Philips announces the largest energy saving LED lighting deal in Africa to date

Philips and Eskom (The South African state-owned utility company) announced the largest energy saving LED lighting deal in Africa to date. Under the agreement, 200,000 Philips MasterLED lamps are being distributed through Karebo Systems at discounted prices throughout South Africa to professional users of lighting such as hotels, banks, offices and retail outlets. These businesses and their staff will benefit from maintenance savings, great quality light and an enhanced sense of well-being.
The deal is aimed at replacing 50W Halogen bulbs with 7W & 10W LED lamps, which provide the same amount of light, and last significantly longer. The collective electricity savings potential of this deal is estimated to be 58GWh per year equal to ZAR 41 million and would save up to 60,000 tons of CO2. Based on calculations of 40-43W less power consumption, each lamp has the potential to annually save 280KWh of electricity equal to ZAR 200. In fact every four lamps installed will save the equivalent of three trees in terms of CO2 absorption. And the changeover just involves a simple switch of a bulb.
The distribution of the LED lamps is being handled by Karebo Systems whose task is to organize distribution throughout South Africa and ensure that the envisaged savings are achieved. “The key is to ensure that these energy saving lamps end up in the intended sockets” says Ravi Govender, Director, Karebo Systems. “LED technology is a relatively new technology and Eskom must be applauded for supporting this initiative. The rollout of these lamps is a wonderful job creation opportunity in South Africa. It is a definite win-win for all parties involved – especially the end user.”