A new optoelectronic components manufacturer, RONA Electricals (Pvt) Ltd, will set up a factory to manufacture solid-state lighting or light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs in the Gampaha district with the aim of introducing more energy saving lighting among Sri Lankan consumers and thereby reducing their electricity bill, an official of the company said.
It will also provide direct employment to many and also outsourcing opportunities to local component manufacturers.. By offering the widest range of LED luminaires for residential and all industries, the company hopes to reduce the nation's lighting energy consumption cost by as much as 50% of the current usage, thereby providing the best of energy saving option to the nation, he added. The introduction of the restructured tariff for energy from January 2011 is likely to cause severe hardships to both industry and heavy residential users, and the availability of LED luminaires should be welcome news to those affected by the new tariffs, he said.
As their first project, the company is retro-fitting the existing energy consuming bulbs at all 22 places of Buddhist worship which receive free electricity from the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) . The project titled “2600th Sambuddhathawa Aloka Pooja” has been approved by the. Minister of Power and Energy and the Board of CEB. It is geared to be completed by next Vesak and will replace all luminaires that come under the maintenance of the CEB at each site.
Company Chairman and CEO, Ravi Randeniya, told the Business Times that the approach will not only help reduce the energy consumption on lighting, but more significantly, help ease the burden on fossil-fuel based energy production or even the need for expansion and helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By having the company’s manufacturing here, their LED luminaire range can customize cost effective lighting solution to residential, industrial and public area lighting needs, he said.
RONA Electricals has developed a comprehensive strategy by partnering with the world’s largest LED manufacturer to accelerate the development and market introduction of energy-efficient LED for general illumination in Sri Lanka. With its own R&D facility with Sri Lanka’s best talent to bring this advance technology at affordable prices, the energy savings potential of this technology offered by them is significant, and Sri Lanka will benefit enormously, he said.
“The greatest asset is LEDs have a longer life span than fluorescent bulbs, produce less heat and use drastically less energy than typical grocery case lighting. They use a fraction of the amount of energy of an incandescent light bulb, and they don’t contain mercury, which is present in all current light fixtures” he said. |
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