LED lighting and household electricity savings

Archived coverage of the LEDs Go Green campaign. Products, prices, job titles, market shares and savings estimates reflect the original report. Actual performance depends on the product, use and comparison lamp.

Changing lighting needs

Research cited at the time of the original article indicated changes in lighting preferences among Asian households: from very bright lighting towards sufficient brightness without glare. Alongside saving electricity and money, families increasingly valued a comfortable, relaxing home environment away from the pace of working life.

Products introduced during the campaign

Manufacturers responded by developing household LED (light-emitting diode) products, a technology already widely used in professional lighting. During its nationwide LEDs Go Green campaign, Philips introduced eight residential product groups: fifth-generation LED bulbs, Scene Switch colour-changing bulbs, 6 W EcoBright bulbs, EcoFit LED tubes, Slimline LED battens, recessed downlights including Essential LED and ultra-thin SmartBright LED, surface-mounted ceiling lights and LED strips.

A Philips representative stated that prices started at VND 49,000 per product at that time, with choices of power rating, light colour, size and design for different household needs. The products were intended to replace conventional lamps: a 7 W fifth-generation LED bulb for a 60 W incandescent or 12 W compact fluorescent lamp; 8 W and 16 W EcoFit tubes for 18 W and 36 W fluorescent tubes; 9 W and 18 W Slimline products for T5 battens; and LED downlights for compact-fluorescent downlights.

Scene Switch combined white light as the default setting with a warm-yellow option, allowing users to change the atmosphere for different needs, times or occasions without installing two separate lamps.

Saving electricity with LEDs

Figures attributed to the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the original article put lighting at 25.3% of national electricity consumption, compared with a global average of 19%. Households offered substantial potential for saving electricity because they accounted for 46% of lighting electricity use. The article described LED technology as more efficient than incandescent, fluorescent and halogen lighting, and estimated a potential 10–15% reduction in national electricity consumption if households switched to LEDs. These figures belong to the original report and require an identified baseline and updated data before being used for current planning.

The Philips representative stated that the products could last up to 15 years and use up to 90% less electricity than incandescent lamps. The company also highlighted its LED chips, drivers and other components for comfortable lighting. Actual life and savings depend on the product, hours of use and comparison lamp.

Light quality and the transition to LEDs

The article quoted Eric Benedetti, then General Manager of Philips Vietnam, explaining that product development considered not only energy savings but also light quality, including glare, flicker, radiant heat and ultraviolet radiation, with the aim of improving user comfort.

At the time of the report, Philips described itself as a leading LED and lighting-technology company, with LED products accounting for about 40% of its lighting sales. The company hoped LEDs Go Green would encourage people to adopt LED lighting and gradually replace less environmentally preferable lamps.

Compiled from previously published information