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Lighting accounts for over 20% of electricity use in the residential sector of Cameroon. Due to the unreliable and inadequate energy supply in the country, there is a need for the efficient utilization of the available energy. This paper presents the current different technologies used for artificial lighting including the economic and environmental benefits associated with a switch from incandescent lighting to compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) and light emitting diode (LED) in residential dwellings in Buea, Cameroon. The study employed a survey of 100 residential dwellings in Buea. Results of the survey revealed that artificial lighting in dwellings is achieved through the use of the following technologies: incandescent lamps, CFLs and fluorescent tubes. The economic assessment for the substitution of incandescent lamps with CFL and LED considering an average daily lighting duration of six hours was also conducted using the net present value (NPV), benefit cost ratio (BCR), the simple payback period (PBP) and a life cycle cost analysis (LCC). The economic assessment revealed an NPV that ranges from $47 to $282.02, a BCR of 1.84 and a PBP of 0.17 year for the substitution of current incandescent lamps in dwellings with CFL while the substitution of incandescent lamps with LED revealed an NPV of the range $89.14 to $370, a BCR of 3.18 and a PBP of 1.92 years. The LED and incandescent technologies emerged with the lowest and highest LCC respectively. Substituting incandescent lamps with CFL and LED results in a reduction in lighting related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from dwellings by 66.6% and 83.3% respectively. From the results, a transition towards efficient lighting in the residential sector of Cameroon possesses great economic and environmental benefits. There is need for the government of Cameroon to expedite the uptake of LED through the formulation and implementation of favourable policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The replacement of incandescent lamps with more energy-efficient lighting technologies has a direct influence on the way flicker is measured. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) established in the 61000-4-15 standard the functional specifications of a flickermeter, taking a standard incandescent lamp's response to voltage fluctuations as the reference. During the past ten years, different works have studied the sensitivity of modern lamps to analytical voltage fluctuations of low complexity. From these studies, the most widespread conclusion is that modern lamps are less sensitive to flicker than are incandescent lamps. Based on these results, international standardization organizations are currently studying two different possibilities for updating the flicker assessment procedure: adjusting the IEC flickermeter according to a new less sensitive reference lamp, or increasing the established compatibility levels for voltage fluctuations. This work presents for the first time a sensitivity analysis of a set of modern lamps subjected to real voltage signals that are more complex than analytical voltage fluctuations. The obtained results lead to the following conclusions: not all efficient lamps have a lower sensitivity to fluctuations than do incandescent lamps; the response of some lamps depends on the complexity of the input voltage fluctuation; and the response of some lamps in real scenarios, i.e., more complex voltage fluctuations, does not correlate with their response to simple voltage fluctuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Energy efficiency is a major strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, it is being implemented as part of the Kyoto Protocol''s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Efficient lighting CDM projects claim to alleviate poverty and reduce emissions, while also aiding buyers of Certified Emission Reductions credits (CERs) to meet their abatement targets. Yet, as energy savings calculations do not account for behavioural responses, which cause “rebound effects”, a limited analysis may lead us to be overoptimistic about these projects’ environmental accomplishments. This study estimates the impact of the expenditure of monetary savings (understood as “poverty alleviation”) on the reduction targets of two CDM projects. Results suggest that the projects may, in fact, reduce electricity consumption further than expected; however, in terms of CO2 emissions, results vary. Whereas in one case the effect may not significantly affect the CO2 target, in the other it may compromise around 8% or 19% of it, consequently leading to an overestimation of CERs. A wider perspective of analysis is needed if energy efficient projects are to be held as a “silver bullet”. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]