Reducing energy consumption and environmental impact
The international community has set itself the task of cutting harmful emissions of carbon dioxide worldwide.
In the case of lighting, this can only be achieved by reducing energy consumption, not by reducing installed loads.
This is taken into account by new energy consumption classifications specified in kilowatt hours per year per square metre. At the same time, the challenge is to create an environment for people which boosts their productivity and promotes their welfare.
A global challenge
Response to climate change: the Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Treaty to stabilise the emission of greenhouse gases was ratified in 1992. Concrete, mandatory reduction obligations were then stipulated. According to the Treaty, emissions must be cut by 8 % by 2012. 1992 figures are used as comparison values. The lighting industry is also expected to make its contribution by saving 24 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over the same period. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has issued the following statistics on worldwide energy consumption for lighting:
. 650 megatonnes of primary energy . 2,550 terawatt-hours of electricity . 19 % of global consumption
The term "primary energy requirement" covers all use of energy from production, conversion and transport of final energy through to useful energy, and therefore provides a holistic assessment of the energy consumption of a building. Converting primary energy into final energy takes into account the mix of energy sources and varies from country to country. A factor of 3.0 is specified for Germany, and calculations for Austria use a factor of 1.61; 1 kWh of final energy is equivalent to 0.7 kg of carbon dioxide.
