For a long time, corporations dealing with lighting have been forecasting a time when the standard bulbs will be LED, taking the place of the conventional incandescent lights, the compact fluorescents and the halogen lights.
For renowned global retailer, Ikea, that time is here. On Monday, the organization made it clear that with effect from Sept. 1, it will only stock the LED bulbs as part of its long-term sustainability objectives.
Addressing the lighting decision, the principal sustainability officer of the organization, Steve Howard said, “Some of these technologies have to be driven faster.” He added, “People are concerned increasingly about climate change”
Ikea endeavors to cut down its energy consumption and to embrace more renewable options, with the objective of generating an amount of renewable energy that is equal to the total energy it uses across the world by 2020. The organization said that as this year comes to an end, it anticipates that its investment in the renewable options in the US will generate four times the power it consumes in its local operations.
Compact fluorescents, which sell far more than the LEDs locally, were the first notable option to surface to substitute the traditional incandescents, which do not meet the government requirements for the efficiency of energy in the US and other countries. However, they constantly failed to offer satisfaction to the end-users who raised complaints about the poor quality of light from the older models. Compact fluorescents, which contain traces of mercury, warm up slowly and are difficult to dim.
LEDs are quite costly. In the recent past, an LED that was supposed to substitute a traditional incandescent went for $30. However, those that advocate the LEDs say they produce high quality light. Customers have started migrating to them because their prices have significantly dropped, partly because of governmental directives making the LEDs attract huge discounts. TCP, Phillips and General Electric and Wal-Mart sell LEDs for slightly less than $5.
According to Mr. Howard, Ikea had managed to work closely with suppliers and manufacturers to cut down the costs on the basis of scale making a two-pack of 40-watt LEDs go for $4.50 and the 60-watt bulbs capable of dimming will retail at $4.50 each. The company said that a 75-watt which is also capable of dimming, will retail at $11.
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