Council saves on power

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THE USE of light emitting diodes (LED) in Bulawayo’s traffic control lights and street lights has reduced the consumption of electricity by 66%, Southern Eye has established.

THE USE of light emitting diodes (LED) in Bulawayo’s traffic control lights and street lights has reduced the consumption of electricity by 66%, Southern Eye has established. MTHANDAZO NYONI OWN CORRESPONDENT

Bulawayo City Council introduced the use of energy-saving strategies in its traffic control and street lights in 2012 to effectively manage traffic controls and to reduce costs as much needed funds were channelled to other priorities, enhancing service delivery.

In a statement, council revealed that 79 out of 88 of the entire city’s traffic lights have been converted to LED while 75% of street lights and tower lights are now functional.

“The City of Bulawayo is one of the first cities in Zimbabwe to install energy efficient LED on its traffic control lights and street lights,” part of the statement reads.

“Currently 79 out of 88 of the entire city’s traffic lights have been converted to LED while 75% of street lights and tower lights are now functional.

“This represents massive savings in energy consumption from the 75 watts incandescent lamps to five watts LED, translating to some 66% savings in energy costs as well.

“A comparison of Zesa bills for lights at one intersection before and after conversion to LED shows a significant decrease of costs from $47,13 to $5,83 per month,” the statement reads.

Research by the Zimbabwe Development Democracy Trust in 2012 revealed that the council could save up to $1,8 million if it made a complete transition to LED street lighting.

LEDs cut electricity consumption by 88%, limit fault finding costs and reduce significantly the negative environmental impact of power generation.

The new lighting system, installed along the whole length of Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Street, was donated by Zimbabwe Development Democracy Trust and was installed by Alternative Energy Consultants with the assistance of the city’s engineers.  Last month, council approved plans by NetOne to install digital LED screen on selected spots at the company’s base stations in the city.

NetOne was required to pay an annual recognition fee of $700 payable in advance of each 12-month period.