Circular Economy Aspects Regarding LED Lighting Retrofit—from Case Studies to Vision

Abstract

The lighting industry is still a linear economy, despite the extensive use of light-emitting diode (LED) and the ban of incandescent/halogen lamps, claiming to be greener and more human centered. Light-emitting diode has changed radically the whole lighting industry with an increased luminaire efficacy more than four times higher compared with fluorescent lamps and their new opportunities for modern control systems. In the years to come, millions of fluorescent luminaires will become waste and will be replaced by LED luminaires. According to the Cost European Cooperation in Science & Technology Program the next step will be from sustainability to regenerative (enabling social and ecological systems to maintain a healthy state and to evolve) and to get there, circular economy is essential. In order to reduce even further the carbon footprint, the retrofit of existing luminaires and additional modern control systems should be the solution. Circular economy aspects for the lighting area were identified using the university adopted lighting retrofit solutions as case studies. For an LED retrofitted recessed luminaire 4 × T8 18 W studies showed a major installed power reduction, a good lighting distribution, but also revealed some problems: the retrofit luminaire has no certification, necessity of qualified personnel, high labor costs, etc. A major issue is the fact that luminaire design did not take into consideration circular economy aspects like the possibility of future retrofit solutions. It is important that from now on a different approach should be foreseen for the LED luminaire design. There is a section about vision, which plays an important role in preparing new luminaire generations with circular economy in mind.