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Idemitsu Kosan Co will adopt light-emitting diodes in place of fluorescent lamps for store signs and price boards at all of its 4,800 gas stations in order to cut costs and carbon dioxide emissions.
Initially, the major oil distributor will make the change at 1,400 service stations by March 2009. The LED introduction at other gas stations will be finished in three to five years, company officials said. LEDs consume less power than fluorescent lamps.
Idemitsu estimates that the introduction of LEDs will reduce its annual CO2 emissions by 1,200 tons, while electricity and other costs are projected to decrease 1.6 billion yen in five years.
The company is also considering adopting LEDs for all lighting equipment used inside and outside of its gas stations.
© JCN
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DeepAir65
does that estimate include the CO2 emissions to creat the LED's? I don't know if they take more or less than fluorescent tubes - just curious.
Also the longevity and disposability.
As I said - just curious. I suspect that it is just on power to use alone. With other factors LED's could be better or worse than predicted for the environment
Zen_Builder
I would assume that this and most CO2 estimates are only based on actual usage.
Look at the Miev Electric Car, yeah zero Co2 emission while driving. But refueling requires Electricity which produces Co2 during its generation.
Producing the Car and keeping/maintaining it running relies heavily on petroleum based products.
Back to Leds yes they consume less power but are made from plastics which are a petroleum product. And their usage might be benefitial and time/cost saving as petroleum products once where.
Here is a link petroleum products: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_product
timeon
DeepAir, the process for manufacturing LEDs is rather environmental friendly and relatively low cost. They don't say, but I assume they refer to the inorganic LEDs, which also have long life time. I would prefer OLEDs, but we have to wait for a little while. the CO2 issue is just for advertising, of course nothing happens just by changing some lights. as long as you have an oil industry and all plastics around us come from oil, and energy issue still unsolved
shayouzoku
Japan does produce a large amount of its electricity from nuclear power, which is very CO2-friendly. Even natural gas is more efficient on a CO2-emission basis than coal or petroleum. Unfortunately Japan still produces a lot of energy from petroleum, but hopefully the high prices will help move more towards nuclear or renewable resources.
sageb1
Nuclear power is not nature friendly though.
presto345
Each advantage has its disadvantage I was once told.
onlineparasite
DeepAir65 :
You might have a point that they did not publicize the CO2 produced during manufacture or that they did not include it in the above figures, but in my opinion those can be considered as fixed costs and are negligible in the long run.
PepinGalarga
LED's is already an outdated technology. There's many new ideas out there already.