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Making energy production greener has been a major issue for many years, going back to events like the Rio Earth summit in 1992. But while the UK and many other countries have slashed carbon emissions by almost eliminating coal, other fossil fuels still play a major role in energy production.
Even electric lighting relies heavily on this, as over 40 per cent of Britain’s electricity is generated by burning gas. This is why higher gas prices affect electricity too, a major issue over the past year as the wholesale price of gas has soared due to sanctions on Russia, feeding through to domestic and business energy bills.
The geopolitical issues of relying too much on Russian gas have added to existing environmental concerns, giving further impetus to the transition to greener energy. In the UK case, the latest expression of this in policy terms came at the end of March with the new Net Zero Strategy.
A wide-ranging programme of investment is planned in low and zero-carbon energy, announced by energy secretary Grant Shapps.
Key elements include expanding renewable energy sources such as offshore wind, solar power, ground source heat pumps (which will gradually replace gas boilers) and nuclear, although the last is unpopular with environmentalists concerned about radioactive waste.
However, just as important as finding cleaner ways to generate electricity is the more efficient use of it. If homes, offices and public buildings can be powered using less electricity, that alone will mean less gas or coal will need to be burned to produce it.
In addition, this will keep bills down, which is good news at any time and even more so when they have been rising so dramatically.
LED lighting is one of the very best ways to do this. The reason lies in the way the diodes convert electrical energy into light, which they do at a 95 per cent conversion rate, leaving just five per cent lost as heat.
This is in contrast to incandescent bulbs, which were 80 per cent less efficient at turning electricity into light. A key reason was that they relied on heating up the filament until it glowed, producing lots of light but also plenty of heat.
There is a further environmental concern: LED lighting may last significantly longer but they still lead to huge numbers of bulbs requiring disposal. It is not just that nobody will ever tell a joke about how many engineers it takes to change an LED light; there is still an environmental consequence.
Better, therefore, to fit LED lighting where the proprietary LED or chip on board can be changed when it finally fails. BB Light focuses on producing this type of LED lighting solution often referred to as ZAGA compliant. In other words, it is possible to renew the LED only without throwing away the whole lighting unit.
None of this is to say the government’s new energy strategy does not have any focus on energy efficiency; it includes a new scheme to provide better insulation to the 300,000 least energy efficient homes in the country.
Nonetheless, while the government can act in various ways, there are many other ways your business, organisation or home can contribute, simply by switching to long-lasting LED Lighting and avoiding the use of LED bulbs.
You will enjoy the benefits of excellent lighting and much lower energy bills and the lack of significant replacement costs for bulbs. You will also be doing your bit to help the planet.