Abstract
Today, lighting accounts for more than 19 percent of the world electricity consumption and 6 percent of the CO2 emissions. At the same time, streetlighting is a significant municipal duty which plays an important role in the life of a community. At present, streetlights are converted to more sustainable solutions that are energy-efficient and cost-effective for both the state and local governments. The goal of this research is to measure and compare the cost of the life cycle of a light emitted diode (LED) and conventional streetlights. This is achieved by first determining the energy use of LED streetlights compared to conventional streetlights. Secondly, establishing the total cost of ownership of an LED streetlight compared to a conventional streetlight to encourage municipalities and key decision-makers to evaluate the merit and costs of street lighting projects. A cost framework for the life cycle has been developed from the current literature to determine the energy use and the total cost of ownership of both streetlight technologies. The selected mathematical formulas were classified and implemented using secondary data collected from a study from a project conducted by the Greater Tzaneen municipality and the researcher’s employer to calculate costs for both technologies. It is noted that post-acquisition costs are the largest part of the life cycle cost for both street lighting technologies. When comparing the calculated results, it is noted that streetlights with conventional technology use 56 percent more energy than their comparable LED streetlights. The findings also suggest cost savings of between 13 and 22 percent of the total cost of ownership over a year in favour of LED streetlights. The findings of this study indicate that LED streetlights are the best technology to implement based on their energy consumption and total cost of ownership. Municipalities and decision-makers can use this research’s framework to argue on their selected technology choice. The design of the measurement method used in this research allows users to adapt it to their context and include additional costs drivers to assist cities and key decision-makers in making literature informed decision when presented with the question of which streetlight technology to consider.
M.Ing. (Engineering Management)