The Problem: Excessive consumption of CO2-producing fossil fuels drives climate change. Large amounts of CO2 are released into the air when we use electricity that is generated by coal-fired power plants. In Guatemala, around 26% of electricity is generated from coal and another 15% is generated from other non-renewable resources. CO2 contributes to climate change by trapping the sun’s heat in our atmosphere. Incandescent light bulbs inefficiently use electricity, leading to high environmental and financial costs.

The Solution: Tui’k Ruch’ Lew promotes the use of LED light bulbs in households in Santiago Atitlán. The use of LED light bulbs leads to significant environmental and financial savings. Each LED light bulb in use prevents 90 pounds of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere each year. Additionally, households save around Q210, or $27 USD, per bulb per year due to the bulb’s energy efficiency. The initial cost of the bulb will be paid off in energy savings in under 1 month. Taking into account that most households will replace more than one light bulb, the environmental and financial impact of the project is substantial.

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Objectives

1. Save 90 pounds of CO2 per installed LED bulb from being released into the atmosphere each year.

2. Save Q210 per light bulb per year, improving family economies. 

3. Educate beneficiaries on the environmental and financial benefits of replacing incandescent light bulbs with LEDs. 

4. Educate beneficiaries on the environmental and financial benefits of household energy savings as they pertain to other appliances.

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The project is simple and effective. We visit beneficiaries of our Improved Cookstove Program and teach them about the environmental and financial benefits of replacing incandescent light bulbs with LEDs. If they're interested, we sell them LED bulbs at cost and they start saving money and helping the earth almost immediately. Brighter Futures uses a results based framework that allows us to track the success of our project and make necessary changes to improve the project's results, for us and our beneficiaries. While we're there, we'll also teach our beneficiaries some simple tricks to help reduce their electricity bill. It's easy and rewarding for everybody involved.

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