Research

On behalf of DOE’s SSL Program, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is planning to conduct a study examining dirt depreciation and other optical changes occurring in LED street or area lights over long-term periods of performance, potentially approaching their full life cycles. For the study, PNNL seeks LED street or area lights that, ideally, are nearing the end of their anticipated life; however, any luminaire with more than 10,000 cumulative hours of operation will be considered.

A new University of Exeter study found that attaching LED lights to gillnets used in commercial fishing can reduce the number of seabirds accidentally caught and killed by more than 85 percent.

In April 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released its final GATEWAY report documenting the performance of LED luminaires in a high-temperature outdoor lighting environment over four years. DOE’s GATEWAY program, which evaluates projects demonstrating LED capability, studied the results of a retrofit of quartz metal halide area lighting along a 7.2-mile stretch in the Yuma, Arizona Border Patrol Area between the U.S. and Mexico. Temperatures in this area can top 100 degrees Fahrenheit at sunset.

A 2017 German study found an alarming reduction in flying insect populations, attributing it partially to changes of climate and habitat. More recently, scientists from the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries have discovered that regions that have experienced a sharp decline in flying insects also have high levels of light pollution.

Researchers at Michigan State University studied the brains of rodents after exposing them to dim and bright light for a month. They found that consistent exposure to dim or bright light affected their brains differently.

The University of Toledo recently published the results of a study finding that blue light transforms vital molecules in the eye’s retina into cell killers, which can accelerate age-related macular degeneration. After substantial media coverage, the study’s senior author issued a clarification indicating that while certain wavelengths of light induces cell death, blue light from computer devices was not specifically studied.

Blue light may transform vital molecules in the eye’s retina into cell killers, accelerating the process of macular degeneration, according to new research at The University of Toledo.

In May 2018, the Lighting Research Center (LRC) released a cautionary report evaluating potential energy savings for LED horticultural lighting. The LRC found that energy savings is possible with LED, but one should evaluate products based on application efficiency rather than simple luminaire efficacy. In short, rather than generalizing about energy efficiency, the lesson seems to be that some LED products save energy compared to some traditional products, depending on the product and the application.

The 2015 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), produced by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), was recently updated to include additional energy end uses to include lighting and other equipment commonly found in homes.