The government’s plan to switch all streetlights and all other compact fluorescent lights nationwide to LED lights is expected to save at least 50 percent of energy, Deputy Minister of Power John Abdulai Jinapor has said.
“This switch has the potential to reduce energy consumption by 50 percent from the current compact fluorescent bulbs’ usage, and with these benefits it has come to light that it is quite obvious we have to invest in energy savings, especially with lighting as it is one of the primary uses of energy in the country,” he said.
Speaking at the unveiling of Philips’ energy-efficient LED bulb called the EcoBright LEDbulb, he noted President John Dramani Mahama takes energy conservation seriously and has directed that the ministry takes steps to ensure it increases education on energy conservation.
In 2007 government led a nationwide campaign that switched almost 6 million incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent lights, which saved over 200MW of power.
“Our target is to ensure that within the second quarter we will commence the project.
We are working on modalities and want to ensure we plan very well.
We will distribute the bulbs at subsidised rates to ensure ordinary consumers can purchase them,” he noted.
He explained that the Energy Commission is working on how much money and megawatts of power can be saved, and how much it is going to cost government.
The launch of affordable and long-lasting Philips energy-efficient LED bulbs allows all consumers to cut down their energy usage by up to 85 percent, thereby saving a lot of money.
The new bulbs — which are called EcoBright LEDbulbs and nicknamed ‘small boy danger’ due to their small size but powerful attributes — will contribute toward Philips’ goal of improving lives and making the world healthier and more sustainable.
“It gives me great joy that today we are launching Philips EcoBright LEDbulb to consumers,” said General Manager of Philips Lighting Export BV, Felix Darko.
According to him, this product will bring relief to consumers seeking to reduce their energy use and ultimately cut down on their electricity cost.
“They will also make further savings by not replacing these bulbs as regularly as standard bulbs, as these are designed to be both long-lasting and able to easily withstand the most severe voltage fluctuations.”
The main features of the new Philips EcoBright LEDbulbs include delivering high quality light that is free of infra-red — meaning no heat is radiated, so fabrics and other items under this light won’t fade.
Also they cut electricity costs by up to 85 percent; lastsup to 10 years; withstand the most severe voltage fluctuations (will light at voltage as low as 48V and as high as 250V); give light that is comfortable for the eye; emit no UV or infrared; are environmentally friendly, with no mercury or any other hazardous substances; and have a low carbon footprint.
The Deputy Minister of Power emphasised the importance of investing in energy efficiency while unveiling the new energy saving LEDbulbs which will assist consumers to cut down on their electricity consumption, thereby saving money and sustaining the national grid.
“These innovative new bulbs are an asset in implementing our policies designed to promote the efficient use of energy.
We are always happy to support the various initiatives Philips Lighting has undertaken in Ghana that improve the public’s access to energy-efficiency,” he added.
In order to demonstrate the tremendous energy saving benefits of LED, Philips is partnering with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to select a number of their customers and change all the bulbs in their homes to Philips LED bulbs.Philips is also offering LED Street Lighting Solutions that will aide government’s goal of replacing all conventional street-lighting with LED bulbs.
Their street-lighting technology allows for remote monitoring, so that ECG engineers will be able to tell which streetlights are working in real time; turn lights on or off during emergency situations; or dim lights in the early morning hours as well as monitor the energy consumption of each streetlight, all from the comfort of their offices.