Investing in low enegy lighting

Green Energy Rwanda, a company that deals in Light-Emitting Diodes (LED) lamps, is taking the centre stage in enabling the people in the country to save energy in their homes, offices, banks, schools, hospitals among others. LED is a type of low emission lighting that has a very low energy consumption level which contributes directly to savings on your energy bill. The lamps last much longer than traditional lighting. It is a semiconductor light source and is used as indicator lamps in many devices and is increasingly used for other lighting. The company run and managed by Therese Sekamana, was introduced in the country two years ago but since then the energy saving bulbs have been well received on the market. In an interview with the Sunday Times, Sekamana says that before setting up her company in Rwanda she was living in Paris-France. “We were told by the officials in Rwanda as people living in Diaspora to come and invest in our country. I thought of bringing energy saving lamps because I realised that energy is still a challenge among Rwandans,” she notes. “I am a business lady who is engaged in various businesses. I thought about energy saving bulbs because they would help Rwandans to afford the cost of energy in their day today lives.” She mentions that when she saw LED technology in Paris and how it had improved the lives of many people there in terms of energy saving, she ended up bringing it to Rwanda. Sekamana states that LED lamps are known to last up to 50,000 hours. That’s way more than any other available lighting type and can easily resist thermal shocks and vibrations. Normal light bulbs are useless when you drop or bump them. Her company deals in various types of lighting devices that include LED Bulbs, Tubes, Spots, Panels, Street light among others. Despite being most economical, the products have also the highest life expectancy compared to all other electrical products in this category on the market today. LED lights can be a very useful tool in your home, especially if you are environmentally conscious or want to save money in the long run. These savings can really add up. If you were to run a single reading lamp with an LED bulb 12 hours a day for a year, it would cost less and you wouldn’t have to replace the bulb. Sekamana points out that the new technology is still costly but she is planning on how to reduce the cost of lamps. “The prices for the lamps vary depending on the sizes and watts. The normal bulb has 4 watts and costs Rwf 6000 and lasts for 10 years, on top of that we give a guarantee of two years and if it’s spoilt in any way we can immediately repair it,” she emphasises. She says that the traditional normal bulb with 40 watts costs about Rwf200 but it does not have a guarantee and it’s not durable.” “Our target is to ensure that all Rwandans access the energy saving bulbs at a low cost, I am not minding a lot about my business what I want is to enable all Rwandans afford energy lighting in their homes, places of work and other areas,” she emphasises. In order for the people in Rwanda to know more about the LED lamps, Sekamana participated in the International Trade Fair (Expo 2011) from July 28 to August 10 that was held at the Gikondo Expo Ground in Kigali. During the expo, she scooped an Innovation Award and this motivated her to inject more money in her business to expand it further. At the same expo lighting devices received enormous sales. “After the expo I went to Bank of Kigali and I proposed to them if they could allow me and I install these bulbs in one of their banks at my own cost. They gave me a go head and I replaced their traditional lighting with LED lighting, after one month they called thanking me for facilitating them towards making enough savings in terms of energy and maintenance of the lamps,” she explains. She states that Energy Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA) tested the LED lamps and found out that they have no problem and gave her company a green light. The LED lamps currently are assembled in China but she hopes to set up an assembling plant in Rwanda in future. “We have supplied close to 20000 lighting bulbs in the country but we are planning to expand our business to countries in the East African Community and beyond,” she says. According to Yusuf Uwamahoro, EWSA’s Deputy Director General in charge of Energy, LED saving energy lamps is highly welcome in Rwanda. “LED lamps are a bit expensive but when you compare them with the usual lighting bulbs they are much better because they save the energy people use in their homes and are long lasting,” he asserts. He mentions that fluorescent lighting brings an incredible improvement to the residential areas, schools, hospitals among other places. “We tested the LED lamps and found out that they are of good quality and we highly commend Rwandans to go for energy saving lamps,” notes Uwamahoro. frank.kanyesigye@newtimes.co.rw