High-quality LED lights that meet stringent safety controls are “the way forward” for residents who want to slash their electricity bills.This is the message from businessman Michael Burke who fears the Global House lighting scandal could have put people off the energy-saving lights.The business owner, who is passionate about the environment and sustainable development, has spoken out to reassure people that there’s “absolutely no need to avoid LED lights at all costs”.Mr Burke sells LED lights through his company thegreenhousebermuda and says they have “a multitude of benefits”.It comes after Public Works Minister Derrick Burgess, who is also Deputy Premier, ignored the advice of technical officers and gave the go-ahead for LED lamps to be installed at Global House about two years ago at a cost of about $100,000.Works and Engineering staff were last week called in to start to reverse Mr Burgess’ original decision by replacing the LED fixtures with fluorescent tube lights.The replacement of the LED lights came just four days after The Royal Gazette revealed they breached health and safety regulations, as well as building and electrical codes.Mr Burke said: “I am a little concerned that the information being read by the layman is that LED lights should be avoided at all costs. That’s not the case at all.“LED lights are the future, it’s going to happen if people like it or not. But you have to have a good product installed or it’s going to negatively affect the whole industry”.The issue was highlighted last week when The Royal Gazette published the details of a report by the Electrical Section of the Ministry of Works and Engineering pointing out a series of errors about the LED installation in 2009.The damning report stated that no proper feasibility study was carried out, technical officers had raised concerns in advance about poor lighting levels, the lights installed were not certified with a recognised electrical testing laboratory, and an electrical permit for the lights was not applied for.The LED lighting also prompted a series of complaints from the workers in the building who wrote to the Minister to say they were feeling unwell.But Mr Burke said it wasn’t the lights themselves that were dangerous, but rather that they did not have the necessary lumens.He said he had been into Global House and suspected the LED tubes were “of poor quality” as “they just weren’t bright enough to do the job”.Mr Burke said it could be best compared to reading in bed with only a low-wattage light bulb in a small bedside lamp.He said: “The LED product itself is not dangerous. The lack of light was the health issue.“The lighting was pretty poor, it was really dim and workers would have been expected to work under this.“This would have lead to eye-strain and then people would start to get headaches.“Over a time period of 18 months to two years, this could have caused some substantial health damage”.Mr Burke says LED lighting is “just taking off” in Bermuda but admits things are a little slow because of the downturn in the economy.He said most households and companies tended to change over just one or two lights from fluorescent to LED, as there was such a large cost involved.LED lights have successfully been installed in the car park at Miles Market, but Mr Burke believes Global House was the Island’s first large building to “go all LED”.He added that he hadn’t seen the LED lighting contract put out to tender as he would have been interested in applying for the work himself.However, Mr Burke was approached to replace an LED lamp in “a badly affected area” of Global House.He said he charged the standard price of about $75 to $85 to replace one 4ft LED tube within the Ministry of Works and Engineering in October last year.Mr Burke has been selling LED lighting for about two years as his company sells a range of sustainable products, including electric cars and bikes, rechargeable batteries and solar panels.His LED products are produced to the specified health and safety standards in Asia and sold by Californian company Green Ray.Each product comes with a five-year guarantee but usually lasts 12-16 years.He explained that LED lights were recyclable, didn’t contain radiation, toxic mercury or any hazardous materials, and eliminated maintenance costs of replacing bulbs and ballast.But Mr Burke said their main selling point was that they used a lot less wattage than fluorescent strips, which is how electricity bills are charged in Bermuda.Mr Burke, who also owns Blue Water Divers, said LED lighting reduced energy usage 20-22 percent in commercial buildings and 18-20 percent in homes.He said: “With LED lighting, you see the savings fast. It really is one of the quickest ways to save money when you are looking at the cost savings of a commercial building or home. This type of light really will reduce your energy load”.Mike Swan, director of Encon Bermuda, shared the sentiments of Mr Burke. He agrees that the particular product was to blame rather than LED lighting as a whole.A Government spokesman has confirmed that Mr Burgess “was motivated by the prospect of creating a more environmentally friendly Global House and by the prospect of creating enormous savings for Government.”He explained that the installation of the LED lighting in Global House took place in May 2009, but any breaches were being immediately rectified because of “the importance of the health and safety of all Government employees”.