Ecological and economic systems

The electricity bill for public utilities in Switzerland (150 million Francs) could be reduced by switching to more eco-friendly lighting systems.

A large number of aging installations need to be renovated to make them more energy efficient. The most common deficiencies are inefficient street lighting and frequent power failures. Where renovation is indicated, public lighting must be monitored and evaluated by a specialist. The results of this analysis should be the basis for future action.

Each community chooses the roads to be illuminated. Their decisions are usually based on the norms laid down by the local authorities – not to illuminate the portions of roads falling outside their locality, for example. Moreover, the authorities should insist that the installations be planned and carried out as per the latest norms and directives. After all, it is up to the local authorities to determine how many hours the lights should operate-considering the security needs of the population.

Today, thanks to technological advances in the field of LED and of external lighting systems powered by photovoltaic solar energy, a multitude of options are available to municipalities, governments, sports centres , private projects and major retailers to develop, among others, roads, parks , public or private car parks. They can also radically reduce their infrastructure costs by making lighting infrastructures very low energy intensive, even totally autonomous.

* Source : http://www.energieeffizienz.ch/f/IndexAktuell.html
** Source : http://www.energieeffizienz.ch/files/SB_Flyer_2011_f.pdf
*** Source : http://www.energieeffizienz.ch/files/SB_Flyer_2008_f.pdf