Gov't aims to make all lighting LED-based by 2020

8 years? Why not now?

LED? And make people suffer from stunted wavelength related health issues? Not to mention that the most efficient 600lm LEDs still take the same energy than an equivalent CFL (which has less of the wavelength issue), yet cost four to five times as much, and do nothing to solve Japan's mercury abundance issue.

8 years? Why not now?

Are you a magician?

What benefits does LED have over other types?

What benefits does LED have over other types?

is designed to raise public awareness for replacing incandescent and fluorescent lighting with more energy efficient LED lighting to help avert energy shortages resulting from the shutdown of the majority of the country’s nuclear power plants.

http://www.designrecycleinc.com/led%20comp%20chart.html

That is a chart which gives a good example of the differences between incandescent and compact florescent lights. The differences are quite obvious.

So what about all the outdoor signage, lanterns and street lights?

are these bulbs the ones that take a few minutes to get bright and then are still dull compared to regular light bulbs?

If so cant see the point as will be installing double the lights just to see half as much. Terrible things for lighting.

are these bulbs the ones that take a few minutes to get bright and then are still dull compared to regular light bulbs?

No, they're not. Minimal search will tell you what a LED is. It's those tiny ones that are becoming ubiquitous, from tail lights in cars to flashlights.

One interesting aspect of LED lights that can be seen from Yabarus excellent link above is that in addition to the power consumption being close to one tenth of a traditional light bulb (or about half that of a CFL) . The heat output is only about one twentieth of a traditional light bulb ( or about on tenth of a CFL).

So not only does it save power, for a big building like an office it also reduces the heating from the lights which in it's turn can save on the air conditioning bill.

Also OLED (Organic LED, yes like in the phone displays ) Lighting is coming and I think it will be a game changer.

Today's tradional LED's still emit their light from a tiny spot. The light then has to be diffused, or you will get the effect of small blindingly bright spots, instead of a soft light.

With OLED it will be possible to produce thin sheet lights that can be shaped in multiple ways.

http://www.oled-info.com/oled-light http://www.oled-info.com/oled_devices/oled_lighting_device

The prices are still way out there, but that will change.

time to buy sharp and toshiba stocks

let the pork begin

I am slowly using the "eco-points" from when I bought my fridge and television to change all of the lights in my house to LEDs. I'm about half way there now and am really happy with them. They come on instantly, provide a soft, clear light and have lowered my power consumption. Their price is really coming down now, so the first ones I bought were a little too expensive. Oh well.

So what about all the outdoor signage, lanterns and street lights?

Hence 2020. Down here they are replacing all the national highway street lights with LED and they make a HUGE difference. More and more new cars as well that I have seen have them for their brake lights and they are much brighter and easier to be seen.

Please no! Used these before and they are horribly too bright. I prefer the traditional light bulb which is more mellow on the eyes and feels more homely. Unlike these LED lights which feel like a interrogation room.

@gogogo I agree. They should be able to do this in 2-3 years. Assuming they're theyre talking about govt buildings only.

OLED are actually much more expensive and much less efficient.

Japan could save much, much more power by two things:

Shift the time zone to +7 (or even +8)

Have pachinko parlors only able to turn lights at sunset, and machines must be off during peak times.

If you want more energy savings, mandate that shopping areas and government buildings increase the thermostat 2 degrees in summer and lower two degrees in winter. That would save a ton, and not just electricity either.

Looks like all lighting is going LED everywhere. I think these are low voltage lights so I guess transformers will be required as well. Perhaps this is where the added cost is?

@kariharuka I understand that you can get diffusers or the likes to provide softer lighting by changeing the wavelength

Are you a magician?

Granted, but 8 years!? How about 2?

LED lights generate a much smaller spectrum of light than incandescent light and of course sunlight.

Using LED lights will make you feel tired and lethargic all the time, and you'll get headaches.

zizhi, most machines in my area already turn off lights during the day and late at night. None of the pachinko places do.

Liberty, you can't get diffusers or anything for LED, it's scientifically impossible without slowing the wavelength of light, and that requires very fast motion (for broad spectrum, you might be able to add a piezo electric layer vibrating, but it will waste much more energy than high efficiency halogen bulbs, or for less pure light, you can add an LCD panel in front). What there are, is UV LEDs that then illuminate a phosphor screen in front of them. It's basically like an old tube TV, with less x-rays involved. Again, these are less efficient than even halogen bulbs.

zichi, try high frequency ballasts (20kHz+), they tend to produce better waveforms when used with mercury vapor CCFLs.

@nisegaijin, my thoughts exactly.

Just as it said, enviroment minister met with manufacturers to discuss how to sell this to the public. I'll believe this is for the public good when I first see a female prime minister in Japan. As usual, it's all about keeping the manufacturing industry afloat - not about anything else.

Right now the price for LED bulbs for standard base or A19 is too high but in 8 years we'll see another 4 generations of LEDs so the price will definitely come down and the performance will go up. Longevity is a major plus for LED bulbs so they'll outlast CFLs and another plus is they operate without mercury. Your home won't have to be temporarily evacuated and ventilated if you happen to drop one of them.

How about some sort if insentive you stingy bastards! What do they think? People will just do it out of national pride? I'll let the J-Gov in on a little secret, there is very little national pride left cos of the bunch of mullets running this country through a revolving door.

LED lights generate a much smaller spectrum of light than incandescent light and of course sunlight.

Using LED lights will make you feel tired and lethargic all the time, and you'll get headaches.

Is there some scientific evidence to back this up? Or is it just a "feeling".

Using LED lights will make you feel tired and lethargic all the time, and you'll get headaches.

Wow, interesting.I ralready trashed all LED lights in my house. I keep ones outdoor. You are right, it caused headaches to everyone here.

Most computer and TV screens are back-lit by LEDs. I wonder if they have the same effect of tiredness and lethargy.

@globalwatcher - where did you have all those LED lights? Are you maybe confusing them with low-wattage fluorescents??.Those were a lousy deal - never lasted as long as advertised and still a disposal problem.

I replaced all the lamps in my car with LEDs (except for headlights) and don't have to worry about draining the battery if I forget to turn them off.

LEDs are fairly new on the market and still only competitively priced for 20-30 watt equivalent bulbs. If you need broad spectrum illumination for your health, I suggest you leave your computer for a while and step into the sunlight.

I got a set of LED bulbs and they're awesome. I don't know about the health effects, but it could be true for a minority of people- but I definitely have noticed I get to sleep a lot better these days after ditching the compact fluorescent lights I had. However, I don't see overall how they're a hazard if you're absorbing enough natural light every day. Someone mentioned the harshness, but you can get the warm-glow ones that are still pretty cheap in Japan. The biggest bonus is they don't add extra heat on hot nights.

Wow, interesting.I ralready trashed all LED lights in my house. I keep ones outdoor. You are right, it caused headaches to everyone here.

I don't know about that either. I just know I prefer standard light bulbs, and fortunately, I have a large supply of them. Enough to last me for quite a few years.

zichi, there's also halogen bulbs if he ever runs out (by then they might have something better than LED, with less issues), they are cheaper than CFL in some places, and while they use more electricity, they are identical to incandescent bulbs and usually have better rendition at higher WB colors (5500K halogen bulbs are nearly identical to sunlight).

Until they start making quantum dot LEDs, I highly suggest that people stay away from them if you have small children or pets, as the rate for issues is higher while the eyes are still developing (and almost 100% for animals it seems, my dog will never go to areas with cheap CCFLs or where I shine an LED light)

The best way to save electricity used for lighting is to teach people to turn them off when they are not needed. Why do all shops, homes and offices need the lights on in the middle of the day?

wipeoutJun. 15, 2012 - 09:18PM JST : For an average person, it is much better to simply increase the room temperature two degrees in summer and lower it two degrees in winter. For every time you repeat it, you save just as much money and electricity as switching from incandescent bulbs to LED.

LED lighting has just started to look feasible in real case at the home, the office, outside and the factory because of technical innovations. Other than asking LED lighting manufacturers to help the government, they should make commitment to provide money to them to boost the technical innovation more to be more feasible. That would lead to further cost down and bright lighting. Cost and less lighted are downsides to LEDs. I'm using LED lights all the time but the level of light is not enough.