As communications giant AT&T updated its iconic globe logo over the last few years, it wasn’t just refining the design — it was on the path to eliminating more than 3,500 metric tons of C02 annually. In the rebranding project, AT&T replaced 7,000 signs on more than 6,500 office buildings and retail locations — switching to GE’s energy-efficient LED lighting system in the process. The new lighting is expected to save more than 5.8 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year, which is equivalent to planting more than 950 acres of trees. Importantly, it demonstrates the kind of impact that replacing high-voltage neon and less-efficient florescent lighting with LEDs can have when rolled out on a large, commercial scale.


Good call: AT&T used GE’s Tetra LED lighting system, which is part of GE’s ecomagination portfolio.

Unlike incandescent lights, which heat a filament and are relatively inefficient because they give off so much heat, LEDs create light when electricity makes electrons move from one energy state to another. And unlike lamps that can shatter, LED’s have no filament to break and are highly resistant to shock and vibration.

In total, approximately 2.6 million GE LEDs — which are up to 80 percent more energy efficient than commonly used neon — replaced AT&T’s neon and fluorescent lights.

For businesses such as AT&T, high-rise backlit signage can be expensive to maintain because the signs are usually mounted so high that large cranes or helicopters are needed for maintenance and repairs. The 50,000-hour rated life of GE’s system eclipses the life of existing fluorescent systems by more than three years — and virtually eliminates the problem of burned out signs.

* Read the announcement
* Take L.E.D. 101 on GE’s website
* Learn more about GE’s Lumination subsidiary
* Read about GE’s paper-thin OLED’s
* Learn about the differences between incandescent, CFL and LED lights