LIGHTING offers much scope for improving energy efficiency in Pakistan, according to the country's National Energy Conservation Centre (ENERCON), which says the energy savings potential in lighting exceeds 50 per cent nationwide.

Using a World Bank-format for planning, ENERCON is seeking funding to implement a five-year energy efficiency improvement programme that envisages handing over the whole efficient-lighting movement to the private sector. ENERCON has successfully persuaded the government to lower import duties on products rated energy efficient from 100 per cent to 20 per cent.

After conducting a survey of lighting audits of selected commercial buildings, ENERCON says though daylight is an excellent resource in Pakistan, it is poorly utilised. Architects, for example, prefer to use tinted glass in windows, rather than selectively-coated glazings, which let light through, but not heat. The result is an unnecessary dependence on electric lights during normal working hours.