Lighting better at lower cost

In 2012, when energy-thirsty light bulbs will at last be banned, Switzerland will only be catching up with the directives that the European Union is implementing as from this year.

Better late than never.

Thomas Edison’s light bulb has survived 130 years but it is now on its way out because the light it emits is only 5% of the energy it uses!

A savings of 80% in energy use is expected with the new generation of light bulbs.

The city of Morges, just outside the Vaud capital of Lausanne, is intensifying its Christmas decorations, but reducing its electricity bill by using a) an LEC (Lighting Energy Controller) that stabilizes the current and reduces consumption by 20% to 30% b) LED  (electroluminescent light-emitting-diodes) instead of the traditional bulbs.

But bulbs aren’t everything. We still need to learn to turn appliances off entirely and not leave them on stand-by.