ILUMINAÇÃO SUSTENTÁVEL: OS BENEFÍCIOS DO USO DA TECNOLOGIA LED NOS PROJETOS DE ILUMINAÇÃO.

Abstract

Artificial lighting is essential to modern living and presents a major challenge for the twenty-first century. Many problems associated with it have become major global concerns, not only because of the scarcity of natural resources it requires, but also because of the extent of the negative consequences arising from the segment. By means of an exploratory, participatory research, and a theoretical and documentary review, with emphasis on sustainable principles, it was seen that the problems caused by artificial lighting, in addition to energy consumption, also include people s health and well-being, changes in the natural cycle of animals, plants and insects, emission of greenhouse gases, pollution and contamination of the air, water and soil. Light Emitting Diodes (LED) has been presented to the market as an efficient and sustainable product to replace the different existing lamps, while promising to revolutionize lighting in general. This study set out to explore certain aspects involving the sphere of artificial lighting, to identify problems, point to solutions and analyze why LED is the most appropriate resource available today. The survey records the many benefits of LED as a solution to the different problems identified. It is a promising, commercially available technology which is likely to be a serious alternative to conventional technologies and will increase the energy efficiency of lighting systems. LED makes a major contribution to the artificial lighting sphere, but is not sufficient to make the segment sustainable. To become sustainable, social, economic, political and environmental aspects must be addressed.