Energy Conservation with LED lighting

Introduction

In India the commercial energy demand is growing at a high annual rate of over 6-7 % per year; Indian electricity use has more than doubled in the last decade and has grown faster than the gross domestic product (GDP) for the last 20 years. As a consequence, peak demand shortage is more than 14%.

Concerns about energy efficiency coupled with a growing awareness of climate change, have heightened interest in efficient lighting as an effective strategic venture for our country.

History and Roots of ESCOs

The energy audit market in the country is fairly matured with lot many firms having more than a decade of experience and some having more than two decades of operational experience in energy auditing. ESCOs, in contrast to energy audits, are a fairly newer concept in India, which started to appear in 1994-95. The beginning of the Indian ESCO industry is attributed to the USAID EMCAT programme during the mid 1990s. INTESCO-Bharuka, Indias first private energy service company was formed as a joint venture in 1994 (WEEA, 1995).

ESCO Industry
Although 89 ESCOs are accredited with Bureau of Energy Efficiency. And according to the industry practitioners, currently only around 40 may be seriously doing ESCO business. Except a few, the ESCOs in the country are small or medium scale private players with consultant strength of five or less. More than 10 billion US$ Investment Potential in India in Energy Efficiency

ESCO Potential
ESCO Potential in terms of Energy Saving amounts to more than 183.5 Billion kWh*

Sector wise potential:

*Source: Ministry of Finance, Economic Division

Barriers for ESCO

Although a lot of potential exists in energy efficiency & conservation, several barriers prevent the ESCO concept from really taking off in the country.

Financial Barriers
The ESCOs in the country are small and have limited financial resources.

Only a few ESCO projects can be financed with the ESCOs own resources and it is difficult to raise money based on their actual balance sheet.
The Fls and banks interest in ESCO projects remains low due to factors such as financial conditions of ESCOs/endusers, lack of technical expertise to evaluate EE projects by banks security concerns etc. The banks want a collateral and are funding at the regular interest rates.

Regulatory Barriers

Though some of the banks have EE schemes for SMEs, the financing available from such schemes is not attractive to the end users considering the transaction requirement.

Regulatory Barriers

In Government building the current procurement procedures and policies of the government which make it essential to purchase the lowest cost equipment, without considering the life cycle cost, are a deterrent to the ESCO business

Energy Prices
Another barrier for the uniform attractiveness of specific EE measures across the country is the difference in electricity tariffs in different states. As fixing electricity tariffs are still mainly the prerogative of the States, there exists variation in electricity tariffs for different consumer segments across the country due to reasons like different energy mix in power generation, cross subsidies etc.

Energy Prices
To illustrate this with an example during 200102, the average electricity tariff for the state of Madhya Pradesh is INR 3.93/unit compared to INR 5.19/unit for Punjab. Source: CERC Tariff Norms for FY 2011-12 Hence the payback for energy efficient products suited to that market varies accordingly and can affect subsequent ESCOs interest in that particular market.

Facts & Figures

Street Lighting provides an estimated 40-50% energy saving over the current energy codes. It has a potential for 600-700MW demand reduction statewide and 2000-3000 GWh annually.

Most ULBs have inadequate or poor street lighting and spend very high on maintenance. ULBs in cities spend around 5-7% of their revenue expenditure on Street Lighting, whereas ULBs in towns and town panchayats spend as much as 20% of their revenue.

Facts & Figures

BEE Survey of 171 cities, over 23 states show that street lighting accounted for an average of 6.19% of revenue expenditure of ULBs - Rs. 1141.8 Cr of Rs.18,430.84 cr. Only a meager 0.88% of the total budget was allocated towards energy initiatives. At around 5000FTLs and 500 HIDs replacements per ULB presents there is an immediate market for over 160 lakh LED Street Lights in about 2881 ULBs leaving the smaller panchayats thats a market of 4500 crores.

Facts & Figures

Converting to LEDs save a nearly 50% on energy consumption and about 80% on maintenance. This would lead to a HUGE load relief.

Street Light Retrofits: Potential for 35%-70% Energy Savings and Significant Emissions Reductions
35-60% savings vs. high-pressure sodium vapor streetlights 70%+ savings vs. mercury vapor streetlights additional 10-20% savings with integrated system controls Lower maintenance costs Short payback: 3-7 years, depending on replacement technology and pre-existing infrastructure

LED Street Lights A Study

Why LED Roadway Lighting?

Energy Savings
Maintenance Savings Improved Illumination Long Lasting Toxins Free

LED Street Lights Efficiency

Delivered Lumens:

In HPS Lumens are lost inside the Luminaire but, Reflectors are designed to optimize light output. Good Efficiency (~90% Efficient)
In LED the lumens are delivered directly to the target with affixed lenses or aimed optics. Great Efficiency (~95%+ Efficient)

LED Street Lights Light Distribution

HPS

LED Street Lights Light Distribution

LED

Research and Development

Instapower has a strong R&D wing that works diligently at harnessing technology and towards product and design innovation to meet the diverse needs of its various clients for energy efficient lighting systems. It has filed for over 10 product patents and 30 design patents in various categories of LED lighting systems. A few are listed below:

Product name

Patent no.

Design no.

Date

Light with Ceiling Fixture Light with Ceiling Fixture Ceiling Light Aviation Light LED Street Light

3739 3736 0210 1043 6141

225771 225773 225775 223600 227243

13-11-2009 13-11-2009 13-11-2009 02-07-2009 16-02-2010

LED Bulb
LED Street Light Lamp Shade

6263
6140 5935

227244
227246 228618

16-02-2010
16-02-2010 16-04-2010