Philips lights up market with CFL

PHILIPS Lighting is partnering with local government units throughout the country to support the use of compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) instead of incandescent bulbs to reduce electricity costs.

The Talisay City Government, headed by Mayor Soc Fernandez and Vice Mayor Alan Bucao, welcomed Philips’ plan to light up the city using compact fluorescent lamps (CFL).

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Talisay is the first city in the province to benefit from Philips’s advocacy of reducing energy consumption.

Bucao said during the launching of the project last week at the Tabunok Market that the use of CFL will cut electricity costs by up to 40 percent.

Philips presented Talisay with CFL products worth P50,000. The lighting fixtures were deployed to replace the incandescent lamps used by stalls in the Tabunok Market. Once the memorandum of agreement is finalized by both parties, Philips will provide additional lights for the new Tabunok market.

“Most of the vendors here still use incandescent lamps, which is cheaper but the energy cost is higher. The CFL we are giving them will help them save 80 percent of their electricity cost,” said Rico Gonzales, manager of Philips Lighting Philippines.

CFL, though slightly more costly than incandescent bulbs, consumes only 15 watts and could last up to 8,000 hours while an incandescent bulb can only last up to 1,000 hours.

After Talisay, Philips will be going to Davao and Northern Luzon to set up similar projects.

Gonzales said CFL sales have been robust for the past year because more people are converting to energy-saving products.

For 2009, CFL accounted for 60 percent of Philips’s business in the Philippines.

Around 95 percent of their products are energy-efficient although they are still distributing incandescent lighting.