Energy-saving Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) could help meet demand for wireless communications without affecting the quality of light or environmental benefits they deliver, new research funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has shown.

Although it has long been known that LEDs can be ‘piggy-backed’ to transmit data to and from mobiles, tablets, sensors and other devices, questions have surrounded the ability to do this without affecting LEDs’ core capabilities or the money-saving and ‘green’ benefits that make them so popular.

Preserving the quality of lighting is, in particular, a vital consideration as it can have a major effect on the physical and mental well-being of people in both their homes and their workplaces. LEDs have secured a huge increase in their share of the worldwide lighting market in recent years, as well as being used extensively in TV and other displays. 

Dr Wasiu Popoola of the University of Edinburgh, who led the research, says these concerns have held back the more widespread adoption of Light Fidelity, or LiFi, which uses household LEDs to enable data transfer. These findings help eliminate key hurdles to using LEDs to help satisfy the increasing global thirst for wireless communications.     

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