The recent trend in light emitting diode or LED lighting applications and their claimed energy saving capabilities together with their overall attractiveness has us all convinced that they really are a greener alternative to the compact fluorescent lights or CFL. As convincing as it seems, the actual energy saving capabilities of LEDs are yet to be proven scientifically or at the least, on an empirical level when compared to CFLs. This paper tackles the issue with the use of a solar cell by evaluating the photovoltaic current and voltage generated by the solar cell subjected to each lighting system. Graphical representations are drawn and a conclusion is then reached based on the amount of power generation in the solar cells in order to determine the energy saving capabilities of each lighting system and its efficiency. From the result, it has been found that an LED is 3.7 times more power efficient than a CFL based light source of equal wattage.
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