Smart lamps may use more energy

A new post on the Energy Rating website suggests efficiency gains from a switch to smart lamps may be compromised by the standby power they consume. The article is based on initial findings from a study conducted by the International Energy Agency’s 4E SSL Annex on lamps used in residential environments.

The study says that the potential gains from the family of products, which combines wireless communication, intelligent controls and LEDs to offer advanced functionality such as dimming, colour tuning, remote control, and motion- and daylight-sensing capability, may be outweighed by a higher level of power consumption. The study is being used to better understand energy performance to to provide policy guidance for governments.

“Policymakers who are looking at lighting products are concerned that these ‘smart’ lamps may end up creating new, high levels of standby power consumption in households,” said Dr Peter Bennich, chairman of the SSL Annex’s Management Committee and representative of the Swedish Energy Agency (one of the Annex’s member countries).

“We are concerned that these ‘smart’ features will offset some of the energy efficiency gains from switching to LED technology,” Bennich said.

The study conducted tests on a number of LED light sources and found that, in some cases, standby power draw can even be higher than when the lamp itself is on. The committee suggests that scenario is not uncommon and that manufacturers of other technology have historically initially focused on new features, rather than the standby power that would be drawn as a result of implementing those features.

The SSL Annex says that when the lamp is not emitting light the power is still connected, as the lamp switches to a standby mode waiting for a signal from the end user to switch on again. In commercial buildings, the lamps may also serve as part of a local wireless network. This means that the lamps are consuming energy even when they are not emitting light; and the standby power consumption for domestic products varies widely, from 0.15 to 2.70 W — indicating that design improvements or shift of protocol to reduce standing losses are possible.

While the SSL Annex recognises the potential for smart lighting, it highlights additional barriers to widespread adoption including a lack of interoperability and cross-platform connectivity, which may unfairly tie a user to purchasing product from one vendor only.

You can download a full copy of the report and see more information by clicking this link.