The entire public lighting system across the municipality of Monchique is to be switched to LED* lighting, according to a protocol signed on Monday, January 15th, between the City Council and EDP Distribuição.
The deal aims to replace all types of public lighting with LEDs - covering urban, rural and semi-urban areas, gardens, public parks and leisure areas.
This will reduce the council's electricity bill - which is passed onto ratepayers. With this measure, the council intends to "reduce consumption and energy costs, covering the parishes of Monchique, Marmelete and Alferce."
The switch over will be completed in 2019 and the work already has begun in rural areas.
The protocol was signed by Rui André, mayor of Monchique, and Eugénio Sousa from EDP Distribuição.(see picture below)
For Rui André this change-over is economical in and environmentally friendly and he suggests everyone makes the change, "In addition to reducing the energy bill, which is so important for those with low budgets, LED technology can reduce maintenance costs and ensure long life of bulbs, reduce CO2 emissions and minimise waste."
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* LED stands for 'light emitting diode.' A diode is an electrical component with two terminals which conduct the electricity only in one direction. With an electrical current, the diode emits a bright light around the small bulb.
LED lights are up to 80% more efficient than traditional incandescent lights. 95% of the energy in LEDs is converted into light and only 5% is wasted as heat. This is compared to incandescent lights which convert 95% of energy to heat and only 5% into light.
