The Middle East and Africa region could save Dh62 billion ($16.9 billion) every year through the use of energy efficient lighting besides preventing 88 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, said an expert.

Globally the savings would be a whopping Dh571 billion ($155.45 billion), remarked Eduardo Mataix, chairman of Philips Lighting in the Middle East.

He said Philips will create awareness about the considerable energy savings and efficiency that could be realised by switching from old lighting technology such as incandescent lamps to power conserving alternatives at this year’s Light Middle East.

A leading trade event for urban, archi-tectural, and theatrical lighting solutions in the Middle East region, Light ME will run from October 31 to November 2 in Dubai. Amongst products and services to be demonstrated at the expo will be the latest in professional automation systems.

The increasing number of intelligent buildings employing automated control systems plays a key role in promoting energy-efficient and economical lighting usage, according to event organisers Epoc Messe Frankfurt.

“Something many people are unaware of is that buildings are responsible for consuming 40 per cent of total primary energy. There are many ways in which this can be de-creased in order to reduce bills and also be kinder to the environment,” said Ahmed Pauwels, CEO of Epoc Messe Frankfurt.

Jessica Minton, senior show manager, Light ME, pointed out that high standards of insulation, modern household equipment and the use of efficient technology for heating, air-conditioning and lighting were just a few of the methods for reducing energy consumption.

'As the key to energy-efficient operations, building automation systems not only optimise and control the various functions but also increase the well-being of users,' she noted.

The basis of these systems, Minton said, are intelligent products that can communicate with each other such as intelligent control systems that allow decentralised networking of relevant applications and regulatory systems.

“Also with the easy to use interfaces, automation allows for lower operating costs of electrical and lighting systems,” she added.

Philips, which is one of the prominent exhibitors at this year’s Light Middle East, will be hosting 'The Philips Educational LED and Exhibitor Experts’ Forum' on the third day.

The forum will give exhibitors the opportunity to educate visitors on the showfloor about their activities in the areas of innovative lighting control methods, user interface design controls, success factors and trends in LED lighting, dynamic lighting and eco-friendly lighting solutions.

According to a research conducted by Philips, around 13 billion incandescent lamps have been sold world-wide, of which 75 per cent were meant for use in homes.

The global installed base is still 75 per cent incandescent lighting versus 25 per cent energy saving units, but simply switching from incandescent lighting technologies would result in an average saving of 70 per cent.-TradeArabia News Service