Efficiency, quality, and environmental impacts : a comparative study of residential artificial lighting

The recent ban on conventional incandescent lamps for residential use led Brazilian consumers to choose from three main lighting technologies: incandescent halogen, CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp), and LED (Light Emitting Diode). Despite the fact that their electrical performances are well known, there are still some technical features to be discussed and compared. Therefore, this paper tends to show a comparative study of three low-cost lighting technologies. Laboratorial apparatus were used to measure electricity quality, electrical performance and photometric indicators. With the aid of the lumen method, the number of lamps needed to light a hypothetical apartment was evaluated. The consequent costs and environmental impacts were evaluated as well. This study finds out that LED lamps are clearly the best lighting option, considering the overall comparisons of the variables mentioned above. However, the tested LED lamp present some disadvantages as compared with the others, such as power factor, harmonic introduction and environmental impacts in manufacturing phase. Also, it was noted that there are some inconsistencies between measured lighting data and information given by manufacturers. Among the evaluated technologies, the incandescent lamp shows more measured values that are approximately the same as the values indicated by the manufacturer.