Switching to energy-efficient light bulbs could save the country the equivalent of a major coal-fired power station, a R30-billion saving.
South Africa makes use of an estimated 90-million — mostly energy-inefficient — incandescent light bulbs. By contrast, compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) last six times longer and use just 20% of the energy.
Households that switch to CFLs stand to save about 11% on their electricity bill. Suppliers say CFLs consume 80% less electricity, with one expert saying that lighting makes up about 14% of the average household’s electricity bill.
If all of the country’s nine million electricity-consuming households switched to these globes, it would amount to an annual saving of 3 600 megawatts, the amount of electricity produced by a traditional, coal-fired station.
At an average cost of R15 each, it would cost R1,35-billion to supply 90-million CFL globes to South African households.
Eskom is handing out five million CFL globes in Cape Town, the epicentre of the country’s energy crisis. Two weeks of blackouts are estimated by the Cape Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry to have cost R5,6-billion.
Eskom officials are visiting Cape Town homes to swap old globes for new, low-wattage globes.
This follows pilot programmes over the past few years in which three million globes have been provided for free or on a subsidised basis to township and suburban homes.
The Guardian reports that Powergen, one of the United Kingdom’s largest energy suppliers, is subsidising the cost of CFLs to 200 major retailers because of the major cost-saving and environmental benefits (see box).
China has banned the sale of incandescent globes.
In South Africa, Eskom has subsidised the cost of three million globes in the retail sector over the past few years and is now targeting the lower income sector.
Eskom marketing manager for energy technologies Barry Breden-kamp says the focus has moved away from retail subsidies as low-income consumers could not afford CFL bulbs, even with the subsidies.
”We are now distributing CFL globes free of charge to RDP houses and shacks,” says Bredenkamp.
Mario Biagi from Philips Lighting, who worked with Eskom in subsidising CFLs, says the biggest challenge is to make CFLs available to low-income households.
Professor Dieter Holm of the University of Pretoria says he supports energy-saving globes because they contribute to energy efficiency as well as energy awareness, but argues that there is a need for a total market transformation. He says lighting contributes about 14% to the average household’s electricity bill.
Holm points out that research has shown that handing out CFLs to low-income households can have short-term benefits because, once the free globes break, the low-income consumer will just buy an incandescent bulb.
Biagi predicts consumer behaviour will change when the price of electricity goes through the roof.
”The biggest saving is not for the individual, it’s for Eskom. You are using 14 watts rather than 60 watts for the same amount of light, but 80% less energy,” says Biagi.
Louis Grobbelaar of the South African Association of Energy Efficiency says the potential savings are massive. ”You are sitting with a huge reduction in costs if you switch incandescent lights for energy-saving globes.”
Eskom is working in conjunction with light-bulb supplier Osram, which procured 2,5-million of the light bulbs for the Western Cape.
Osram South Africa’s MD, Grahame Boyle, says the current local market for CFLs is six million globes a year.
Boyle says sourcing the 2,5-million globes for Eskom in six weeks had been a tough job as international demand for CFLs was high and Cuba had recently sourced 10million globes.
”I predict, and I have been told by my colleagues overseas, that, with the huge demand in Cuba, South Africa and Asia, the Asian manufacturers are going to be under huge pressure for the next six months,” says Boyle.
He says retailers would only have a month’s worth of stock on the shelves at any time, which would equate to 400 000 CFL globes.
Boyle says another aspect that needs to be looked at is the environmental impact of switching to CFLs. ”You also need to look at the carbon emissions.You need to work out the amount of coal that need not be burnt because of using CFLs. It’s a win-win situation for everybody.”
Change the bulb
At a time when suppliers are seen as rapacious profit-takers, the idea that a power company would be encouraging the use of less power might seem perverse, writes Richard Gibson. Yet Powergen, one of the United Kingdom’s largest energy suppliers, is offering cash sponsorship to 200 major retailers around Britain to enable them to sell compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) that usually cost between £2 and £8, for about 50p.
That means the typical household could change all its light bulbs (24 on average) to energy-saving ones and reduce its electricity bill by £240 a year.
Powergen’s scheme is partly driven by the government, which shows no signs of meeting its 2002 pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 12million tonnes by 2010.
Action is needed to cut the amount of energy demanded from power stations; encouraging people to use CFLs is a start.
The reason for the switch is simple. Germana Canzi, a campaigner for Friends of the Earth, explains: ”Electricity counts for roughly one-fifth of our energy use, and is responsible for approximately a third of our carbon emissions. More than 70% of this electricity is generated using fossil fuels and, in the conversion process, around 65% of that energy is wasted.”
One way to reduce this wastage, says Dhiru Galani, technical adviser at light-bulb maker Osram, is to switch to CFLs: ”If each of the 20million households in the UK were to install only one, enough energy would be saved to close a power station.”
But to the customer, energy savings mean cash. ”Each standard bulb replaced with an energy saver can take up to £10 a year off an electricity bill,” says James Russill, the evaluation and quality manager at the Energy Saving Trust.
And it’s that saving which is useful to companies such as Powergen. If their customers use less energy, the power companies don’t have to build more power stations or wind farms — which saves them millions. Free and subsidised light bulbs represent ”negawatts” — power that doesn’t have to be supplied. Each 100-watt incandescent bulb replaced with a 25-watt CFL equivalent is 75 negawatts in the bank. That’s a lot of pollution that could be saved just by changing a light bulb. The question is, how quickly will people realise it? — Â