Factors influencing the adoption of the Kenya power company compact fluorescent lamps in Nairobi county, Kenya.

Abstract

Energy efficient Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) fixtures are becoming commonly available in the marketplace for homeowners as they replace traditional incandescent lamps. The replacement of incandescent bulbs with energy efficient lamps in houses would certainly reduce the electrical energy use and power demand; however, would also affect the space heating and space cooling energy needs. The unit cost of different sources of energy also plays a key role in identifying the potential retrofit measures. The lighting energy use accounts for about 5% to 8% of the annual utility costs in Kenya. Kenya Power Company has embarked on a project to replace incandescent lamps with CFLs which are expected to benefit about one million Kenya Power customers. The project is expected to reduce domestic customers’ power consumption by 130 megawatts (MW) during peak hours and is also expected to be a revenue source for Kenya Power as it seeks to get a share of the rapidly growing carbon trade industry. The project has been registered as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project, with the firm set to sell the Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) generated by the project. This study therefore sought to evaluate factors influencing the adoption of the Kenya Power project on compact fluorescent lamps (CFL). The study findings suggest that there exist grounds to report strong influence of proper time management, costs, training and information on the adoption of the CFL project. The study also revealed aspects of cost, time management, training and information that had complementary and contrasting effects on the project while establishing a correlation between these factors and the adoption of the project. The study then suggests several areas of study that open themselves up for future exploration.