Lighting New Zealand homes consumes around eight per cent of the total energy consumed in homes while lighting in business and public areas consumes over 14 per cent of the energy we produce for use in those buildings. New Zealand spends approximately $660 million each year on electricity for lighting. It is estimated that 2.65 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions are generated annually to meet our lighting needs. Significant gains can be made for the economy and the environment through the adoption of more efficient lighting.

The Commission’s Efficient Lighting Programme

The Commission’s Efficient Lighting Programme has been developed using the analysis from the KEMA Potentials Study as well as research and feedback from representatives of the lighting industry through the Efficient Lighting Stakeholder Group (ELG) and other lighting industry representatives.

To date the Commission’s funding has contributed to the installation of around five million efficient lamps in New Zealand which represents energy savings of around 400 GWh per year.  

The KEMA Potentials Study

The Kema “New Zealand Electric Energy-Efficiency Potential Study – September 2007” assessed the electricity potential in New Zealand’s residential, commercial and industrial sectors. The goals of the study were to determine levels of electricity efficiency available in the New Zealand economy and to estimate the cost effectiveness of programs to achieve these potentials.

The study used a “bottom-up” approach to estimating potential in which the energy impacts of “standard efficiency” technologies were compared to those of high efficiency equipment across different market sectors and building types.
Lighting has been identified by KEMA as having considerable economic potential in the residential and commercial sectors – and this is probably the primary reason why, to date, the Commission’s programmes have focussed strongly on this area. 

By 2016, Kema estimate a total of 1,750 GWh per annum of economic potential from efficient lighting across New Zealand’s residential and commercial sectors – which is roughly 40% of all measures (other measures including heating, refrigeration, HVAC etc). Note that Kema defines “economic potential” as electricity conservation measures that are cost effective when compared to supply-side alternatives (ie. the cost of new generation, distribution and transmission).

Kema brings a more “real world” perspective to the study by considering the extent that economic potential is actually “achievable” ie. what savings would occur in response to specific programme funding/incentives. Kema estimates that, based on roughly similar funding levels to the Commission, lighting would account for 65% of all achievable savings across the residential and commercial sectors by 2016. 

Also important is the contribution that lighting makes to peak demand. In the residential sector in particular KEMA estimates that 50% of lighting electricity use is consumed over the peak period.  

Efficient Lighting Strategy

The Commission, in partnership with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and the Lighting Council of New Zealand (LCNZ), established the Efficient Lighting Group (ELG). The ELG comprises representatives from the Commission, EECA, Department of Building and Housing (DBH), the LCNZ and other lighting industry representatives.

The ELG was formed under a Terms of Reference that included the development of an “integrated lighting strategy”. 

• Terms of reference
• Efficient Lighting Strategy pdf [742 KB]

The key objective set out in the Efficient Lighting Strategy developed by the ELG is to “strengthen naturally-occurring, market delivered efficiency through interventions that remove barriers to technologically and economically viable efficient lighting options”.  In order to help achieve the key objective, the Efficient Lighting Strategy sets out six strategic goals as follows:

• Eliminating inefficient incandescent lighting;
• Eliminating inefficient halogen lighting;
• Eliminating inefficient fluorescent lighting;
• Eliminating inefficient mercury vapour lighting;
• Increasing the use of efficient lighting design and controls; and
• Eliminating inefficient street lighting.
  

These goals were developed by the ELG taking into account the outputs from the KEMA Potentials Study and broad stakeholder knowledge experience of ELG members.

These six goals provide the focus for the Commission’s interventions in the lighting market to improve the efficiency of lighting in New Zealand.

Contact

The Commission’s efficient lighting programme is led by Stuart Ross.

• Current programmes
  
• Past programmes
  
• Other lighting information, including fact sheets and presentations