Comparative LCA between conventional luminaires and a LED luminaire with a prediction on optimisation of environmental impacts

Abstract

Excessive usage of public lighting systems creates considerable environmental impacts.

Impacts before using public lighting, such as carbon dioxide emissions and the depletion of resources, are essentially due to the production of electric energy that is necessary for power supply, as well as transportation and distribution.

The manufacture of the components of a public lighting system also constitutes a life cycle, which creates emissions that have significant impacts on the environment.

After the use of a public lighting system, the strain regarding the management of end-of-life waste of light fixtures arises. Waste such as glass, plastics, metallic waste, as well as lamps of which certain types contain mercury, sodium, and other substances that are more or less harmful.

In addition to the impacts mentioned above, the direct fallouts of exploiting lighting fixtures impact fauna and flora species as well as human health under the effect of artificial light emitted throughout the night.

The present articles aims, according to the approach during the life cycle assessment (LCA), to identify which of the existing technologies can make public lighting a factor of comfort, security, wellbeing on one hand, and offer optimal performances on the environmental, energetic, and economic aspects, thus reducing the risks threatening biodiversity and the equilibrium of ecosystems.

The retained solution must converge towards an “echo-lighting” as well as towards a “smart lighting” which would answer major worries linked to the deployment and irrational use of conventional public lighting, which is energy-intensive and a generator of potential environmental damages. Smart Lighting consists of guaranteeing a dynamic operation of lights through emerging technologies, which would ensure a supply of artificial light based on the existing natural light, with the possibility of taking into account the presence of users (vehicle, pedestrian, etc) or the lack thereof, as well as the automatic adaptation of light intensity to normative demand and needs.