The FINANCIAL — LED street lighting can generate energy savings as high as 85%, an independent, global trial of the technology has found.
According to Philips Electronics, the program also indicates that citizens of pilot cities prefer LED lighting, citing the social and environmental benefits.The report explores the global market status and potential for LED technology and provides guidelines for policymakers and city light managers who want to scale-up and finance large LED retrofits.
The report was launched as part of the Clean Revolution campaign at the Rio+20 UN Global Compact Corporate Sustainability Forum and produced by The Climate Group in partnership with Philips in support of the campaign’s argument that major energy savings can be achieved virtually overnight at relatively little cost.
Mark Kenber, CEO, The Climate Group says, “This report clearly highlights that LEDs are ready to be scaled-up in towns and cities across the globe. LED technology is energy efficient, scalable and positively impacts on the public; it is the Clean Revolution in action. We are now calling on Governments to remove policy obstacles and enable a rapid transition to low carbon lighting.”
“A full switch to the latest energy-efficient LED lighting solutions provides significant energy savings, a reduction in CO2 emissions, and will transform urban environments”, says Harry Verhaar, Head of Global Public & Government Affairs at Philips Lighting. “We believe that by driving this lighting market transition, our LED lighting solutions will create livable cities for the benefit of residents and visitors.”
For the residents the benefits of LEDs are tangible: Gobind Saha, 61, owner of a roadside stall at Rabindra Sarani, says, “These white lights have changed the way my little business use to be under the street lights every evening. Earlier anything and everything would look yellow in colour resulting into a decreased purchasing interest among buyers but now that a buyer can clearly differentiate between a green and blue, my sales figures have gone higher.”
Lighting is responsible for 19% of global electricity use and around 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions2. Doubling lighting efficiency globally would have a climate impact equivalent to eliminating half the emissions of all electricity and heat production in the EU3. And like many other energy-efficient technologies, efficient lighting will boost global prosperity. In the United States alone, cutting the energy used by lighting by 40% would save US$53 billion in annual energy costs, and reduce energy demand equivalent to 198 mid-size power stations.
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