Philips Thailand campaigns for switch to LED bulbs

Chalermpong Darongsuwan, general manager of the company’s lighting sector, said that under the "Philips LED: Change Now, Save Now" campaign consumers would receive a Bt20 discount with every purchase of an LED bulb throughout September.

The campaign aims to stimulate a change among consumers through the integrated marketing communication activities, including TV broadcasts and print advertising, an online campaign and activation roadshows in 16 provinces to educate consumers about the beneficial advantages for using LED lighting.

The first roadshow was to be kicked off at the launch of the campaign at The EmQuartier in Bangkok.

The highlight of the event was to include a light-bulb-changing charity match between actress "Mint" Chalida Wijitwongtong and boxer Antoine Pinto to demonstrate how easy changing to LED bulbs is.

At the event, Philips will multiply the number of bulbs changed by the winner by Bt1,000 and contribute the money to HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s charitable initiatives.

Improved range

In response to increasing demands for LED lighting products in the second half of the year, Philips said it was introducing a new and improved range of LED bulbs that allowed wider light distribution and had design improvements that delivered home-owners a non-glaring brightness.

Philips said its LED bulbs were environmentally friendly since they contained no mercury and had a long life of 15 years (based on usage of 2.5 hours per day in an open fitting), which was double the durability of compact fluorescent bulbs.

The company said it was estimated that about 20 per cent of total electricity use came from lighting consumption alone. |So if all the lighting systems were converted to energy-saving solutions, energy resources would be saved and carbon-dioxide emissions would be dramatically reduced.

Philips, which claimed to be No 1 globally in lighting, said it would continue to develop LED technology that provided good-quality, energy-efficient illumination and cost efficiency.

"And if we can replace 50 million compact fluorescent lamps with LED bulbs, it will save up to 292 kilowatt-hours annually, reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by up to 149,300 tonnes per annum and save around Bt1.08 billion per year – an amount that could be well spent on country and public-facility development," Chalermpong said.