Performance and Environmental Impacts Review of Li-Fi and Wi-Fi Technologies

Abstract

Nowadays, internet connectivity is one of the staple things in human lifestyle, especially for those who live in cities. There are a lot of ways to connect to the internet, and one of them is using Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) connection. Wi-Fi connection is seen as the most reliable connection, until Li-Fi (Light Fidelity) technology is coined in 2011. Li-Fi uses visible light as data transfer medium instead of radio frequency (RF) signal used by Wi-Fi. Theoretically, Li-Fi is able to reach hundred times of Wi-Fi connection speed due to their use of light as data transfer medium. Li-Fi is also expected as a solution to environmental problems caused by Wi-Fi. The RF signal used by Wi-Fi can cause some environmental problems such as growth inhibition and diseases to organisms including humans. The visible light used by Li-Fi is expected to cause minimal effects to the environment, as Li-Fi uses common LED light bulbs which are used as home lighting apparatus. Li-Fi is commonly seen as a ‘greener’ technology compared to Wi-Fi. In this review, the performance and environmental impacts of both Wi-Fi and Li-Fi are analysed to determine whether Li-Fi is really capable to be a ‘greener’ replacement to Wi-Fi technology

Integration of LiFi, BPL, and Fiber Optic Technologies in Smart Grid Backbone Networks: A Proposal for Exploiting the LiFi LED Street Lighting Networks of Power Utilities and Smart Cities

“…Indeed, the home ecosystem and indoor IoT activities may drive the adoption of indoor LiFi where indoor LiFi can use invisible infrared light, so it works even in the dark; (x) Smarter Grid [18][19][20]25,42]: Apart from illumination, power utilities can become telecommunications providers by exploiting energy-efficient LiFi LED illumination systems for broadband access. The ubiquity of LED lighting in urban environments and roads with the power lines could be a strong complementary wireless technology to WiFi/Ethernet coexistence; (xi) Sustainable Green Smart Cities [50,53,59]: One of the key reasons for the popularity of LED technology is its energy efficiency; LED lamps consume less than 25% of the energy consumed by vintage fluorescent tubes while they offer higher lifespans. Apart from the lower consumption and improved security of LiFi networks, minimal effects on the environment can be observed when LiFi networks are deployed; as LiFi exploits the light spectrum and common household/office equipment, it is suitable for future smart cities and green cities.…”

The Applications, Challenges and Future of LiFi

“…The more data is transferred the less LED is in on state which results in further decreases in power consumption [37]. Researchers in [38], argues that Li-Fi not only consume less power in comparison with Wi-Fi, but also offers improved security, better range, and minimal effects on environment. As Li-Fi uses light spectrum and common household and office equipment for communication, it is suitable for future smart cities and green cities.…”

“…As Li-Fi uses light spectrum and common household and office equipment for communication, it is suitable for future smart cities and green cities. In larger perspective Li-Fi can contribute in decreasing the use of fossil fuels as it is about 24 times betters in performance and energy consumption ratio [38].…”

Visible Light Fidelity Technology: Survey

“…The mixture related to LEDs of many colors, like red, green, and blue, might be utilized for the alteration of the frequency of light. The benefits of making such alterations were the tools that (hypothetically) ensuring a bit rate of approximately 10 gigabits for each second, indicating that an individual might simply download excellent quality video or a film of approximately 30 seconds [35] [36].…”