Responding to climate change from ... light bulbs

The use of energy saving light bulbs, bulb collection . is also considered an expression of sustainable consumer behavior.

The recent Earth Hour 2013 event has been responded by many people. Even so, not everyone knows the impact of electricity consumption on climate change and the use of electricity in daily life.

60% of households use incandescent light bulbs

In 2012, I and some colleagues conducted a study on the situation of using light bulbs at 700 households in 6 provinces and cities: Hanoi, Lang Son, Ho Chi Minh City, Kien Giang, Binh Dinh and Lam Dong - Dai For consumer behavior of 25 million households nationwide.

The results show that the average number of bulbs per household is 14.3. The most used type is fluorescent light (50.5%), followed by compact light bulbs (about 40%), the rest are incandescent and LED lamps (mainly for decorative purposes). In some rural areas, incandescent bulbs are still popular because of the relatively cheap price (about 7,000 VND / balloon) and when winter, warm feeling can come from the light and heat of the bulb incandescent.

60% of households still use incandescent lamps. The survey process noted that many people believe that compared to household electrical appliances: washing machines, air conditioners, televisions, refrigerators ., electricity for lighting does not cost much, so there is no need to save. Even, some people still do not know about energy-saving light bulbs. It is noteworthy that many households think that using energy-saving light bulbs will . affect their eyesight!

Using compact lights will save 75% - 80% of electricity. (Photo: TAN THAN)

Thus, with about 25 million households, the number of lamps being used in Vietnam is about 359 million. In addition, about 25 million other bulbs are being used in nearly 1 million businesses, agencies and organizations operating in all different areas. Total market capacity is 384 million lamps of all kinds.

Electricity saving is culture

Since 2011, many electricity-saving projects have been deployed nationwide. Typically, the project to eliminate incandescent light bulbs through the transformation of lighting market in Vietnam (implemented by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment under the sponsorship of Global Environment Fund (GEF) under the environmental program United Nations school), with the aim of converting the use of energy-saving incandescent bulbs to energy-efficient bulbs.

In parallel, there are a number of related policies and regulations that have been issued: National Strategy on Climate Change (emphasizing the task of saving energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions); Law on economical and efficient use of energy (approved by the National Assembly and effective from January 1, 2011).

In particular, on September 12, 2011, the Prime Minister issued regulations from January 1, 2013, not allowed to import, produce and circulate round light products (incandescent lamps) with merit. capacity greater than 60W. However, until now, big lamp manufacturers with large market share are still concerned because the technology invested in producing incandescent bulbs is still in good use.

Therefore, in order to change behavior and direct people to use electric light bulbs towards sustainable consumption, there is still much work to do. For the Government and ministries concerned, it is necessary to segment the light bulb market according to the purpose of use to provide appropriate regulations and guidelines for enterprises to gradually shift production processes and technologies; sets requirements for collection and recycling of used bulbs so as not to pollute the environment.

If there is no good collection mechanism, even if electricity is saved, this bulb consumption behavior cannot be considered sustainable consumption. Penalties for smuggling of poor quality lighting equipment through sub-channels, trading in lighting bulbs without origin, are of poor quality.

Local leaders need to increase awareness of the characteristics of different bulb products and ensure proper understanding of the quality of energy saving products. Propagating and guiding people to implement energy saving, using energy-saving light bulbs as a cultural aim towards sustainable development.

Save 75% -80% of electricity

According to the Vietnam Institute of Energy Science, energy-saving compact bulbs of 20W have the brightness equivalent to 100W incandescent bulbs, and 12W compact bulbs have the brightness equivalent to 60W incandescent bulbs. Therefore, using compact lights can save 75% -80% of electricity compared to incandescent lamps but still provide the same quality of light. As for new generation LEDs, on the same lighting intensity, they can save at least 50% of energy compared to compact lamps.

Dr. PHAM THI HUYEN (National Economics University)