You hear a lot today about reducing your carbon footprint, but do you know how to reduce it? We continue to learn more about the effect carbon emissions has on our environment. If you have concerns about greenhouse gas, the LED One Distribution team has some advice to help you understand the benefits of using LED lighting for reducing your carbon footprint.
What Is ‘Your Carbon Footprint?’
There are actually two different ways to evaluate your carbon footprint.
- A primary carbon footprint measures CO2 emissions directly from an activity, organizations, and businesses.
- A secondary carbon footprint measures the CO2 emissions indirectly. It includes calculating emissions throughout the life the product is used. This could include things such as mining raw materials to create the initial product. It could also include the use of energy used by the product over time, and its eventual reuse or disposal.
Your carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases you use or produce. This includes CO2, methane, or ozone production. The amount of these gases make up your total carbon footprint. Understanding the impact of your choices enables you to learn how to reduce your carbon footprint.
The Three R’s
Some of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint? Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle are the best ways to reduce the creation of greenhouse gases. We can make these goals by driving less or carpooling and flying less. We can also use energy-saving appliances and LED lighting at work and at home.
We all look for ways to make responsible choices. Even small choices made can have a considerable impact on our environment and can help reduce emissions globally.
Reducing Your Carbon Footprint By Saving Electricity
Half of the carbon emissions created are generated from the production of electricity. Lighting alone creates 17% of carbon emissions. Every 1KW of electricity generates 830 grams of carbon equivalents. A 2017 study showed LED lighting reduced carbon emissions by 570 million tons. That is the equivalent of shutting down 162 coal-fired power plants!
Every time you conserve energy you are reducing your carbon footprint. You can reduce your energy usage with LED lighting, and energy-saving appliances. Adding movement sensors so lighting is only on when needed can help even more. The choices you make can make a significant difference!
Replacing Your Incandescent Lights With LED Lights
There are easy ways to use LED lighting to reduce your carbon footprint. Replacing your incandescent light bulbs with LED light bulbs is one way. A standard incandescent light burns through 50 watts of electricity per hour. A LED light bulb uses only 6 watts per hour. Replacing an incandescent bulb with an LED bulb can save 6 tons of household emissions per year. Saving 6 tons of carbon emissions is the same as reducing your gas consumption by 700 gallons. That is quite a savings.
The long life of an LED light bulb reduces your carbon footprint even further. Each LED light bulb will provide approximately 50,000 hours of service. That is a life expectancy of 10 years of service. Compare that to an incandescent bulb with an average life expectancy of 1,200 hours.
While an LED costs more initially, pricing has come down as the technology has improved. Comparing incandescent light bulb replacement frequency makes LED bulbs look pretty economical.
Can I Use Our Existing Lighting Fixtures With LED Bulbs?
You sure can! Retrofitting your existing fixtures from fluorescent bulbs to LED bulbs is possible. You’ll need to change the bulbs and also the ballast. If you are a business owner and use HID or HPS lights conversion kits are available to convert them to LED.
Give Us A Call
If you have any questions about the cost-saving and environmental benefits of using LED bulbs give the LED One Distribution team a call. We are always available to help you in reducing your carbon footprint and look forward to hearing from you.