A pilot project to implement LED lighting in residential buildings will be launched in Novolukoml

February 28, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. A pilot project by the Republican Scientific and Production Unitary Enterprise "Center for LED and Optoelectronic Technologies of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus" and the Ministry of Housing and Communal Services to test LED lamps in real operating conditions will be launched on March 1 in Novolukoml (Chashniksky District, Vitebsk Region). This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by Leonid Polonnik, Director of the Unitary Enterprise of Housing and Communal Services "Kommunalnik" of Novolukoml. Two new five-story residential buildings have been selected for the experiment. One of them will be equipped with LED lamps manufactured by the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, and the other with conventional incandescent lamps. Both buildings are equipped with automatic control systems – motion sensors, thanks to which the light in the stairwells is on only when people are present. During March, specialists will compare the photometric parameters, energy efficiency, operating costs, and reliability of the two types of lamps. Based on the results of this analysis, conclusions will be drawn about the effectiveness of using LED lamps. LED lamps have already been installed in the experimental building. According to Leonid Polonnik, residents have noted that a 9.8 W LED lamp shines much brighter than a conventional 40 W incandescent bulb, and the light is comfortable for the eyes. According to preliminary estimates, the use of modern lamps will save 657 kWh of electricity per year in just one building. The payback period for the new development by Belarusian scientists is 3.5 years. As Leonid Polonnik noted, in accordance with the provisions of Directive No. 3 "Economy and thrift are the main factors of the state's economic security," the "Kommunalnik" enterprise is actively working on the implementation of energy-saving technologies. Novolukoml utility workers were among the first in the Vitebsk Region to equip apartment buildings with motion sensors. Thanks to this, one building saves 219 kWh of electricity per year. The enterprise has replaced heat exchangers in residential buildings and introduced remote water consumption metering. City streets are illuminated using automatic systems. Thanks to energy-saving measures, utility workers saved Br119 million in 2010. Additional income is used for current and capital repairs of the housing stock, as well as for further implementation of new energy-efficient technologies. According to expert estimates, replacing even half of the street and greenhouse lamps with LED ones in Belarus would provide electricity savings equivalent to the electrical capacity of 50 local thermal power plants like the Pruzhany TPP. Unlike compact fluorescent lamps, which are also replacing traditional incandescent lamps, LED lamps have a high color rendering index of illuminated objects, last about 10 years regardless of the frequency of on-off cycles, are vandal-resistant, and create a comfortable visual effect. Energy-efficient LED street lamps and LED lamps for housing and communal services have been developed by the Center for LED and Optoelectronic Technologies of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The production of these products is organized at the enterprises of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Since December 2010, the design and production unitary enterprise "CKB" of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus has begun serial production of LED lamps for housing and communal services, and in April of this year, serial production of LED street lamps is planned. -0-