Go green and win

The move to eco-consciousness is infiltrating every part of modern life and although some companies have only cottoned onto this recently, Eskom has been well aware of the importance of promoting green design since 1999.

The Eskom Energy Efficient Light Design Competition is back. Held every two years this prestigious competition invites students, designers and (for the first time) secondary school learners, to submit innovative residential lighting solutions to win their share of R214 000 in prize money as well as the opportunity to be awarded the coveted Sparks Trophy.

Andrew Etzinger, Senior General Manager of Integrated Demand Management (IDM) at Eskom, says “The lighting design competition helps mobilise transformation in the market, motivating lighting designers, architects and interior designers to use energy efficient lighting in their portfolios and inspiring consumers to adopt innovative and green lighting concepts.”

“Our lobbying programme with tertiary institutions in previous years has helped put energy efficiency on the radar of the engineering, architecture, interior design, industrial and product design faculties, creating awareness among future decision-makers,” he says. “The competition has already been included in the curricula of all the main universities and design faculties in the country, so this year we have decided to expand the programme to secondary schools, which involves presentations, workshops and lectures to learners, where experts share knowledge and know-how, as well as sponsorships of lamps, control gear and equipment for previously disadvantaged learners.”

With a focus on innovation, even the simplest idea could be a winner, and over the years this competition has proved to be a launch pad into energy efficient design careers.

There are four awards, the ‘Residential Luminaire Design’ for full time students at tertiary institutions, the ‘Innovative Energy Efficient Lighting Design’ for professional graphic designers, electrical engineers, product designers and researchers. There are also two special awards for the ‘Most Promising Young Designer’, which will be awarded to a secondary school learner, and the ‘Most Promising Designer’, which will honour an amateur designer. Entries close on 31 August at midnight.

Supported by VISI, Philips, the Radiant Group, LED Lighting SA, Voltex, Eurolux, Osram, the Department of Energy, the eta Awards, 49M, NEEA, NMISA, SESSA, IESSA, Technology Innovation Agency, the South African Institute of the Interior Design Professionals, Electricity and Control, Sparks Electrical News, Vector and Lighting in Design, this competition will see South Africans across the board using creativity to solve the energy crisis our world is rapidly facing.

More information: www.lighting-design.co.za