Fernando Cancela discusses the energy savings of switching to LED lighting
Transcription of Espectador interview
[Click here for Spanish Transcription]
Journalist: When was Green Ray founded?
Fernando Cancela: Green Ray was founded two years ago because of a study that marked a radical change in LED technology that showed that the new technology could replace existing lighting technologies on a one to one basis. That was the breakout point when LED technology became a real player in the world lighting market.
J: What do you mean by saying “on a one to one basis?”
FC: On a one to one basis means that the performance of the LED technology allows you to change your existing lighting tubes for LED tubes while maintaining the same quantity and quality of light.
J: And that point was reached two years ago?
FC: Two years ago is when the lumens per watt exceeded 80 units.
P: What opportunities does the lighting market offer then?
FC: The lighting market is a little bit like the ideal market because if you consider that 100% of businesses, industries, and households use your product then you find yourself involved in a technological change on worldwide and massive scale. Therefore, in the search for a solution to replace two obsolete technologies, like the fluorescent and incandescent technologies, and to have a product that not only saves a lot but also has a better quality of light, is a fundamental tool for leading this change in technology.
J: Let’s go little by little. Before getting into the project that was presented yesterday here in Montevideo, before even digging into the advantages of LED technology, maybe the first thing would be to explain what it’s all about, right? This type of lighting is usually considered ecological because of its low consumption of energy as compared to traditional technology, really low consumption, 80% less, Right? Furthermore, LEDs stand out because of their long life, we’re talking about 50,000 hours here, but “what is it? What is LED technology?
FC: To define it plain and simple, an LED is a rock, similar to silicon, that glows when a certain voltage is applied to it. You can make the rock glow in different colors. This technology became the predominate player in the technological change in lighting in 1993 when Doctor Nakamura managed to take the blue light, apply a phosphorous bath to it and convert it into a full spectrum white light.
J: Then, we are talking about rocks?
FC: It’s a rock. That’s why it produces better light; it is a light in a solid state. It’s a light that doesn’t use filaments or gas excitation; it’s a light that allows for permanent uniformity over a long period of time.
J: I think that those who have had some contact with LED technology, above all, those who have seen it and have later on used it but haven’t yet internalized what it really is, identify LED technology with a group of little dots of light, right? What is all that about?
FC: Of course. Each rock has to be put in a glass and be given a phosphorous bath. Therefore, each yellow dot that you see is rock that has been bathed in phosphorous. This obtains what we call a Ray of lights, the combination of various LEDs. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. For example, our 120 tube has 288 LEDs, therefore, in this way we create an even light, a continuous light, and we regulate the heat. Afterwards we’ll talk about heat and how it is one of the major problems that affect LEDs.
J: Ok let’s talk with Andres and get into the advantages of LED technology, we have already mentioned some but it’s worth going further into. For example, you say “ok,” it’s efficient, much more efficient in terms of energy, it doesn’t need to be made of glass, it’s recyclable. These are some of the benefits. What other advantages are there?
FC: I would say that the number one advantage is that it’s the best lighting available today. The light, for example, that is shining on us right now is a light that flickers, a light that emits ultraviolet rays, a light that, if one of these tubes broke it would have enough mercury to contaminate 20,000 gallons of water. The first thing we should attack is the quality. We replace obsolete technology. Incandescent technology has been around for more than 100 years, fluorescent technology for 60 years and they both have reached a plateau in their performance where they can’t improve more than in small percentages. On the other hand the performance of LED technology has been increasing by 30% every 6 months.
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