Energy efficient lighting upgrades - are they a missed opportunity for the incumbent lighting industry?

摘要

Before I launch into discussing that, it might be prudent to discuss how I found myself in the energy efficient lighting upgrade consultancy business. Since 1981 I have been working in lighting from retail to commercial, sales and specification. During the buzzing period before the Sydney Olympics in 2000 I found myself working on a variety of projects that were based on the concept of Environmentally Sustainable Development. This was a really tough area to be in. The cost of electricity was very low in Australia at the time and there was a strong push to commoditising lighting design and the products selected by designers. It was very difficult to balance the needs of all of the stake holders. The supply chain wanted to substitute quality selections for products that cost less while we wanted commercial quality solutions that would deliver lower energy use. The existing low energy prices meant that we found it very hard to put together a good business case showing reasonable commercial paybacks.