Lux magazine reports on a government initiative to vastly reduce energy consumption. How? By phasing out incandescent lighting and installing efficient lighting controls in domestic and commercial properties.
The Green Deal will subsidize the installation energy-efficient LED lighting and advanced controls such as motion and lux level sensors.
Raising Awareness
The consultation launched along with the Energy Bill - but formal proceedings will begin with the DECC's Green Deal in the New Year.
The Green Deal is a national "home improvement" scheme, aiming for lower energy consumption. Under the Green Deal, applicants can pay for the installation of energy-efficiency measures in installments through their energy bills.
This ties
in with the government's renewed dedication to overall energy efficiency. The Green Deal appears to work first and foremost by combating lack of awareness, particularly in the domestic sphere.By making contractors, homeowners, landlords, etc. aware of the savings to be made, the hope is that national energy demands will be lowered.
Who Will Benefit from the Green Deal?
As well as encouraging switching from incandescent to LED lighting, the scheme will advocate the use of motion sensor switches and lux level sensors.
The DECC estimates that phasing out incandescent lamps could reduce energy consumption by up to a quarter, and using energy-efficient controls consumption could be reduced by a third in commercial and public applications.
Lighting control systems likely won't attract funding in domestic properties so won't be applicable. Thankfully, a comprehensive dimming system is relatively inexpensive.
But that also means that lighting will also be left out of the Energy Company Obligation, which mandates that companies subsidise the Green Deal work for poorer households.
We can expect guidelines to appear in the new year (not long now!) but for the time being, why not share your ideas for reducing energy consumption in the comments?
