Brief History of Lighting

The history of lighting is quite detailed and long. Lighting systems and sources have actually come a long way. If you must understand the practical aspects of  LEDs and other lighting sources, it’s necessary you grab some details about their long history. All the lighting sources and systems in use today didn’t fall from above. Some individuals somewhere invested their time and energy in invention them. An attempt is made in this write-up to present a brief history of how the issue of lighting began in our world.

The very first practical step taken towards the invention of light was done in the 1880s by the famous scientist; Edison. He came up with the first incandescent light bulb. This was after several attempts. He kept thinking of creating something that will help people to enjoy life during the dark hours of the day. After several attempts, he finally succeeded in inventing the incandescent light. Thus, Edison is now well known as the father of light. The bulk of the lighting systems and sources we enjoy today emanated from the very first attempt he made in inventing light.

Edison’s incandescent light bulb became highly cherished in his time and afterwards.  Several scientists and inventors keep improving upon the invention. In the early 1950s, the fluorescent tubes came to the fore. They became very popular even till date. Several variations of light bulbs were also invented. LEDs were also invented and they actually became very popular in the early 2000s.

Now, the issue is what will the future look like? There have been progressive attempts by many inventors in the creation of light systems. Since Edison came up with the first incandescent light bulb, several variations of the same bulb have been made. Today, we have all manner of incandescent bulbs in diverse shapes and designs. Apart from this, fluorescent tubes, halogens, and many other lighting sources have been invented. They keep changing by the day. Their inventors keep looking for ways to make them look much better as the years roll by. Today, LEDs are in use all over place. From incandescent light, we moved to fluorescent tubes, halogens and then to LEDs. Many people are now asking what the future will look like.

In an attempt to answer the question on what the future will be for the lighting systems, Jeff Tsao who is a member of the Technical Staff in the famous Sandia National Labs came up with some research details in 2009. He traced the history of light from the use of candles to kerosene lamps and from the use of gas lighting to incandescent bulbs, fluorescent tubes and LEDs. He came up with some startling revelations. He opined that the world has actually spent over 0.72% of its GDP on lighting alone. Tsao says that if this trend continues in the near future, there are bound to be consequences that will surprise the world. One of the resultant effects is that lighting systems and sources are likely to become more useful and efficient. The use of light will also increase in leaps and bounds.

Tsao is also of the opinion that the invention of LEDs will also increase the efficiency of fluorescent tubes and other lighting systems. This will also improve the consumption of light in the world. More energy will also be saved since LEDs don’t consume much power like other lighting sources that were invented before them. The cost of electricity will also decrease while the total GDP percentage used on lighting will also decrease. 

Actually, the above conclusion presented by Tsao is really the scenario in our world today. There’s apparent decline in the cost of electricity worldwide. More efficient lighting systems have continued to be invented by many manufacturers. Many governments all over the world are now introducing measures to minimize the cost of energy invested in light. Some governments suggest people should be replacing incandescent bulbs with CFLs. For instance, if a 60W is replaced with 15W CFLs, 45W energy will be saved in the in the process.

Meanwhile, this idea of energy saving has not been widely realized by many users of light across the world. Some people don’t even know the energy difference in various lighting sources. Many also don’t know the energy concerns that involve the use of various kinds of lighting systems. In most cases, people desire to use light bulbs that are brighter for some reasons. They don’t care about the energy consumption involved. All they want is to enjoy the use of the best light bulb that will give them enough brightness.

In any case, the fact is that energy consumption will be highly reduced if people start using LEDs. If many people will take time to discover the rich benefits in the use of LEDs, more energy will be saved. LEDs are known for their efficiency and low power consumption. The cost of electricity is likely to reduce when LEDs are fully put into use. All over the world, governments have become interested in the regulation of light usage in their various countries. The major steps the government should take is to educate the masses on ways of reducing energy consumption. Scientists and manufacturers of quality LEDs and other lighting systems should be encouraged to educate the masses on the best lighting sources to use.  This will go a long way to making our world a better place to live in. More energy will be saved as the cost of electricity will also be reduced.

In all, the history of lighting is indeed a very long one. The attempt made above actually focused on the effects of lighting systems on our world. Attention is currently being focused on what the future will be especially with the introduction of LEDs. It’s becoming very clear by the day that LEDs have a lot to offer to the world. If we take time to discover more about the practical aspects of LEDs, our world will surely become a better place to live in.