SIMULTANEOUS with an urgent drive for consumers to take the switch for energy saving lamps, a local trade and industry divisions chief also issue consumer tips on picking the right products to maximize on benefits.
Go for products with the DTI Importation Commodity Clearance (ICC) for imported products of Product Standards (PS) label for locally produced commodities. Then, find the mandatory Department of Energy yellow energy label, DTI said.
The government drive for the big switch, punctuate the move to help consumer cut on power consumption amid rising power costs.
According to Department of Energy (DOE) sources, the program called “Palit Ilaw” is a government initiative under the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Program and aims to goad consumers to switch to compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) as a strategy to cut on costs.
The program is also supported by the United nation’s development program-Global Environment Facility Philippine Efficient Lighting Market Transformation Project.
CFLs energy consumption is only 20 to 25% compared to an ordinary incandescent bulb with similar luminescence, said DTI’s Jose Hibaya during the recent Kapihan sa PIA, Thursday.
Using the same energy, an incandescent bulb produces only 20% light, and the 80% makes heat, he explained.
The switch to energy saving lamps however may not be as easy for the low priced incandescent lamps, Hibaya admitted as he pointed to the immediately visible price difference.
An 100 watts incandescent lamp is sold at P21, while a CFL giving off the same amount of light is sold at P150.
But the CFL burns out only after 5 to 6 incandescent bulb replacements.
The big difference however is on the savings, he stressed.
Using a table, Hibaya pointed out that a 60 watt light bulb, when changed to an 13 watt CFL heaps for the consumer P2,496 savings for every 6,000 hours of usage at the rate of P8.83 per kilowatt hour for residential use.
In the long run, it takes about five replacements of incandescent lamps over a single energy saver CFL, he bared.
At an average lifetime of 1000 hours, an incandescent lamp pales in comparison to the 6,000 hours of CFL service in its lifetime.
In the advent of sub-par products flooding the market, consumers however may fall prey to enterprising retailers who sell fakes, DTI warned.
Over this, Hibaya said scouting for the right products is still a consumer right, emphasizing the consumer welfare month the country celebrates in October.
He said consumers not wanting to be fooled into buying fakes should look for the DOE yellow energy label and the DTI ICC or the Products Standards mark which certifies that the commodity has passed the standards set by the DTI-Bureau of Product Standards (BPS) and the DOE Lighting and Appliance Testing Laboratory.
The ICC is issued to certify the product’s proper importation clearances before they are distributed in local markets, Hibaya said (PIA/rachiu)
