An analysis of the applications of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for selection of energy efficiency practices in public lighting in a sample of Brazilian cities

Abstract

In Brazil, the public lighting sector is a responsibility of the municipal government and typically represents around 4% of the electricity consumed by cities. Considering the significant importance and functions of this service, sustainable management is necessary. The aim of this paper is to investigate the main practices used worldwide in terms of energy efficiency of public lighting and propose the use of the multi-criteria method called Analytic Hierarchy Process to choose the best options for a group of Brazilian cities, namely Passo Fundo, Santa Maria and Porto Alegre. The methodology of this paper consists of searching for best practices in public lighting, which worked as alternatives for applying the Analytic Hierarchy Process. The final step consisted of presenting the impacts of a potential implementation, through analysis of energy and financial savings. The results suggest the preferred practices to each municipality (Audit and Guide Elaboration, Retrofit, Alternative Energy and Management) and their potential implementation can promote energy and financial savings up to 6 GWh/year and 600,000.00 US$/year. The main implications of this paper are related to proposing the use of a multi-criteria method to the public lighting sector and providing useful insights for local governments and especially for developing countries.

LED there be light: The impact of a lighting efficiency campaign at poor schools in South Africa

“…Salvia et al [12] explored the importance and function of public lighting on the municipal level which we have extended to schools. Many accounts exist of older, inefficient lighting technology used in schools, which contributes to a large portion of electricity bills.…”

“…To date, most studies have emphasised technical questions rather than sustainable management. Sustainability in public lighting includes optimal lighting solutions considering functions of the system, reducing operation expenses and minimising electricity usage [12]. They further state that monetary savings through energy reductions could be up to 50%, however this includes all municipal lighting.…”

Assessing the Techno-Economic Effects of Replacing Energy-Inefficient Street Lighting with LED Corn Bulbs

“…[1,2]. On the other hand, public lighting systems can lead to a high consumption of electricity, related to the use of inefficient equipment and poor management [3]. Electricity consumption in public lighting systems represents a significant part of the energy balances of municipalities and cities around the world [4,5].…”

“…Radulovic, Skok, and Kirincic analysed the energy efficiency management of public lighting and concluded that management represents a driving force for the success of the projects [25]. Salvia et al have investigated the main energy efficiency practices used worldwide related to urban public lighting [3]. To utilize solar energy for environmentally friendly streetlights, Sutopo et al considered the implementation of solar-energy-based street lighting in Indonesia.…”

Applying A Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) Approach to Determine the Key Criteria for Taipei Creative City of Design (TCCD) As A Business Centre in Taiwan

“…UNESCO has established a program that called Creative Cities Network (CCN) that aims of this program are to foster international cooperation with and between cities committed to investing in creativity as a driver for sustainable urban development cultural In respond to the network that has been created by UNESCO, we purpose the AHP method to find out the potential criteria of Taipei City. The AHP method is a method that is quite well known for finding a solution to a problem based on multiple criteria (Salvia et al, 2019). This method uses pairwise comparisons to get conclusions in a group decision that requires only one round.…”