Technical note Technical and economic studies on lighting systems: A case for LED lanterns and CFLs in rural Ghana C.K.K. Sekyere * , F.K. Forson, F.O. Akuffo Department of Mechanical Engineering, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana article info Article history: Received 29 September 2011 Accepted 23 February 2012 Available online 15 April 2012 Keywords: Lighting systems Illuminance Solar powered LED CFLs abstract Studies have shown that 50.1% of Ghana’s 22,900,927 population use kerosene as fuel source for lighting. Statistics further established that 75.6% of Ghana’s rural population and 19.9% of the urban population use kerosene as fuel for lighting. This situation has brought about diverse problems of poor indoor air quality. For instance, a survey conducted among 113 non-electrified households in 16 rural communities, located in six regions in Ghana that use kerosene lanterns established that 69% of the households observed soot particulates in a household member’s nostril in the morning. In light of the known health effects of kerosene usage for lighting in poorly ventilated structures and the recent global increases in the prices of petroleum products, this study is designed to assess the suitability of solar-powered LED and CFL lighting systems as replacement for kerosene lanterns. The technical analysis was done by measuring the luminous flux of each lighting system on a flat surface measuring 1 m by 1.2 m using a portable lux meter. The economic analysis was based on a two-year simple payback period. Results from the study showed that the cost of illumination ranges from $0.061 per thousand lux- hours (klxh) for Goshen solar lantern to $0.261 per klxh for Gentlite solar lantern with kerosene lantern costing $0.227 per klxh. The analysis established that switching to the solar-LED and CFL systems (lanterns A, B and D) would have a payback time of less than two years when replacing the wick-type kerosene lantern with between $11.60 and $61.60 to save annually. When evaluated in terms of total cost of ownership (fixed and variable), the solar-powered LED and CFL systems emerged as the most cost-effective solution. Emissions analysis conducted revealed that the solar-powered systems save between 80.15 and 256.49 kg CO 2 /year. The annual CO 2 emissions per kerosene lantern were estimated to be 60.99 kg. Therefore, the most significant deduction from the study is that the solar-powered LED and CFL lighting systems are a viable and cost effective off-grid lighting alternative for fuel-based lighting systems in rural Ghana. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Access to electricity for households is currently about 54%, with rural access being only 24.9% compared to 81% in urban households [1]. The consequence is that in Ghana where about 56.25% of the 22,900,927 national population reside in rural areas, 75.6% of the rural households use kerosene as the main fuel source for lighting. Table 1 shows fuel for lighting in Ghana. The Ghana Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire Survey (CWIQ II) put the total percentage of Ghana’s population which use kerosene as their main source of fuel for lighting at 50.1% as at 2003 [2]. It is reported that [3] Ghana spends as much as 20e30% of its export earnings on crude oil and petroleum products importation, depending on the world market prices of these products. Poor indoor air quality is widely recognized as a problem in rural households mainly as a result of the reliance of low-income households on woodfuel for cooking and fossil fuel for lighting. According to a DfID report [4], indoor air smoke contributes to respiratory infections that account for up to 20% of the 11 million deaths in children each year. A WHO research indicated that [5] acute exposure to NO 2 (which is a by-product of kerosene combustion) is associated with respiratory irritation and can lead to long term changes such as pulmonary oedema, pneumonitis, bronchitis and bronchiolitis obliterans. A survey [6] conducted among 113 non-electrified households in 16 rural communities, * Corresponding author. Fax: þ233 5160137; þ233 277 480068 (Mobile) E-mail addresses: ckksekyere@yahoo.co.uk (C.K.K. Sekyere), fkforson@ yahoo.co.uk (F.K. Forson), foakuffo@yahoo.com (F.O. Akuffo). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Renewable Energy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene 0960-1481/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2012.02.019 Renewable Energy 46 (2012) 282e288