Equipment Energy Efficiency (E3) Program releases consultation regulation impact statement on residential and commercial lighting

Dec. 20, 2016
The Equipment Energy Efficiency (E3) Program has released a consultation regulation impact statement (RIS) considering policy options to improve the energy efficiency of residential and commercial lighting in Australia and New Zealand.

Around 80 million lamps are sold in Australia per year, with an estimated installed stock of more than 400 million. A further 20 million lamps are sold in New Zealand each year, with an estimated installed stock of more than 90 million .

The RIS raises a number of issues that are restricting the uptake of energy efficiency lighting. These have resulted in the community consuming more energy and producing more emissions than is necessary to meet their lighting needs.

The average Australian home has 37 lamps and the average New Zealand home has 26 . Lighting accounts for a significant proportion of the average household’s electricity use in Australia and New Zealand—typically around 10 to 12 per cent. In the commercial sector, lighting accounts for 18 to 40 per cent of electricity end-use in Australia and about 39 per cent in New Zealand.

Current minimum energy performance standards have gone some way to achieving their objective by promoting and improving lighting energy efficiency, but there is significant scope to revise the standards to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Four key policy options are outlined in the consultation paper. These include:
• introduction of MEPS for LED lamps and integrated luminaires
• introduction of MEPS for non-integrated commercial luminaires
• increasing incandescent and halogen MEPS (Australia only) to remove the most inefficient lamps
• introduction of mandatory labelling for lamp products primarily used in the residential sector.

Some households and businesses with inefficient lighting may be required to upgrade their existing lighting systems in the move to higher energy efficiency. The E3 Program is working closely with stakeholders to minimise upgrade costs to ensure a smooth transition.

The consultation Regulation Impact Statement, information on public consultation sessions and how to make a submission are available on the Energy Rating website at: http://www.energyrating.gov.au/consultation/consultation-ris-lighting
The consultation period closes on 24 February 2017.

Contact:

Equipment Energy Efficiency (E3) Program

E-mail:

[email protected] (Australia)
[email protected] (New Zealand)