Pay attention to details | Nielsen Bastos | TEDxAmazônia

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

Nielsen Mury Bastos works at Oi as a Buildings Service Manager, a sort of trustee of all the buildings in the North, Northeast and Southeast.

Good morning!

These days I've been spending here,
have taught me a great deal.

In fact, I think I came here
more to learn than to teach or talk.

We actually come from a big city,
from Rio de Janeiro,

and I don't have direct contact w
ith all we have seen here,

all that Edgar,
the last speaker, showed us.

It's been awesome for me,
it's been really cool.

We are here at TEDx Amazon,

to talk about
the "Efficient Lighting Project".

We need light,
we need to see better,

and society has preached that

in order to see better
we need super-efficient light bulbs

or more and stronger ones.

Actually, we don't need any of that.

We can utilize other means
to improve lighting.

As a result, we will change
our level of awareness.

Changing the level of awareness is

going from an incandescent light bulb,
which is a hot bulb,

to a cold one.

Is this bulb more efficient?
Does it save more?

Yes, but we can do more.

We can achieve the best results
with the lowest consumption,

with this more efficient lamp.

I stopped to think when I found out

about this micro-technology,

"Why didn’t I think of this before?"

It's so simple.

I have a light bulb at home,

and I keep looking for others
to improve the lighting conditions,

Why didn’t I think of this before?

I kept asking myself this.

It really bothered me.

This technology consists of

anodized aluminum foil
that reflects light.

As if it were a mirror.

However, if it were a mirror,
this is what it would look like:

If there were a glass,
it would only mirror the glass.

If there were a light bulb,
it would only mirror the bulb.

When I place this foil
in the shape of a parabola,

I amplify the image
and, therefore, increase the light.

I can produce more light

with the lowest resource
consumption possible.

A long time ago, we used to have lamps
that didn’t direct the light anywhere.

Then the idea of a reflector came about.

I can use this surface to direct light.

That's how we started, and we can improve.

Today, how do we use it?

On the slide, you can see
two incandescent light bulbs.

I also brought
this straight fluorescent bulb.

The traditional way to use it

is to put two of them
together in this model

in order to obtain good luminosity.

What we can do now is
to use only one bulb in this model

with a reflective parabola-shaped foil

providing us the same result

or, even better,

up to 180% more light

than the two lamps
without the reflective foil.

We tested it.

In order to do the test, we need
a light meter to measure the light.

This way you can check
how much light is generated.

This is what we did in a company,
a large company I work for, Oi.

We implemented
this project in our building.

We took care of the buildings,

and in all our offices we installed
lamps such as this one we have here,

lamps with these two fluorescent tubes.

I had 262 lux, the right amount of light
on a desk with two flourescent bulbs.

When I removed one of them and installed
the foil, we reached 470 lux.

Therefore, it was
about a 100% increase in light.

We also installed it in the parking garage
where we had 51 lux with two bulbs of 40.

Now we have 140 lux.

There are more advantages. What are they?

Up to 50% in energy savings.

We actually save more,

because I am removing one bulb,

50% less in the electric bill.

owever, the bulb I removed will be reused,

the reactor I removed will also be reused.

I can reuse the product much more,

cut costs and achieve
the lighting conditions that I need.

I can double the light,

reduce the temperature in the environment,

and it's excellent
for areas with air conditioning,

and the system maintenance
becomes less frequent.

There were around 1700 lamps

with two bulbs in each one.

Today there are 1735 bulbs.

It's more ecofriendly, there is
less waste and power consumption,

and it emphasizes colors.

We can reuse the existing lamps and bulbs.

There are advantages,
but there is one disadvantage.

What would it be?

When I install the foil,
it creates a focus point.

When I put the lamp here, it creates

a focus point for this environment.

When I remove the foil,
light spreads a little more.

This is the only disadvantage,
which can be easily solved.

All we have to do
is to better distribute the lamps

in order to use light the way we need it.

What was
the project's financial feasibility?

Before we implemented the project,

we used to spend
R$335,000 on lighting,

considering that the 1735 lamps
were on 24h a day during the whole year.

The cost was R$0.35 per KW

Removing one bulb
from each lamp, I save 50%.

And this savings is only
by removing one bulb from each lamp,

not to mention how much I save
by not having to make any other purchase.

Now we spend R$ 167,000 a year.

This is equivalent
to a "payback" of 9 months.

Therefore, I paid off
this investment in 9 months

and had an implementation cost
of R$ 121,000.

What does that mean?

If I have a 32w bulb,

which is slightly more than this one,
and it is on 24h a day,

it is equivalent
to 26 full 2L water bottles,

and I am constantly wasting this water.

This means that 1735 lamps, on 24h a day,

represent a consumption
of 45,100 2L water bottles;

that is, 90,200L of water being wasted

if these bulbs are on.

So if I have this behavior
and take this simple action

of removing one bulb
and reusing it to do better,

I'm not only enjoying a 50% gain,

but I am also enjoying
an enormous gain in water savings.

We won't be wasting water
as much as we do today

as we can see here in the Amazon.

I have always seen the Amazon on TV
and have always been touched,

but not as much as I am now by being here
and seeing what we've got today.

This makes me want to do more every day,

even if it's
just a simple attitude change.

We can do it and have great results.

Then we will have much more light

for much less cost.

We will have more light

without having to spend
even an extra penny on power.

Yesterday I was surprised
when I read the Sorrir magazine

and found the piece
"Work to live a better life".

I was honored.

It talks about the experience
of people who created things

we couldn't even imagine,
and then they would think,

"How simple! Why didn't think of that?"

Then this sentence called my attention,

"If there is an obstacle in your path,
you can either lament or overcome it."

The first choice is easier,
but it leads nowhere.

The second allows us
to not only solve a problem

but also to do something for humankind."

Even this simple change in attitude
presents obstacles to its achievement.

We'll have to struggle
to overcome these obstacles

and contribute
to the development of society.

Thank you.