It appears that fluorescent lighting technology has been given an official RIP year – 2027.
During the recent Minamata Convention on Mercury on Mercury Fifth Conference of Parties (COP5) in Geneva, Switzerland, delegates from nearly 150 countries agreed on a phaseout of fluorescent lighting completely across the globe by 2027.
The decision is expected to accelerate the global push to LEDs, which are measured to average 40 percent more energy efficient than fluorescents. Linear fluorescent lamps, a Yahoo! article says, are the largest contributor to lighting-based mercury pollution in the world, are commonly used in institutional and commercial settings.
By phasing out fluorescents completely by 2027, an energy organization predicts that U.S. facilities will save $1.13 trillion on electricity bills. The article also cites analysis that shows payback periods for LEDs have improved from 6.3 months to 2.4 months in less than a year.
Dave Lubach is executive editor of the facility market.
