MANILA, Philippines?A new set of locally made lighting system that claims to help consumers save up to 80 percent in electric lighting bills is now available.
Using the latest technology, the Energy Saving Lamp (ESL) is said to produce the same brightness for a much lesser wattage consumption, and is environment-friendly, too.
Named after the Japanese term for ?bright light,? Akari, a local electrical and lighting brand launched in 2002, now has a wide range of ESL products designed for all types of households, from compact indoor fluorescent fixtures to floodlights.
Exactly how much savings? A typical household, with six lighting fixtures used approximately eight hours per day, will save up to P8,121.60 in electric bills annually (lights only), or P676.80 a month. P676.80 can already buy ? sack of rice, an LPG or used to pay water utilities.
Brightness is not compromised as the lumens is the same for much lesser wattage. (A 25-watt incandescent bulb gives off 200 lumens; a 5-6 watts ESL has 240-250 lumens.)
Outdoor ESL lighting fixtures are more effective as well. The typical metal halide consumes 250 watts compared to ESL?s 60-watt floodlights; halogen floodlights at 150 watts compared to ESL?s 30 watts?all for the same amount of brightness.
Eight wattage-hungry halogen lamps at 150 watts each will rake up P34,560 on annual lighting bills; ESL?s floodlight for the same lumens at 30 watts each will only yield P6,912 annually. That?s a savings of P27,648 per year.
Environment-friendly
When Akari, with the Department of Energy, volunteered to change the 15 lighting lamps of Diliman Preparatory School into ESL floodlights, the school saved P214,344 in annual bills.
?When you switch to ESL you not only save on electric bills but save the environment, too, since consuming less electricity means lesser coal is burned to light up your house,? said Akari marketing officer Sheila G. Bartolome.
ESL doesn?t build up heat over time, too, so that there is no unnecessary heat generated inside the house. You can touch ESL lights right after usage without fear of burning your skin.
?ESL lamps will initially cost more, but in the long run you save so much more in your electric bills,? said Jonard G. Yu, sales manager/project division of Akari.
During the 2008 Philippine Energy Summit in February this year, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced all incandescent lamps would be phased out by January 2010 as studies have proved compact fluorescent lamps need only 20-25 percent of energy to match the lumens of incandescent bulbs.
Incandescent lamps also have shorter life compared to ESL, only about six months of continuous usage compared to two years. Akari has one-year guarantee, too, so replacement for defective lamps is not a problem as long as the receipt is kept.
?The misconception is people think they save because it?s cheaper to buy incandescent bulbs. But they will replace that bulb more often, and their electricity bills is significantly higher,? said Bartolome.
When there are just too many switches in the household, one is bound to forget turning off some lights at daybreak. Akari has come out with Photo Sensor ESLs.
Sensitive to light, the ESL automatically switches off when it senses brightness in the room. When a spot grows dark, the light automatically turns on. You can always opt to turn on/off the main switch.
Akari also gives an ?old? technology, the motion sensor ESL that detects motion before it decides to go off in a room, a new twist by installing a built-in camera. If burglars lurk in your home, not only will the lights go off, a camera will automatically snap up a photo of him/her.
Akari ESL lighting system is available at hardware stores and in more than 1,000 retail stores nationwide, including Ace Hardware, Hardware Workshop, Robinsons Handyman, Wilcon Home Depot, True Value and in more than 200 DIY and depot centers nationwide.
