Sparks Electrical News February 2018

LIGHTING

19

LEDS: TIME FOR SOUTH AFRICANS TO MAKE THE SWITCH T he price of electricity has many South Africans mak- ing every effort to cut costs at home. While ensuring that all lights are turned off when not required is a such as mercury are often used. LEDs are free of toxic materials. It is also important to note that because they don’t waste power on generating heat, they do not ever warm up and are therefore less of a fire hazard. Conventional lamps release 80% of their energy as heat, while LEDs use just 5%.

WORLD TRADE FAIR FOR LIGHTING AND BUILDING SERVICES practical way of doing this, another option is changing lamp/ bulb fittings. Replacing incandescent or halogen lamps with LEDs is an effective way to reduce household electricity bills. Consumers who receive electricity from municipalities have experienced a 7.64% increase in electricity prices in the past six months. “While changing to LEDs may be the logical option for some, it is understandable that a better knowledge of how LEDs work and what their benefits are is necessary to encourage more people to make the switch”, says Eurolux marketing manager, Eben Kruger. “We also feel that it is important to point out that while LEDs have historically cost more than traditional light bulbs, they now retail for almost the same price, which is even more reason to purchase them,” Kruger adds. Most consumers are aware that LED lamps have a dramatically longer lifespan than their incandescent counterparts. An LED offers 15 000 or more hours of light while an incandescent will give you up to 1000 hours, which is roughly ten times less the amount of light. At the end of the day it works out cheaper to buy one LED lamp than to replace an incandescent one ten times to get the same number of hours out of it. Another thought for consideration is that the average household lamp uses 42 W of electricity while an LED uses just 6 W to emit the same light and brightness. This example applies to one lamp only. Imagine replacing every socket in a home with an LED. Not only will money be saved on the purchasing of lamps in the long run, but users will also cut down their monthly electricity bills as less wattage power is consumed. Apart from being energy efficient and cost- effective in terms of replacement, LEDs are also notably better for the environment. When using LEDs, the number of light bulbs that will need to be disposed of is less. For every ten regular bulbs thrown away, you’ll only need to dispose of one LED. The majority of LED lamps can be recycled safely because they are made mostly out of plastic and contain minimal hazardous substances. What’s more, because LEDs use less power per unit, the overall carbon emissions from power plants is proportionately reduced. In CFL bulb manufacturing, harmful chemicals LIGHT + BUILDING is a trade fair for innovation, covering all electrically based building services sys- tems; it seeks to promote the integrated planning of building services systems with a product spectrum that is unique, both in its breadth and its depth. The world’s largest trade fair for lighting and building services engineering, Light + Building showcases solutions for reducing the energy consumption of buildings, at the same time as raising the levels of comfort within them. The show covers everything from LED and photovoltaic technology to electric vehicles, ‘intelligent’ ways of using electricity with ‘smart metering’ and ‘smart grids’. By combining lighting and networked building services, the indus- try can offer an integrated range of products and services that make a crucial contribution to fully ex- ploiting the potential for energy savings in buildings. Around 2600 exhibitors present their world firsts at Light + Building in the Frankfurt Exhibition Centre. Of over 210 000 visitors, almost half come from outside Germany. Amongst the major visitor groups are architects, interior architects, designers, planners and engineers, as well as tradesmen and women, and representatives from the retail and wholesale sectors, and from industry. The fair takes place from 18 to 23 March 2018 in Frankfurt am Main.

LEDs don’t merely serve a functional role though. They offer multiple lighting possibilities for an array of applications. They come in various styles, sizes and major shape types, and are even available in different colours. Some LEDs have dimming capabilities, which make them an ideal choice for spaces where a choice or selection of ambiences is required.

Enquiries: www.eurolux.co.za

Enquiries: www.messefrankfurt.com

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

FEBRUARY 2018