the energy consumption of the sector could have a significant impact on electricity demand

Lighting is one of those facets of modern life that we rather take for granted, but it is a huge consumer of electricity and LED lights consume a fraction compared to traditional incandescent lights or even fluorescent lights, which are themselves capable of up to 75% savings in power over incandescent.

Lighting accounts for 19 percent of global electricity consumption, so changes that slash the energy consumption of the sector could have a significant impact on electricity demand.

One factor holding back earlier adoption has been price. Although LED lights can last up to 50 times longer than an incandescent bulb, upfront costs have been prohibitive, so far. As production capacity rapidly rises and the rare earth metals yttrium, europium and terbium have fallen in price, the cost of manufacture has come down, speeding uptake.

According to Tasman Metals, a mining company in the sector, LEDs present many advantages over both incandescent and compact fluorescent light sources, including lower energy consumption, longer life, improved robustness, smaller size, faster switching, and greater durability and reliability.