energy used.

To ensure comparability of the LCA results, a lifetime of 25,000 hours was used as a reference. The latest generation of LED lamps (Parathom Classic A55 with Golden DRAGON Plus LED) achieves this level, but for incandescent or fluorescent lamps, you would need 25 incandescent lamps with a lifetime of 1,000 hours (OSRAM Classic A 40 W) or 2.5 fluorescent lamps with a lifetime of 10,000 hours (Dulux Superstar Classic A 8 W) to be comparable.

More than 98% of energy used to generate light

The study was conducted in collaboration with experts from Siemens Corporate Technology, Centre for Eco Innovations. The results show that LED lamps, like compact fluorescent lamps, use more than 98% of their energy to generate light, with less than 2% used in production, dispelling concerns that LED production may be particularly energy-intensive. With primary energy consumption of around 3,300 kWh for incandescent lamps and less than 700 kWh for LED lamps, LED lamps are clearly more efficient than conventional incandescent lamps. In addition, the assessment shows that LED lamps have a consistently better environmental impact than incandescent lamps over their entire life cycle.

As LED luminous efficacy continues to improve, LED lamps will be able to obtain better LCA scores in the future. Currently, three independent experts are verifying the results of this assessment within OSRAM. A summary of the results of this assessment will be published online in October.

Image source: OSRAM

LEDs not only have forward-looking energy efficiency, but their entire life cycle assessment results also show that LED lamps are one of the most environmentally friendly lighting products.