Energy-efficient, green lamps are here to reduce consumption of electricity round the globe
saving electricity with energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps (cfls) can cost as little as one-tenth of the investment needed to build new power plants that produce the same amount of
energy, say scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (lbnl) in California, us.
In the us, where lighting in rural and urban areas accounts for upto a quarter of the electricity demand, cfls are available as twin- or quad-tube bulbs, often with an adaptor that allows them to screw into sockets designed for incandescent bulbs. Since cfls exhibit diffused beams, they are often best for desk lighting and other short-range uses. The us government has even spurred the use of cfls nationally through the 'Green Lights', an energy-efficiency programme of the us Environment Protection Agency (epa).
In India, the introduction of cfls has been delayed by the hard knocks endured by the Bombay Electric Lighting Largescale Experiment (belle). belle was proposed in the late '80s as a three-year project to promote cfls among Mumbai's residents. The main barriers to wider cfl use appeared to be lack of market incentives for local manufacturers, subsidies to utilities for power generation rather than improved efficiency, and the short time-frame in which cash-poor consumers are interested in future savings. The first 15-watt cfls, obtained with a loan from the us government, would cost about us $12 each and produce at least as much light as a 60 w incandescent lamp. But once they prove economically attractive,
the lamps would be made locally by Philips India.
In Mexico, the Proyecto de Uso Racional de Illuminacion en Mexico (ilumex) is showing how power utilities can slash their costs while cutting
down on air pollution and green house emission levels. This project is help-
ing the Mexican national power utility provide nearly two million cfls at low cost to residential customers. cfls
use just a forth of the energy required
by standard incandescent bulbs, and reduce the need to build new power generating plants that gobble up oil.
The International Institute for
Energy Conservation (iiec) predicts
that ilumex will save upto 265,000
barrels of oil each year, and reduce
co2 emissions by almost 28,000 tonnes annually.
The cfls' economical feasibility
also earns it full points. Studies
have found that the 62.2 w average wattage of installed incandescent lamps could be substituted with equal effect
by 16.8 w cfls. Considering an average use of four hours per day for 1.5 million cfls, it was found that the peak capacity savings amounted to a total of 78 mw, thus reducing electricity generation needs by 135 gigawatt hour
every year; this would save 265,000
barrels of oil.
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