An energy-efficient luminaire dedicated to decentralized electrification

Olivier Normand, EDF R&D, France
Guy Marboeuf, EDF International, France
Pierre Spiteri, CODEV Viet-Phap, France
Michel Courillon, ADEME Actions Internationales, France

Keywords

energy efficiency, effectiveness lighting, decentralized electrification, luminaire, human well-being, new concept in luminaire design

Abstract

EDF works on building tools and specifications dedicated to Decentralized Services Companies (DSC) for developing countries. DSC are local utilities, well integrated in the local institutional framework, and whose goal is to provide multiple services to customers.

These companies have to be economically viable to last, in spite of the poor solvable level of these types of populations. Thus, the whole energy chain, from production to end uses, including energy transportation and tarification, has to be technico-economically optimized.

In that context, Lighting, which is the most developed usage, has to be particularly well thought out, especially if equipment is provided by the DSC along with services.

Actually, significant consumption reduction may be obtained by dealing with energy-efficient sources. Moreover, the approach may also include luminaire as well as people’s behavior to reach real effectiveness.

Our work then concentrated on defining and validating needs for light — not only for the visual task to be accomplished but also cultural use of light—. We also focused the study on the acceptance of artificial lighting within populations using mainly natural lighting and petrol lamps.

Significant background experience through EDF, ADEME and CODEV (a French NGO), especially surveys conducted among Vietnamese villages, helped us to carry out our work.

Subsequently, a dedicated luminaire has been designed and a pilot production is now on the way to provide full- size acceptance experiments in Africa and Asia with the luminaire.