Thiruvananthapuram: CFLs, LEDs to light up govt offices

Thiruvananthapuram: Incandescent bulbs and other energy-guzzling electrical equipment are being shown the door at the Government Secretariat and the Vikas Bhavan as part of a state-wide energy efficiency programme being launched in government offices. If things go as planned, they will soon be replaced with compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), energy-efficient tubelights and light emitting diodes (LED) by December this year.

The Energy Management Centre (EMC), Kerala, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency’s nodal agency for energy conservation initiatives in the State, is the implementing agency for the project. "We had conducted energy audits in 22 buildings across the State and in Phase I, six government buildings have been recommended for the programme, of which two are in Thiruvananthapuram," EMC director K M Dhareshan Unnithan said.

The other buildings which will be saving energy in Phase I are the Kerala High Court complex and the Collectorates in Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kozhikode, he said. Government offices are generally considered to be energy guzzlers due to poor energy management and irresponsible use of electricity. It was against this backdrop that the EMC conducted the audit.

Incandescent bulbs and other energy-guzzling electrical equipment are being shown the door.

Following the Bachat Lamp Yojana (BLY) CFL initiative in the State, 15 lakh CFLs remained with the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB). Later, the KSEB issued orders saying that the remaining CFLs can be used in government offices and to replace damaged CFLs distributed to the public.

LEDs, which have a burning life of 30,000 to 50,000 hours, are also making a foray into the city. These two aside, EMC will be using the T-5 tubelights, the 28-watt trimmer cousins of the conventional tubelights, in the Secretariat and the Vikas Bhavan. Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and the four municipalities - Nedumangad, Varkala, Neyyatinkara and Attingal - will also get 100 LED each to be used as streetlamps as part of an LSG Department project to roll out LED streetlamps in 65 local bodies.

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