# Lighting and displays

Turning electricity into light, from LEDs and lasers to screens.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lighting/

Conversion and use · Conversion devices · No. 106

- Conversion and use
 Conversion and use · Conversion devices · Foundation · Energy

An average LED gives five times the light of a halogen bulb per watt, yet still reaches only half of physics' limit.

Chart: Illustration: Lighting and displays

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Inside a white LED, electrons and holes meet in a thin indium gallium nitride layer and release blue light; a phosphor turns part of it yellow and red. Better LEDs already turn over 60% of their electricity into light.

##### Three things to know

1. Lighting's share of world electricity has fallen from about 19% in 2000 to about 12% in 2025, mostly thanks to LEDs.
2. A plain incandescent bulb manages about 16 lumens per watt; an average LED sold today gives about 100, and the best about 230.
3. OLED screens light each pixel themselves, so black pixels draw no power; Samsung Display ships 54.3% of large OLED panels (2025 forecast).

##### The journey

1. 1 **Mains power**Alternating current enters the lamp
2. 2 **Driver**Converts it to low-voltage direct current
3. 3 **LED chip**Indium gallium nitride emits blue light
4. 4 **Phosphor**Shifts part of the blue to white
5. 5 **Eye or screen**Lumens light rooms, streets and pixels

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lighting/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lighting/correlation/index.md)
- [Science and limits](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lighting/science/index.md)
- [Value chain](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lighting/valuechain/index.md)
- [Unit economics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lighting/economics/index.md)
- [Engineering methods](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lighting/methods/index.md)
- [Equipment and suppliers](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lighting/equipment/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lighting/links/index.md)