A survey undertaken by the US Department of Energy studied the materials and energy resources used by LEDs to accurately gauge the full energy and environmental impact over their entire lifecycle. The study found that the lifecycle energy consumption of LEDs and compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) was comparable, using around one quarter of the energy of traditional incandescent lamps. However, an LED light had a considerably lower environmental impact than an incandescent, and slightly lower than a CFL. An LED lamp was found to be less harmful to the environment than a CFL except on hazardous waste landfill due to its aluminium heat sink. The report did state that the heat sink found on LED lamps is expected to decrease in size, with recycling efforts further improving its environmental impact.
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