Sparks Electrical News December 2018

CONTRACTORS’ CORNER

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PROPOSED LIGHTING REGULATIONS RAISE CONCERNS M embers of the lighting industry re- cently gathered for an information session in Pretoria held jointly by

including stakeholder engagements, risk assess- ments and the time consuming approval pro- cess. Jele believes that a date of November 2019 for final publication of the regulations is feasible. Michael Scholand, an industry expert from the United States presenting his experiences in other countries, noted that the decision to regu- late lighting was in line with what was happening globally. “The best approach is to define general lighting, define the parameters around the cat- egories the products fall into in the regulations and then, in the regulations, set the requirements for, for instance, efficacy levels, which will have an impact on which technologies can be utilised.” Heated session A heated question and answer session followed where concerns were raised about the prolifera- tion of illegal exports, the cost implications of newer technologies for the poor, and the impact the regulations would have on manufacturers. “I think it is high time the NRCS regulated LED lamps. This is within their primary mandate to protect the consumer, environment and to en- sure fair trade,” said Joel Ndaba, Quality Director at TACS Laboratories, a SANAS accredited test laboratory which offers conformance testing on electrical products and materials. “As much as LEDs are considered to be efficient, not every LED is of good quality.” He continued, “According to photo-biological safety requirements (IEC/TR 62471-2), UV rays generated by a non-laser light source, such as an LED, have negative effects on human eyes and skin. The electromagnetic inter- ference of such LED globes is also a health risk. “With the shift from traditional (HID, fluores- cents and incandescent lamps) to solid state lighting, if SSL is not regulated, South Africa could become a dumping ground for poor qual- ity LED lamps. It is important for South Africa to build capacity to ensure the regulation of such products is effective, because we seem to be behind schedule compared to other countries, which have phased out old lighting technologies such as incandescent lamps,” Ndaba said. SAFEhouse’s concerns When approached for comment, Connie Jonker of SAFEhouse said he had been involved for the

the National Regulator for Compulsory Speci- fications (NRCS), the Department of Energy (DoE) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Information shared was around the planned regulation of general service and directional lamps for general illumination using incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, high intensity discharge, LED, and other light sources. The significance of the topic was clearly evident from the overwhelming attendance, and the room quickly filled beyond capacity with major players from the lighting industry. Theo Covary, Project Manager at the UNDP explained that while the country’s Standards and Labelling Programme in the past has focused primarily on white goods, lighting has long been on the radar, and will, within the next few years, become the first electrical product to be regulat- ed in the SADAC region. He noted that the NRCS was fully behind the process of including new technologies in its regulations. “As we speak though,” he said, “there are still a lot of non-compliant lighting products enter- ing the country and the UNDP has assisted in destroying the millions of CFLs that have been seized.” He believes that the industry needs to be regulated to level the playing fields, with the mandate of providing quality, affordable, energy efficient lighting to the public. Education will be imperative, and social media campaigns – seen as the best way to connect with the general public – will focus on the rea- sons to move away from CFLs. A labelling sys- tem will also be developed educating consum- ers on, for instance, how to buy a lamp, lifecycle costing and the difference between watts and lumens. Langa Jele, Technical Specialist at the NRCS, explained that while there were already regula- tions in place for incandescent and CFLs, the new regulations would be based on a minimum energy performance standard, effectively ban- ning older technologies. Although much of the groundwork has been done, including feasibility studies, there is still a lot to do before the regulations are approved,

test takes approximately 11 months, while LED lamp manufacturers claim life expectancy of over 15 000 hours. With the capacity limitations of local accredited test labs, the non-recogni- tion of manufacturer’s self-declaration of com- pliance, and the non-recognition of SABS Cer- tification, the introduction of such a compulsory specification only benefits the NRCS through income from levies and LoA approvals. SAFE- house believes that in the end, the consumer pays dearly for NRCS intervention, without get- ting a better product.” Barry O’Leary, Jonker’s colleague at SAFE- house concurred, “As I mentioned in the ses- sion, SAFEhouse has a major concern with the market surveillance of these products. Langa Jele and Stephinia Teffo from the NRCS both mentioned that the NRCS would like to work with industry and individuals to reduce/eradicate the number of non-compliant products that en- ter the country and those products that require LoAs. Unfortunately, ‘working together’ does not work at the moment.” There is no doubt that regulation of the light- ing industry is sorely needed, and Sparks Electri- cal News will be following this topic closely over the coming months.

past year or so in discussions with representa- tives of the UNDP with regard to legislation and had, in all the discussions, raised his concerns about the incapacity of the NRCS to regulate products effectively. “It is generally accepted that any electrical product, and this applies even more to electric lamps, can only be regulated through extensive market surveillance and testing of available products. Without extensive test programmes, the proliferation of substandard products will increase. Although energy efficiency labelling is put forward as a success story, and similarly that of the control of CFL lamps, the real facts and the impact on the industry are not reflected.” He said that from the NRCS Annual Report 2015/16, it was evident that only R3.3 million was budg- eted for testing on behalf of all departments in NRCS. “The LoA (Letter of Authority) process, which has been enforced since the formation of NRCS in 2008, has been a complete failure. Only about 16 000 LoAs are processed per year for a range of regulated products that could be in excess of 250 000,” he said. Jonker continued, “Life expectancy and lu- men maintenance testing takes time and re- quires extensive test facilities. A 6000 hour

SAIEE 2018 ANNUAL AWARD WINNERS T he South African Institute of Electri- cal Engineers (SAIEE) hosted its 107 th Annual Banquet in the form of a Mas- cil meetings from far and his contribution to bringing the North West University and SAIEE closer together makes him the ideal candi- date for this award.

SAIEE Centre of the Year Award The winner of the 2018 SAIEE Centre of the Year is The Western Cape Centre. Established in 1953, this centre hosted four CPD training courses, hosted ten lectures and organised one site visit. They graciously hosted SAIEE Corporate Partner, Fluke, in one of its road- show training seminars. The SAIEE congratulates all this year’s win- ners and is immensely proud of these indi- vidual achievements.

querade Ball, at the Midrand Conference Cen- tre on the 26 October 2018. The 2018 award winners were: Engineer of the Year Award – sponsored by Actom The 2018 SAIEE Engineer of the Year is Pas- cal Motsoasela. This senior member, who joined the SAIEE in 1999, serves on the SAIEE Council and various committees. He has more than 15 years’ post qualification experience in technology research, testing, development and demonstration in the electric utility indus- try. In the past two years, he has specialised in the automation asset management area in the water utility industry. Engineering Excellence Award – spon- sored by Fluke The 2018 winner of the SAIEE Engineering Excellence Award is Professor Jan de Kock. This Professional Engineer, who became a member of the SAIEE in 1986, has served as an elected Council Member for the past four years. His dedication to attending coun-

SAIEE President’s Award This prestigious Award recognises signifi- cant contributions in any sector of electri- cal, electronic, telecommunications and computer engineering in South Africa. The 2018 SAIEE Presidential Award winner is Chris Yelland, who is recognised for his excellence in electrical and electronic engi- neering reporting. The 2018 winner is Tshego Cornelius. Cor- nelius joined the SAIEE in 2004 and started her career in 2009 at the Eskom Transmis- sion Western Grid. She presently serves as a Design Engineering Manager in the Electrical & Control and Instrumentation Department of Eskom. Her passion for the development of other young people has seen her take up vari- ous leadership roles in ploughing back, paying it forward and championing women’s voices, particularly in the STEM arena. Keith Plowden Young Achiever’s Award – Sponsored by SGB-Smit Power Matla

Enquiries: www.saiee.org.za

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

DECEMBER 2018