Lighting up & saving up

There was once a feature in a foreign magazine that discussed the quality of lighting as a means of preventing depression. Studies indicated that incidences of depression among office workers were greatest during the long, dark winter months. Scientists recommended that a particular kind of lighting be used to improve the mood of workers. The light bulbs were changed in the workplace. Consequently, the depression rates went down.

We do not have dark, cold winter days in tropical countries like the Philippines. However, our moods are likewise affected by lighting. As temperatures rise in summer and electric bills soar, wallets are emptied and moods plummet. Likewise, the wet season that we are experiencing now will entail additional expense to dry damp laundry.

How should we address this problem of soaring electric bills? Philips’ the reputable brand leader in lighting, presented an alternative and simple means of lowering energy usage and reducing electric bills.

The solution is surprisingly simple. By replacing standard incandescent light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs), the consumer can save 80 percent on electricity. What does this mean? Simply, it means that your incandescent bulb uses up so much more electricity than a CFL, so you would end up spending less if you opted to use CFLs. How does this translate to pesos and centavos? For the numbers-challenged, savings of 80 percent means spending P20 if you used to spend P100, or P200 if you used to pay P1,000. It would mean more money left in the consumer’s wallet.

Paul Peeters, general manager of Philips Lighting ASEAN/Pacific who is based in Singapore, demonstrated the effect of savings on the big picture of national consumption using the 2004 Household Energy Consumption Survey released in August 2005.

The survey showed that 92.1 percent of the 14.6 million Filipino households named lighting as their main reason for energy usage. With a projected 16 million homes in the Philippines in 2006, or an increase of more than 1 million households, energy requirements are expected to rise this year. With populations growing, the peak demand for 2005 of 9,827MW is expected to rise to 14,265MW in 2010.

The increased demand for power would entail additional investments to be able to build more power plants. These facilities are expensive to build. Consider, for example, that one 600MW coal-fired power plant with transmission infrastructure requires an investment of US$1200M. In a cash-strapped economy such as ours, that amount is a huge investment that we can ill afford. Thus, instead of raising more funds to build more plants, the challenge is to use existing power more efficiently so there is no need for additional power plants.

One means of making the scenario more relevant for the ordinary consumer is to convert it to a household scale. Say, a couple spends 20 percent of their income on utilities now; as they start to have more children, the utility bill is expected to grow. If their income stays stagnant, they would have less money left to spend on their other needs. The ideal solution is to be able to find a means of staying within the 20 percent budget for utilities in spite of a growing household. The challenge is in finding efficient means of saving. Using CFLs is one means of doing so. 

Each year, approximately 60 million light standard bulbs are sold in the country. If three 60W standard bulbs per household are replaced with three 11W CFLs in 1 million homes, this would translate to 270 million kilowatt hours saved. At P8.83/ kilowatt hour, this would mean a savings of a whopping P2.384 billion.

Again, we convert the figures to a household scale: By changing three incandescent 60W light bulbs in your home with three 11W CFLs, you would save 270 kilowatt hours. At the rate of P8.83/kilowatt hour, you will be able to save P2,384 per year. You would expect the savings to increase if you changed more of your light bulbs to CFLs. Energy efficient lighting will drastically help lower your utility bill.

If practiced on a national scale, energy- efficient lighting will help the Philippines cut its electricity bill, as well. As oil and coal price increases continue to impact the cost of energy generation, governments need to find creative ways to reduce the national energy bill, says Menardo Mateo, president and CEO of Philips Electronics and Lighting. "The widespread use of energy-efficient lighting is a fast, easy and inexpensive way for countries to mitigate the effects of rising oil and coal prices and reduce energy expenses."

Aside from the cash savings, efficient use of energy is environment friendly. Building more power plants will have negative impacts on environment and increased energy usage contributes to global warming.

"Energy efficiency is the most practical and least expensive solution to the looming power crisis. By encouraging businesses and homes to use energy- efficient lighting, electricity supply companies can more easily meet the demands of other sectors, avoiding costly investment in new facilities. At the same time, they reduce the environmental impact of new power plants and improve public image," says Mateo.

Indeed, the use of energy efficient CFLs results in big pay-offs for all.