FROM STREETLIGHTS TO TELEVISIONS: the difference standards and labelling can make

Due to their sheer numbers in South Africa, streetlights and television sets are energy-efficiency low-hanging fruit that can be harvested with the right standards and labelling.

Since its inception in 2015, South Africa’s Energy Efficiency Appliance Standards and Labelling Programme has worked tirelessly to encourage less efficient or change-resistant developers in the sector to comply with energy-efficiency standards to maintain their opportunities in the market. In an electricity-crisis riddled economy, this approach is an easy avenue for government to manage the energy consumed by electrical equipment.

Totalling 750 000 kilometres, South Africa’s road network is the longest in Africa and the 10th longest globally. Recognising the energy-saving potential of streetlighting, both the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and Eskom have implemented programmes to retrofit more efficient lighting luminaires into existing infrastructure. Subsidies to support municipalities have certainly facilitated the technology transition, but despite the successes old technology is still considered in procurement processes because no minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) exist to rule out energy-guzzling options. This, together with procurement being based on upfront product costs instead of including the cost of electricity over the lifetime of the luminaires, makes a compelling case for regulation in this area.