Future scenarios of Smart Grids in Colombia

and their impact on Climate Change

C. Naranjo, J.D.Alzate, J.Salazar
Abstract: By 2010, 67% of the electricity generated in
Colombia was hydraulic and 28% by fossil fuels. The use of
these fuels is associated CO2e emissions, contributing to
climate change. On the other hand, climatic events such as El
Nio and La Nia affect the availability of reservoirs and
make the Colombian electricity mix variable. The Smart Grid
will be in the future an application to improve the efficiency of
the Colombian electrical system, and reduce consumption of
fossil fuels and therefore reduce carbon emissions.
Index terms
Global Warming, Greenhouse gases, Smart Grids

III. CURRENT OPERATION OF THE COLOMBIAN

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

N order to supply the energy demand Colombia has mostly

hydraulic and thermal systems generation. Power plants use
fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal, diesel, fuel oil and
kerosene. Also, some cogeneration systems supply a small
percentage of the demand. Hydraulic systems represent the
64% of the net effective capacity installed, while thermal
systems represent 30.8% of total capacity with a participation
of 60% of gas plants. [1]
A. Colombian Hydraulic Energy System

I. NOMENCLATURE
UNFCC: United Nation Framework for Climate Change
CO2e: Equivalent Carbon Dioxide
XM: Provides services for planning and coordinating the
operation of the National Interconnected System.
NEON: An information System of the Energy Market in
Colombia
COP: Conference of the parties. The parties to the convention
have met annually from 1995 in Conferences of the Parties
(COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate change
IEA: International Energy Agency
WEO: World Energy Outlook
TPES: Total Primary Energy Supply
IPCC: International Panel on Climate Change
COP$: Colombian Pesos (money)
II. INTRODUCTION

HIS article presents the current situation of the electricity

generation system in Colombia taking into account the
participation of hydraulic and thermal generation and also the
influence of climatic phenomena such as "El Nio" and "La
Nia" in the generation mix of the country.
Then place in context the impact of power generation in
Colombia Climate Change and the impact estimated in
kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent of 1 kWh of
generation in Colombia in recent years, applying the
methodology of the UNFCCC to calculation.
Finally, define some application scenarios of Smart Grids and
environmental benefit in reducing carbon emissions for the
country.

Colombia is a country with a high participation of hydraulic

systems for electricity generation, this fact makes that weather
conditions may affect electricity generation. The weather
phenomena in 2009 were characterized by the transition from
La Nia (2008-2009) to El Nio (2009-2010), and again
La Nia (2010-2011), two opposite weather conditions
characterized by rain, drought and rain beyond average
creating a high dependence of the electric system on these
events. El Nio is associated with a deficit in rainfall over the
majority of the Colombian territory, which brings a reduction
of the runoffs in the surface and subsurface of watersheds,
many of these associated to the hydraulic generation system.
In 2009 El Nio resulted in a decline of water reserves in dams
that for December 2009 reached a value of 10.000 GWh,
representing a decrease of 2.499,9 GWh, or 20% lower than
thosee registered on December 31, 2008, but higher than those
registered in previous events of El Nio, events with a great
impact in 1991-1992 and 1997 and 1998. [2]
In 2010, the situation is different with the return of La Nia
which brought a high increase in precipitations and water
reserves to Colombia.
B. Colombian Thermal Energy System
Thermal electricity generation in Colombia started again to
increase from 1991-1992 when El Nio phenomenon showed
the fragility of the Colombian energy system dependence on
the availability of the dams.
Colombia has 48 thermal power plants that use different fuels
including gas, coal, diesel, fuel, oil and kerosene [3]. Some
plants can generate with more than one fuel.

978-1-4577-1801-4/11/$26.00 2011 IEEE

C. Electricity Generation in Colombia

The electricity generation in Colombia in 2008 was 54.432,53
GWh, in 2009 it was 55.986,40 GWh and in 2010 was
56.887,40 GWh. This shows an increase of 4,5% over the last
three years. [4]. The electricity generation in Colombia
between 2008 and 2010 changed by the climatic conditions,
increasing the thermal generation late 2009 by the effects of El
Nio, as shown in Graphic 1.

and transport. The electricity and heat sectors were the most
important worldwide in 2008 with 41% of CO2 emissions.
These sectors depend heavily on coal and it is also the largest
contributor of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, increasing its
participation in global emissions. [5]
According to the IEA, For 2030, the WEO forecasts that the
demand of electricity will be two times higher than current
demand, associated to the fast population growth, largely due
to the population growth in developing countries, the
continued increasing of the use of electrical appliances in
homes and commercial buildings, and the growth of electrified
industrial processes. [6]. This suggests that the fossil fuel
consumption for electricity and heat generation will increase
and will bring an increase in the greenhouse gasses emissions,
GHGs, for the planet.
B. Carbon Emissions for Electricity Generation in Colombia

Graphic 1. Composition of the generation between 2008 and

2010. [4]
Details of electricity generation in thermal power plants in
Colombia are presented in TABLE 1. This shows that despite
the increase in thermal generation, the only consumption
increased was coal. The efficiency of coal generation
increased 2.47% between 2009 and 2010, while natural gas
decreased 3.66%.
TABLE 1. THERMAL ELECTRICITY GENERATION FOR 2009 AND
2010. SOURCE: UPME, 2011. [3]
Generation
Eficiency
Fuel
Year
Consumption
(Gwh/year)
(%)
2009
3,564.7
1,413,111 t
30.90
Coal
2010
4,118.0
1,555,613 t
33.37
2009
438
668.996 bbls
39,96
ACPM
2010
275
382,266 bbl
43.62
2009
11,445
109,435 MPC
38.21
Natural Gas
2010
10,455
96,304MPC
35.94
2009
143
386,292 bbls
24.28
Fuel Oil
2010
109
191,036
33.87
2009
Kerosene
2010
7
11,284
40.44

IV. CLIMATE CHANGE IN ELECTRICITY

GENERATION

LIMATE change is taking more importance at political,

scientific, industrial and even costumer levels. Recent
COPs have searched to link different actors in the world with
major commitments to reduce the planet greenhouse gas
emissions.
A. Global Context
Of the total of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, two
sectors produce two-thirds of the emissions, electricity-heat

In the GHG Inventory estimated for Colombia in 2004 and

reported to the UNFCCC, the emissions of CO2 for Colombia
reached 180 million tons [7], of 49 gigatons (Gt) [8] of CO2 in
the global total, which shows that the contribution of
Colombia in the world carbon emissions is about only 0.37%.
In Colombia, 38% of these CO2 emissions are related to
agriculture and 36.6% are associated to the energy sector, of
this total 8.5% of the emissions are due to fossil fuel
consumption in energy generation industry. [7]
1) Emission Factor for Electricity Generation, Global
Context: In the interest of identifying the emissions
associated to the electricity generation, the energy
sector has an indicator that allows knowing the
contribution of CO2 emissions per every generated
kWh per country. This indicator is calculated taking
into account the electricity mix contribution in each
country associated to fossil fuel combustion emissions
and their equivalent in emissions and the total
electricity generation derived from fossil fuels and
sources like hydraulic, geothermal, solar, biomass,
among others. As a result this factor changes each year
depending on the generation mix.
The IEA report values of the emission factor for electricity
generation by country, with historical values between 1980
and 2008. [9]. Globally, the energy matrix of Brazil stands out
as one of the cleanest because of the use of renewable energy
with 44% of TPES, and ranking as the largest producer of
hydroelectricity in the world. [9]
2) Calculation of average emission factor for electricity
generation in Colombia: The methodology
for
calculating the average emission factor in Colombia is
based on the Consolidated Methodology Approved by
the Executive Board of the Clean Development
Mechanism ACM 0002 of the UNFCCC. The
average emission factor of all electricity generation
power plants is equivalent to the average operating
margin factor of the ACM0002, [10] and is
calculated as follows:

a)
Calculation of the total GHG emissions
associated to the fossil fuel consumption for the total
of the National Interconnected System plants: This
data is reported daily by the manager of the energy
market in Colombia, XM Market Experts (Expertos
en Mercados).
Emissions p = Fossil Fuel Consumption p,i FEC i

A summary of the calculation for the years 2008,

2009 and 2010 is presented in Graphic 1, Graphic 2 y
Graphic 3:
0.50
0.45
0.40
0.35
0.30

p: plant
i: fossil fuel
FEC: Fossil fuel Emission Factor

0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10

TABLE 2. EMISSION FACTORS FOR FUELS IN COLOMBIA. SOURCE:

UPME, FECOC 2011. [12]
CO2 (UPME,
CO2 (IPCC,
2011)
2007)
Fuel
[kg CO2/TJ]
Coal

97,257

94,600

Diesel

74,869

74,100

Fossil Fuel

80,570

77,400

Natural Gas

55,101

56,100

These values are Level 2, which according to the

IPCC makes the stoichiometric calculations taking a
complete combustion based on the carbon content of
fuels.

0.05

01/01/2008
11/01/2008
21/01/2008
31/01/2008
10/02/2008
20/02/2008
01/03/2008
11/03/2008
21/03/2008
31/03/2008
10/04/2008
20/04/2008
30/04/2008
10/05/2008
20/05/2008
30/05/2008
09/06/2008
19/06/2008
29/06/2008
09/07/2008
19/07/2008
29/07/2008
08/08/2008
18/08/2008
28/08/2008
07/09/2008
17/09/2008
27/09/2008
07/10/2008
17/10/2008
27/10/2008
06/11/2008
16/11/2008
26/11/2008
06/12/2008
16/12/2008
26/12/2008

0.00

Graphic 1. Emission factor for Colombian electricity mix generation 2008.

0.45
0.40
0.35
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00

01/01/2009
11/01/2009
21/01/2009
31/01/2009
10/02/2009
20/02/2009
02/03/2009
12/03/2009
22/03/2009
01/04/2009
11/04/2009
21/04/2009
01/05/2009
11/05/2009
21/05/2009
31/05/2009
10/06/2009
20/06/2009
30/06/2009
10/07/2009
20/07/2009
30/07/2009
09/08/2009
19/08/2009
29/08/2009
08/09/2009
18/09/2009
28/09/2009
08/10/2009
18/10/2009
28/10/2009
07/11/2009
17/11/2009
27/11/2009
07/12/2009
17/12/2009
27/12/2009

To calculate fossil fuel emissions, emission factors

for each fuel shall be used; for these purpose the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC
has published default values [11]. However, the
Mining and Energy Planning Unit of Colombia,
UPME has released a tool that contain the Fossil Fuel
Emission Factors in Colombia, FECOC. Given that
they are associated with the actual fuel composition
in Colombia these emission factors were used.
TABLE 2 presents the emission factors used for
calculation.

Graphic 2. Emission factor for Colombian electricity mix generation 2009.

0.50
0.45
0.40
0.35

b)
Calculation of the net generation for the
thermal plants in Colombia: The net generation is
defined as the electricity that a thermal plant delivers
to the transmission network, and is calculated as the
gross generation minus the used electricity for own
uses in the plant. XM Market Experts, daily reports
the net generation of the plants in the National
Interconnected System in their border points:

0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05

National net Generation =

net generation p

c)
Calculation of GHG emission factor of all
plant: The GHG emission factor of electricity of all
plants is calculated as:
Emission factor = Total Emissions [ton CO2 eq]
Total FEE / Total net generation [MWh]

01/01/2010
11/01/2010
21/01/2010
31/01/2010
10/02/2010
20/02/2010
02/03/2010
12/03/2010
22/03/2010
01/04/2010
11/04/2010
21/04/2010
01/05/2010
11/05/2010
21/05/2010
31/05/2010
10/06/2010
20/06/2010
30/06/2010
10/07/2010
20/07/2010
30/07/2010
09/08/2010
19/08/2010
29/08/2010
08/09/2010
18/09/2010
28/09/2010
08/10/2010
18/10/2010
28/10/2010
07/11/2010
17/11/2010
27/11/2010
07/12/2010
17/12/2010
27/12/2010

0.00

Graphic 3. Emission factor for Colombian electricity mix generation 2010.

The results of the calculations, with the information

availability allow to conclude that the emission factor
for electricity in Colombia, kgCO2/kWh, is directly
related with climate conditions, as shown in the
above graphics. So for the second semester of 2009,

when El Nio happened, the emission factor reached

the 400gCO2/kWh, while for the second semester of
2010, with the phenomenon La Nia the emission
factor was only of 50gCO2/kWh.
On the other hand, taking the annual averages, with
the data from daily reports the average annual
emission factor in Colombia can be built: in 2008 it
was 79gCO2/kWh, in 2009 it was 169gCO2/kWh and
in 2010 it was 185gCO2/kWh. These electricity
factors can be used in the reports of GHG Inventory,
according to the methodologies of the ISO 14064 [13]
and the GHG Protocol of the WRI and WBCSD. [14]
However, when calculation of the carbon footprint of
a product is made, using the life cycle approach, as
proposed by the PAS 2050 [15] methodology, it
should include the electricity system losses in
transmission and distribution. The transmission losses
are reported by XM, and for 2008 they were 1.8%,
1.7% in 2009 and 1.6% in 2010, showing an increase
in the national transmission efficiency of 0.2%. [16].
For distribution losses there is no official data for
recent years, however, preliminarily estimates for
2007 evaluates the losses in 13% from the demand,
and 15.4% from sales. [17]
V.

SMART GRIDS

Smart Grid is the evolution of the current electric grid by

applying technologies, tools and techniques to bring
knowledge to the electric systems for a better performance in
terms of the DOE of the USA. A Smart Grid will have higher
reliability, economic balance, and will reduce the impact to the
environment using new technologies [18].
Smart grids can be characterized as follows (partly based on
Chuang, 2008):
Interactive with consumers and markets,
Adaptive and scalable to changing situations,
Optimized to make the best use of resources and
equipment,
Proactive rather than reactive, to prevent
emergencies,
Self-healing grids with high level of automation,
Integrated, merging monitoring, control, protection,
maintenance, advanced IT systems,
Having plug-and-play features for network
equipment and ICT solutions,
Secure and reliable.

A traditional grid includes centralized power generation, and

at distribution level one-directional power flow and weak
market integration. Smart grids include centralized and
distributed power generation produced substantially by
renewable energy sources. [28]

A. Global context of the Smart Grids

Globally, we have begun developing several technologies that
enable Smart Grids for having better reliability, economic
balance and reduce their impact on environment.
One of the most important technologies in Smart Grids is the
Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), which through
advanced meters allows the user to control the supply of
electric energy, the other is Distributed Generation (DG) that
reduces long-distance transport energy, providing sustainable
forms of energy closer to the user and therefore more efficient;
and finally, Energy Storage, which allows ease network
overhead and improve the use of distributed generation. [19]
Within the electricity sector, Smart Grids must respond to new
challenges and opportunities that must be aligned with a
vision: A user centered approach, Renovation and innovation
in Smart Grids, Security of supply, Liberalized market,
Interoperability of electrical grids, Distributed Generation
(DG) and Renewable Energy Sources (RES) ,Management and
response to demand, Policy and regulatory aspects, Social and
demographic factors.
In addition, daily increases the number of people who are
involved in the future energy supply, from government to end
users, each stakeholder will help shape the Smart Grid system
so it is necessary to establish the needs and responsibilities of
each actor: Users, Electricity Network Companies, Energy
Service Companies, Technology providers, Researchers,
Traders, Generators, Regulators, Governmental Agencies,
Advanced electricity service and solution providers, Preparing
adequate workforce and continuous education.
B. The possible scenarios for Smart Grids in Colombia
Colombia is working on a smart grid initiative called
Colombia Inteligente1, with the participation of companies
and organizations as XM, CNO, CAC, CIDET, CINTEL,
CIER y COCIER.2 For Colombia, there is the possibility of a
Smart Grid System, and some of the interesting application
projects are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Non Interconnected Zone Energy Supply.

Electric Mobility: Private and Public (how can we
develop this)
Integration of renewables to the national electricity
mix.
Smart metering in transport distribution and
consumers.
Distributed Generation.

For more information visite:

http://www.colombiainteligente.com.co/Pages/default.aspx
2
XM: Expertos en Mercados, CNO: Consejo Nacional de Operacin, CAC:
Comit Asesor de Comercializacin, CIDET: Centro de Investigacin y
Desarrollo Tecnolgico del Sector Elctrico, CINTEL: Centro de
Investigacin de las Telecomunicaciones, CIER: Comisin de Integracin
Energtica Regional, COCIER: Comit Colombiano de la CIER

6.

Sustainable construction. Energy efficiency in

buildings: Lighting, Refrigeration, Domestic hot
water, Efficient White appliances.

The remaining of this paper will consider the calculation of the

carbon emissions reduction for the inclusion of Smart Grids in
Colombia
VI. CALCULATION OF THE REDUCTION OF
CARBON EMISSIONS FOR THE INCLUSION OF
SMART GRIDS IN COLOMBIA

N accordance with the website of Colombia Inteligente,

there are established different goals for Smart Grids
implementation in Colombia, which are associated with
different strategies that can be measurable by indicators.
In the Table 3, are listed some of the strategies proposed by
Colombia Inteligente, with their potential impact on
greenhouse gases emissions reductions in Colombia, and
afterwards there are details of the emissions reductions
calculations of some of these.
A. Renewable Energy in Non-Interconnected Zones and their
impact on Climate Change
According to the publication of Franco 2008 [19],
Approximately 4% of Colombian population is not connected
to the National Electrical Transmission System [20]. This
population occupies 66% of national territory. The Noninterconnected Zones (NIZ) are defined as those who have no
access to electricity through the National Interconnected
System (NIS). Generally their interconnection is financially
unviable due to lack of economies of scale [21].
The energy supply in these zones is characterized by low
coverage (34% of the population), small number of service
hours (8 hours on average), low quality (reliability and
availability), high technical losses and high prices, culture of
non-payment and users with very low incomes. In these areas
there is an installed capacity of 102 MW of which 97 MW are
conventional autonomous generation (mainly diesel plants),
4.7 MW small hydroelectric plants and about 100 kW
photovoltaic solar panels. [19].

For the calculation must be according the FECOC of UPME,

the emission factor for Diesel is 73,920 kgCO2/TJ. The
carbon emissions from combustion for electricity generation in
Non-Interconnected Zones for 2009 were 153,788 t CO2e.
corresponding to 0.08% of total emissions in the country.
In the Non-Interconnected Zones in Colombia, it is possible to
think in renewable sources of generation such as hydraulic,
eolic or solar. These are energies with zero carbon emissions.
If Colombia achieves to change the generation electricity
using thermal plants to a program of renewable electricity
generation, this would achieve an equivalent reduction of over
a hundred thousand tons per year of emissions.
B. The use of electric vehicles instead of fossil fuel vehicles
Car sales reached 253.869 units in Colombia in 2010, and at
the end of this year, Colombia increased its rate of
motorization, from 4.5 to 5.6 new vehicles per 1.000
inhabitants, this number is less than average car ownership in
the region, which reaches 11.6 vehicles [22].
Thinking of electric vehicles as part of the Smart Grid will be
a contribution to the energy emission reduction. A study by
Funk [23] presents some important data regarding the
efficiency of electric vehicles compared to fossil fuel vehicles
using gasoline and diesel.
Using these data and emission factors for the use of electricity
and gasoline and diesel combustion allows a comparison of
the impact by the inclusion of electric cars as part of the Smart
Grids.
To calculate the emissions of an electric car compared to a
gasoline-powered car several assumptions are considered for
giving an idea of the potential benefits in reducing carbon
emissions by using electricity from the grid.

Electricity Generation in Non-Interconnected Zones in 2009

was 200 GWh, with a consumption of 362.928 barrels of
diesel equivalent. [3]

The procedure for calculating the carbon emissions for noninterconnected zones is as follows, initially estimated diesel
consumption is multiplied by the factor of carbon for diesel.

ConsumptionDiesel (TJ/a) = Consumptiondiesel (L) x density diesel

(kg/L) x Calorific Value diesel (MJ/kg) x 10-6.

An electric car like the Tesla Roadster has a yield of

0.17 kWh/km [24]. The study of Funk reports a
performance of 0.25 kWh/km. For this study we used
the highest.
The gasoline-powered car has a performance of
40km/gal.
The emission factor for electricity generation in 2010
was 180gCO2e/kWh, the transmission efficiency was
98.4% [16], and the distribution efficiency was
84.6% [17].
The emission factor for gasoline is 74,750kgCO2/TJ,
and the calorific value is 42.44MJ/kg [12]. The
gasoline density is between 0.70-0.76 kg/L, for this
calculation the a value of 0.73kg/L is considered.
Each vehicle travels about 20.000 Km/year.
The cost of 1 kWh is about 300 COP$3.

CO2 emissions (ton/a) = ACPM Consumption (TJ/a) x ACPM

Emission factor (kg/TJ) x 10-3
3

COP, Colombian Pesos (money)

TABLA 3. ESTRATEGIES PROPOSED BY COLOMBIA INTELIGENTE

SECTOR

ESTRATEGY
National Measurement
Systema Phasor
Penetration of Renewable
Energy

ENERGY
Plants Efficiency
Penetration of Distributed
Generation
Network efficiency
Electricity
Sector
Electricity
Sector:
Consumer

Demand Management
Efficient end-use equipment
(energy star)
Electricity penetration in
transit

Transport
Sector

Efficient transport

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION RELATION

Energy transmission losses in Colombia were responsible of over 166
thousand tons of CO2 in 2010.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions by electricity generation from fossil fuels in
2010 were 10.5 million tons. Initially, renewable energy generation begin
in Non Interconnected Zones, which represents emissions reductions of
over 153,000 tons of carbon per year.
Generation more efficient, reduce the demand of fossil fuels. A reduction
of 5% of the fossil fuels for 2010, will be a 500,000 tons
Colorado State in USA includes mandatory to get in 2020 a 3% of
generated energy using distributed energy4. If Colombia includes this
mandatory, will be a reduction until 300,000 tons.
Generation and distribution efficiency increments can directly affect
greenhouse gasses emissions reductions in the network, the actual
efficiency of the system is 74% [18].
It can reduce the use of the fossil fuels for the generation the electricity,
actually used for peak of demands.
The end-user participation in energy chain represent the most important
point of it. Is in the purchase decision where the systems efficiency can
increase even 9 times, as the case of incandescent lamps and LEDs.
The National Development Plan provides a range of actions to implement.
Two mass transit projects less pollutants, with reductions of 800.000 tons
of CO2.5
The National Development Plan aims to convert approximately 14,500
vehicles per year, which equates to savings of around 380,936 tons of
CO2eq.6

"Going Solar Is Harder Than It Looks, a Valley Finds" article by Kirk Johnson in The New York Times June 3, 2010.
"Colorado Increases Renewables Requirements" blog by Kate Galbraith on NYTimes.Com March 22, 2010
5
Segunda Comunicacin de Colombia ante UNFCC
6
Segunda Comunicacin de Colombia ante UNFCC, capitulo 3. Pagina 172

TABLE 4. COMPARISON OF CO2 EMISSIONS FOR ELECTRIC AND

GASOLINE VEHICLES

number of residential lamps that the country and the electrical

consume at year.

Electric

Gasoline

20.000

20.000

Electricity or
fuel/km

0.25 kWh/km

40km/gal

Type

Emission Factor

0.216
kgCO2/kWh

8.8 kgCO2/gal

Emission per km

0.054 kgCO2/km

0.219 kgCO2/km

Anual Emission

1,080 kg
CO2/year

4400
kg CO2/year

300 COP/kWh

8500 COP/gal

1500,000
COP$/year

4250,000
COP$/year

km/yr

Specific Price
Total Price
COP$/year

TABLE 6. NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL LAMPS THAT THE COUNTRY

AND THE ELECTRICAL CONSUME AT YEAR

An electric car during its use can reduce up to 3.3 tons of CO2e
per year and save money up to 3 million COPs per year,
compared with a gasoline-powered car. These findings
indicate that the adoption of electric vehicles can bring
emissions reductions of more than 260 tons of CO2 per year,
increasing progressively with the augmentation of the fleet.
C. Sustainable rehabilitation of buildings
1) Energetic
efficience
in
buildings:
Energy
consumption in Colombia is distributed and the
residential, industrial and commercial possess 52.5%
of total consumption, it is important to note that
doesnt exists information about the amount of
energy consumed in lighting in these sectors.
However UPME in 2008 [25], presents an analysis of
the number of users per sector, the residential sector
has 8420,852 users (91.2%) and commercial sector
has 663,742 (7.2%)
Based on this information, we calculated the potential impact
of replacing bulbs in the residential sector of Colombia.
TABLE 5, shows the composition by technology of the
luminaries in Colombia and lamps average by home.
TABLE 5. LAMPS IN COLOMBIA. COMPOSITION BY TECHNOLOGY
AND LAMPS AVERAGE BY HOME (l/h). [26]

Type

Bogot

Medelln

Barranquilla

Pasto

Incandescent

71.9%
7.6 l/h
21.0%
2.2 l/h
7.1%
0.8 l/h

59.5%
5.1 l/h
28.7%
2.4 l/h
11.8%
1.0 l/h

46.7%
5.0 l/h
44.6%
4.7 l/h
8.7%
0.9 l/h

85.1%
7.8 l/h
11.3%
1.0 l/h
3.6%
0.3 l/h

LFCs
Fluorescents

Analyzing this information can be generated by a weighted

average cumulative number of luminaries who owns a home
on average in Colombia, which determines that in a typical
residence in Colombia there are 10 bulbs.
With this information, multiplied by the number of residential
users in the country (see TABLE 6) may be an estimate of the

Incandescents

#
residential
lamps
56,678,827

Power
by
lamp
80

LFCs

20,892,363

Fluorescents

7,007,805

Total

84,578,995

use by
day (h)

Consume by
year

4,965,065,245

20

457,542,750

40

306,941,859
5,729,549,854

Referring to residential customers in each of these cities,

calculated based on information reported by the SUI [27] to
December 2010 excluding vacant residential users that are
reported by the reporting system for companies that provide
cleaning service we can estimate a weighted average rate of
fixtures in the country in a typical home, and the energy
consumption for lighting in the residential sector in Colombia.
In the scenario of a 100% change all the luminaries of the
country by LEDs lamps, with a power of 5 W, the savings in
lighting in energy consumption will be 92%, which results in a
decrease in CO2 emissions for Colombia of 947.966 tonCO2e
per year.
VII.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of PhD

Renato Cespedes, XM, UPME, and IDEAM for the
availability of data for this document.
VIII.

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IX. BIOGRAPHY

Juan David Alzate Tamayo. Was born in Medellin,

Antioquia, on June 1st, 1977. He is an environmental engineer
graduated from the University of Medellin. Candidate for
Master in Sustainable Development in the University of Lanus
in Argentina and Polytechnic University of Catalua. His
employment experience included: Coordinator of the
Integrated Management Plan for Solid Waste of Medellin,
2004 2008. University teaching at the Universidad Pontificia
Bolivariana and University Institution Colegio Mayor de
Antioquia. Environmental Analyst in Interconexin Elctrica
S.A (ISA)
Carlos Naranjo. Was born in Medellin, Antioquia, on May
13th, 1978. He is a chemical engineer graduated from the
National University of Colombia. Especialized in
Environmental Enginnering in the Pontificia Bolivariana
University of Medelln. His environmental experience
included: Expert in climate change, carbon footprint of
products and life cycle assessment. Project Director in GAIA
Servicios Ambientales, cathedra teacher for different
Universities in Colombia.
Juliana Salazar Guzmn. Was born in Pereira, Risaralda, on
October 12, 1986. She is an environmental manager graduated
from the Universidad Tecnolgica de Pereira. His employment
experience included the Universidad Pontificia Bolovariana
and GAIA Servicios Ambientales. Her specials fields of
interest included climate change and energy sector.