Excellent article in NYTimes -
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/science/earth/30degrees.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&th&emc=th

“In shifting to LED lighting, the palace is part of a small but fast-growing trend that is redefining the century-old conception of lighting, replacing energy-wasting disposable bulbs with efficient fixtures that are often semi-permanent, like those used in plumbing.

Studies suggest that a complete conversion to the lights could decrease carbon dioxide emissions from electric power use for lighting by up to 50 percent in just over 20 years; in the United States, lighting accounts for about 6 percent of all energy use. A recent report by McKinsey & Company cited conversion to LED lighting as potentially the most cost effective of a number of simple approaches to tackling global warming using existing technology.”

It always excites me to see environmental tech make it from the drawing board / university laboratory to mainstream tech. In the article, they describe how Buckingham Palace was outfitted with these new LED lights. The palace is so full of gold, and “gold tends to look silver if not lit properly”. It’s wild that a scientist has manipulated certain LEDs just to enhance the look of British (formerly Indian!) gold.