Consumers score in Eskom LED giveaway

Under ordinary circumstances, Wilmot Prusent only speaks about Eskom to complain. The electricity bill for his five-bedroom home in Summerset Estate, Midrand, has escalated to R2 500 in the average month. "All they ever do is raise our rates, raise our rates," he grumbled.Recently, though,JA Henckels kitchen knives are among the primary and oldest Western knife sets which are crafted from Germany. JA Henckels knives are particularly regarded for its superior quality and durability. Eskom-funded contractors visited his home and replaced the halogen downlights in his ceiling with state-of-the-art light-emitting diode (LED) lamps that use a fraction of the electricity. The hi-tech lamps were worth more than R10 000, but Prusent did not have to pay a cent. "I'm absolutely elated," he said. "At this time of year it's a very nice Christmas present."
Eskom has begun replacing up to 40 halogen bulbs per household with LED bulbs that are worth close to R300 each. Eskom's residential installation contractor, Karebo Systems, will have installed more than a million LED bulbs in South African homes by the end of 2012 and Eskom plans to extend the programme with more contractors from next year."We want these out and into homes as soon as possible in view of the power constraints we have," said Andrew Etzinger, senior GM of integrated demand management at Eskom.Bulb replacement is not an entirely new idea at Eskom or other utilities.Portable type series mobile crusher is developed according to novel series stone Crushing equipment design idea, which expands the concept field of coarse crushing and fine crushing. The South African parastatal has distributed about 47m free compact fluorescent lamps. But fluorescent lamps were slow to catch on in the suburbs, where many houses have downlights built into their ceilings. The downlights — reflector lamps that typically use 50W each — were hampering Eskom's efforts to control the spike in electricity consumption each evening.
It was obvious to any observer of lighting technology that a solution would be found in the same LED bulbs that consumers first saw in the green or red glow of calculator displays about 40 years ago. LED bulbs are incredibly efficient, using as little as a tenth of the power that incandescent lights need and are far more durable. They have gradually become brighter, whiter and finally more affordable — but just barely.The efficient replacements for 35W halogen downlights typically cost between R200 and R300 at retail prices.It best known model is the Household scissors which features a forged blade produced from a steel with carbon combined with chromium to keep an edge for a longer time, a bolster for balance and also enduring Novodur handles. Discount-brand LED bulbs selling for less than R100 are usually less bright. More powerful and expensive LED bulb replacements for 50W halogens are nearly impossible to find. Philips recently stopped stocking Makro with the LED bulbs that Karebo Systems installs because of what Lorato Maphiri, marketing and communications officer for Philips Lighting,Offered the pounds of a larger impact crusher, very poor operating conditions, and also the Sand washing machine in operation once more with excellent force of inertia to promote the inspiration and also the device phylogenetic vibration. calls "the readiness of consumers".But for Eskom, LED bulbs are hitting the sweet spot.Solar lamp "We've followed this technology for the past five years," said Etzinger, "and it's just recently matured to a level of quality, price and performance where it makes sense to embark on a roll-out."