Our products affect the environment in a variety of ways. Obviously, they are made in factories that have an environmental footprint, but they also have a significant impact during their use. At the end of their life, recycling becomes an important issue.
Product Life Cycle
A scientific methodology for looking at product life cycles analyzes the cumulated energy use of a product. Such an analysis of two common products for lighting the home reveals an extreme imbalance towards the 'use' phase.
Object of the comparison were a 100 W incandescent Bulb and a 15W Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL), over a life span of 15,000 hours. As a standard bulb only lasts 1,000 hours, the production energy for 15 bulbs was considered. The results are more than obvious: For both types of lamps, the cumulated production energy accounted for less than 1% of the total energy use. While the values differ for individual products depending on their wattage and life time, the general statement remains the same: The energy used by our lighting products is their most important environmental aspect, making luminous efficacy one of the most important sustainability indicators of our lamps.
