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  Straits Times 5 Mar 07
Hong Kah lit up with glow of green lightbulbs
Use of energy-efficient light bulbs will cut power costs and carbon dioxide emissions
By Michelle Neo and Arti Mulchand

BLOCKS 369 and 370 in Hong Kah North have a special glow these days. Most residents there who were using the usual power-hungry light bulbs have switched to the more energy-efficient fluorescent variety.

The common 'incandescent' bulbs are power hogs: Only 5 per cent of the electricity they consume produces light, while the other 95 per cent is wasted as heat.

Power-efficient bulbs, however, use 20 to 25 per cent to produce light. As a result, a 20-watt energy-saving bulb can produce the same level of brightness as a 100-watt normal bulb, and also lasts 10 times longer.

The Hong Kah initiative aims to get residents to spread the word that energy saving is good for the environment - and that it saves money, too. It is estimated that using just one 'green' bulb instead of an incandescent one can result in savings of $24 a year.

To convince the Hong Kah North residents to switch, members of the South West Community Development Council and Climate Change Organisation, Singapore, went from door to door preaching its benefits.

Their message: Less energy consumed = less fossil fuels burned = lower carbon dioxide emissions = reduction of global warming and climate change. The members found that close to a fifth of the homes in the two blocks were still using incandescent bulbs.

To help make the switch, home furnishing store Ikea and electronics company Akira provided 500 of the $8 bulbs for free, 360 of which were given away.

Energy-saving bulbs are slowly becoming more popular as prices come down - from about $30 in the 1980s to around $6 or $7 now, said Philips Electronics Singapore chief executive Paul Peeters. He estimates that lighting accounts for about 19 per cent of the world's electricity consumption.

The South West CDC, which launched the project in January, is now contemplating extending it to other blocks in the neighbourhood and in other divisions, said deputy general manager (projects management) Dulcie Eng, 30.

Also, the National Environment Agency said that energy-efficient lighting is already being used in most public places, including roads and HDB common areas. They are also popular in commercial buildings and offices because they last longer and translate to cost savings.

There are downsides, too - energy-saving bulbs cannot be used with dimmers, and may not fit in with chandeliers aesthetically, said Associate Professor Choo Fook Hoong of Nanyang Technological University's Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department.

But these problems pale when compared to the environmental benefits. Prof Choo estimates that just one incandescent bulb emits 57kg of carbon dioxide a year - compared to 10kg for one of the energy-efficient variety.

'So a million 60-watt incandescent bulbs replaced with energy saving bulbs would cut out 47 million kilogrammes of carbon dioxide annually,'' he added.

Examples like this have spurred some people to urge for a total ban on incandescent bulbs.

But Singapore Environment Council executive director Howard Shaw feels that that is not necessary. The elderly and the poor would feel the financial strain of being forced to switch, he said.

Instead, more attention should be focused on bigger energy guzzlers, such as air-conditioners and refrigerators. Said Mr Shaw: 'We're already making headway in promoting energy efficiency, what we need to do is just speed up the process.'

The call to ban incandescent bulbs is being heard overseas, too. Just last month, Australian Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull called for a complete ban by 2010 so to bring down greenhouse gas emissions. Similar calls have been made recently in the United States and Britain, too.
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