Power engineers originally prepared the Lighting for a Koruna project primarily for smaller municipalities that could not get subsidies. Their mayors are now thinking very hard about all expenditures, and can invest in other areas thanks to the zero acquisition cost of their public lighting. However, given the current economic situation, cities have also started to use this new economic model.
In Zlaté Hory, for example, ČEZ Energetické služby has replaced nearly 500 light fixtures, reducing energy consumption from the original 182 MWh to 45 MWh, bringing the town savings of over 75 percent. “This product has allowed us to modernise public lighting without any upfront investment. The contract also includes maintenance of the light fixtures for ten years and their subsequent handover to the town. This means we can make other necessary investments, such as the reconstruction of wiring and sewage systems in residential buildings and the replacement of the control system for the central heating transfer stations,” explains Milan Rác, the mayor of Zlaté Hory. He adds with a smile that the money will come in handy next year, when the town will host the World Gold Panning Championships.
In Všeruby, where Energetické služby has installed 277 new light fixtures “for a koruna”, the modernisation of public lighting will bring even greater savings. Energy consumption for lighting roads and public spaces there is calculated to drop by 78.4 percent from 96 to 20 MWh per year. “We are looking forward to not only significant savings in electricity costs, but also a reduction in light smog thanks to the new lamps that shine only where they are supposed to and do not dazzle the whole neighbourhood,” says Václav Červenka, Všeruby’s mayor.
The Lighting for a Koruna project is based on the fact that municipalities and towns do not buy their light fixtures, but rent them. ČEZ Energetické služby covers all the costs from the savings brought by replacing an old expensive system with a new, modern and efficient one. “After the contractual lease period, during which we also take care of the operation and maintenance of the light fixtures, the lighting will become the property of the towns and municipalities, which will then benefit from the lower energy consumption,” says Rostislav Díža, the Managing Director of ČEZ Energetické služby. The lifetime of the supplied light fixtures is 80,000 to 100,000 hours, or 20 to 25 years under normal operation.
The technical side of the investment is also interesting. Most of the time it is a matter of replacing outdated discharge lamps with sodium sources, which are costly to operate, illuminate the entire surroundings and also have lower efficiency and distort colours. On the contrary, the modern LEDs installed by energy companies shine directly only where they are needed and, in addition, their intensity can be regulated. They can, for example, be set to operate at 50 percent of their original power input at night when there is less traffic, which again reduces costs.
