Kebs approves standards for pro-environment lighting technologies

NAIROBI, KENYA: The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has approved the standard for minimum energy performance requirements for general service lamps (KS 2914:2020) to tackle the safety of lighting technologies.

While the incandescent lamps offer only up to 1,000 hours of life which translates to less than one year based on an average of thirty days per month, the life of each Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL), commonly known as energy saver bulbs has a minimum of 6,000 hours which translates to four years based on an average of thirty days per month according to KS 2446-1:2013: Self-ballasted lamps for general lighting services, Part 1: Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) requirements.

“The KS 2914:2020 requirements will ensure that lighting products in the market are energy-efficient, long-lasting, and add value for money. They will also raise the quality, reliability, and value of the lighting products offered for sale in the market to phase out inefficient technologies of lighting,” says Lt. Col (Rtd.) Bernard Njiraini, Managing Director, Kebs.

“In developing these requirements, the Technical Committee was live to the drastic reduction in the cost of LED lamps which are currently competitively priced to favorably compete with the compact fluorescent lamps in the market,” he adds.

The labeling requirements will ensure that the products and product packaging give the discerning buyers the information they require to select and buy the most efficient ones at the point of sale. Some of the mandatory information that the product should contain include lifetime hours, rated efficacy in lumens/watt, and the rated correlated colour temperature (CCT) in Kelvin (K).

Currently, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) is running #KenyaEnergyLabel campaign that requires all electrical equipment and lighting products to display prominently an energy label in form of stars. The more stars marked the more energy-efficient the appliance is with 5 stars being the most efficient.