Dubai: A new sustainability campaign launched on Tuesday is urging residents to switch to high efficiency LED lighting products to save on power bills and also minimise the negative impact on the environment.
Replacing all the traditional lights in a medium-sized villa can help residents save Dh2,315 in their annual bills, and if done UAE-wide, can save Dh459 million in utility bills, officials said while launching the ‘I LED The Way’ initiative.
Around 57 per cent of the UAE’s ecological footprint is generated from household energy consumption, of which six per cent is attributable to lighting, according to the UAE’s Lighting Regulation Report published in December 2014 by the Ecological Footprint Initiative.
But the incentive is not only monetary, said Ida Tillisch, director-general of the Emirates Wildlife Society-WWF, which supports the initiative. Full implementation of the existing regulation could reduce carbon emissions by 940,000 tonnes — equivalent to removing 165,000 cars off the roads for a year.
The regulation, in effect, banned the import and sale of inefficient lights in the UAE in July 2014. There are no estimates, however, as to how many households are still using inefficient light bulbs.
“Because a lot of these indoor light bulbs are inside people’s homes, it’s very difficult to really know how many have switched and how many have not switched. The average lifespan of incandescent bulb is 1,200 hours [50 days], hence after that, the consumer will eventually have to replace the bulbs [in their homes],” Tillisch told Gulf News.
“With the legislation for indoor lighting, the consumer will no longer be able to purchase inefficient light bulbs, hence the transition towards energy-efficient indoor lighting will happen eventually. We would expect that at least by 2020, no UAE household would be using incandescent lights.”
Niall Watson, founder of the ‘I LED The Way’ initiative, said they aim to support the UAE’s drive to achieve a significant reduction in national energy consumption by 2021 on a micro-level. To do this, they have partnered with two companies, Philips and OSRAM, to give a 25 per cent discount on their LED lights in select Dubai retailers from May 22 to June 5, which is also World Environment Day. The LED lights roughly cost between Dh25 and Dh60 each, giving residents savings of between Dh6.25 and Dh15 respectively per bulb.
Ahmad Butti Al Muhairbi, secretary-general of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, lauded the initiative since it is in line with their efforts to reduce demand for power, which is a shared responsibility of the government, non-government organisations, the private sector, developers, and individual households.
Al Muhairbi said the Green Building Code is in place to ensure developers and contractors do their part by using green building principles to have efficient lighting, efficient cooling, and correct insulation, among others.
Saeed Alabbar, chairman, Emirates Green Building Council, said there are no fines as such for developers that do not use green building principles. But sanctions are in place as building permits or permit to occupy will not be given to contractors or developers that flout the Green Building Code. Alabbar stressed, however, deciding which lights to use inside the home is mainly the responsibility of tenants, hence the campaign to educate the public in general.
Initiative
The I LED The Way Initiative entitles residents to a 25 per cent discount on Philips and OSRAM LED lights that are certified by the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology. The discounts run from May 22 to June 5 in select Dubai retailers, namely, Ikea, Carrefour, Ace Hardware, Spinneys, Union Co-op, Lulu Hypermarket, and Geant.
In Numbers
- Price of LED lighting Dh25 to Dh60
- Energy savings of LED lighting compared to incandescent — up to 65%
- 57% of UAE’s ecological footprint is generated from household energy consumption, 6% of which is from lighting
- Majority of lighting energy in UAE uses incandescent lamps at 78%
- Switching to energy-efficient lighting gives savings of 65% of power consumption in UAE
- Using energy-efficient light also yields a 28% cooling bonus due to reduced air conditioning demand
- Switching also results in savings of Dh459 million in utility bills across the UAE; government subsidy savings: Dh216 million
Source: Ecological Footprint Initiative in December 2014
