Lighting in Design

Eskom

honours winners

of the 2014 EELDC

skom recently honoured the winners of its

biennial Energy Efficient Lighting Design

Competition (EELDC). Aimed at encouraging

efficient lighting design, the competition attracted 506

entries and this year, for the first time, the judges used

an on-line scorecard for the initial round of judging.

Most designers in the 2014 competition incorpo-

rated LEDs in their designs reflecting, as Eskom’s

Andrew Etzinger, keynote speaker at the Awards

breakfast, noted, “… the importance of featuring

cutting-edge technology” and making full use of the

versatility offered by the variety of shapes, colour, sizes

and warmth of modern light sources.

Etzinger went on to emphasise that a saving of just

1 kWh meant that one less kilogram of carbon dioxide

was produced by a coal-burning power station. “The

proliferation of energy efficient lighting can,” he said,

“make a significant difference in terms of cost and envi-

ronmental impact but is only possible if consumers are

prepared to make the change”. He added that this was

where the input of designers became crucial, because

through incorporating functional LEDs in aesthetically

pleasing designs, they helped to make energy efficient

lighting the preferred option of consumers in all market

sectors.

In the words of Buckminster Fuller, American neo-

futuristic architect, systems theorist, author, designer,

and inventor, “The best way to predict the future is to

design it”.

The Eskom EELDC was open to learners, students and

professionals in the fields of architecture, interior design,

lighting and engineering, and to anyone with a passion

for designing energy efficient lighting.The primary goal of

the competition was to demonstrate that efficient lighting

technologies, such as fluorescent technology and LEDs,

can be used in ultramodern and attractive luminaires for

residential lighting. It was also intended to encourage the

design of creative and cost-effective luminaires, while pro-

moting the use of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and

LEDs in the residential sector.

The theme of this year’s competition was

Celebrate 20

years of democracy!

In addition to designing and building

the working prototype, entrants had to prepare a budget,

submit a sketch and a photograph for each entry, and also

comply with strict safety and quality standards.

Entries came from university lecturers and students, as

well as professional interior designers, architects, electrical

contractors, lighting specialists and engineers across the

country and all provinces were represented

The competition is supported by

the National Metrology Institute of

South Africa (NMiSA), the Illuminat-

ing Engineering Society of South

Africa (IESSA), the South African Na-

tional Energy Development Institute

(Sanedi), Voltex, Eskom eta Awards

and 49M campaign, the SABS,Tech-

nology Innovation Agency (TIA),

Gauteng Department of Educa-

tion, Cape Town and KZN Science

Centres, Eurolux, the South African

Institute of Electrical Engineers,

LED Lighting South Africa, Radiant

Lighting, ARB ElectricalWholesal-

ers and BEKA Schréder.

It is organised under the auspices

of a steering committee consist-

ing of Latetia Venter (Eskom),

Barry Bredenkamp and Lauren

Smith (Sanedi), Elsie Coetzee

(NMiSA), Enock Zikalala (BEKA

Schréder) and Robert Hender-

son (Eskom). The total prize val-

ue was R200 000 and entrants

competed in three categories.

LiD

11-12/14