In a bid to draw public awareness towards energy conservation, state government is all set to replace street lights in 65 streets in cities and peri-urban areas across the state with light emitting diode (LED) bulbs.
"Municipalities and corporations have been asked to identify prominent stretches for introducing LED lamps. The initiative is aimed at creating awareness about the efficiency of LED lamps that are fast replacing other legacy light equipment world over. The replacement drive will begin next month," said energy management centre ( EMC)-Kerala director Dharesan Unnithan.
The government has identified energy management centre as the nodal agency for leading the LED campaign.
Tendering process for the purchase of 6,500 LED bulbs to be distributed among municipalities and corporations is nearing completion. The local self-government bodies will be given 100 LED bulbs each. An LED bulb for street lighting would cost around Rs 12,000.
Unnithan said the cost may be more but durability of bulbs and energy saved are much higher when compared to mercury and sodium vapour lamps that are now in use.
"The average life span of LED bulbs is 10-fold higher than ordinary lights. Also the Lumens Per Watt (LPW), i.e the amount of light produced for each watt of electricity consumed, of LEDs is far more than legacy light equipment,'' he added.
While an ordinary tube light consumes 100 watt electricity, LED consumes only 45 watt and gives more light. The low electricity consumption and additional life span are making LEDs the most sought after lighting equipment.
"It is estimated that most of our buildings would be lit up with LEDs by 2030, decreasing our power requirements," Unnithan said.
Energy management centrewould install its newly developed Almanac based Street Light Management system for the LED used electric poles.
Depending on the feedback of the lighting requirements on the streets, the LEDs would get switched on and off automatically.
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