“Enlightened policy decisions may be necessary to partner with the technologies to have big impacts.”

It seems that scientists are concerned that we proles may take advantage of LED technology to have more lights on longer.

This is because, according to the scientists’ research, people are likely to use much more lighting as soon as this becomes practical. The greater scope for cheap illumination offered by LEDs will simply mean that people have more lights and leave them on for longer

“Presented with the availability of cheaper light, humans may use more of it, as has happened over recent centuries with remarkable consistency following other lighting innovations,” says Jeff Tsao of the Sandia National Laboratory. “That is, rather than functioning as an instrument of decreased energy use, LEDs may be instead the next step in increasing human productivity and quality of life.”

Yeah, that increased productivity and quality of life–we have to guard against that at all costs. Get ready for The Lumen Laws, coming soon to a nascent police state near you.