Lighting Manufacturers Look to Their Roots
Lighting Manufacturers Look to Their Roots
Edison was more than a producer of lamps and kilowatt-hours - he sold illumination. His competition was gas streetlighting, and he knew that the more energy-efficient his electric illumination, the less fuel and capital he had to use to generate electricity, and the more competitive his product.
Although many utilities today bear names that echo their roots as providers of lighting services-Oslo Lightworks [former name] (Norway), Long Island Lighting Company (USA), Electric Lighting Company of Ahuachapan (El Salvador)-it has been a century since they were bonifide providers of cost-effective illumination. Today there are signs of a return to their original philosophy and the associated approach to marketing.
Utilities are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in lighting efficiency programs and lighting manufacturers and third-party entrepreneurs are beginning to actively promote efficient lighting solutions and services. Following are a few examples.
OSRAM-SYLVANIA: LIGHT INSTALLED RIGHT
In North America, Sylvania (now Osram Sylvania) has the oldest lighting-services program, dating back to the early 1970s. Energy-efficiency began to receive great attention from the company in 1987. Unlike other companies, Osram Sylvania operates a lighting installation division and, hence, can directly specify energy-efficient equipment. With 28 offices in the US and 19 in Canada, the company's teams conduct energy audits and financial analyses and offer financing and coordination with local utility rebate programs. New directions include work with the HVAC manufacturer Carrier to integrate lighting and space-conditioning controls. This is a logical marriage given that efficient lighting means that HVAC systems can be down-sized and operated responsively with the lighting systems.
The company plans to offer financing for installers of such systems. Another horizon is grid-connected solar photovoltaic lighting systems for commercial buildings. They envision that lighting programs operated off direct current will be designed to drive down the costs of photovoltaics. Efficient lighting is of paramount importance in such systems because it allows for smaller photovoltaic panels (and hence lower investment). Osram has also cooperated with utilities on lighting rebate programs in Europe since the late 1980s.
GENERAL ELECTRIC: TARGETING DSM PROGRAMS AND ESCOs
General Electric Lighting has been offering energy conservation services for several years. These range from conferences on demand-side management (DSM), held at their headquarters, to field training and information programs on energy- and money-saving lighting strategies, and marketing materials (literature, video and slide presentations, demonstrations, computer software, and marketing consulting). The courses are offered for utilities and energy service companies (ESCOs). GE sees ESCOs as an increasingly powerful ally in the lighting efficiency marketplace. (See article:Hungarian Streets Hunger for Capital on how GE/Tungsram is working as an ESCO in Hungary.)
GE also allies itself with utilities by helping to design rebate programs, offering matching rebates, rebate fulfillment services (payment and accounting), and follow-up surveys. The primary technological focus is on lamps rather than fixtures and other elements of lighting systems.
PHILIPS: INFORMATION FOR ITS NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
In 1992, Philips Lighting's International Headquarters launched their new Support Team Energy-Services Projects (STEP). The aim of STEP is to provide information and advice on optimal lighting program design to Philips' numerous selling organizations around the globe. Armed with this information, the selling organizations can assist local utilities (and others) in implementing successful lighting-efficiency programs.
This new activity will put utilities and lighting manufacturers in better contact with one another. Philips is beginning with CFLs as a focus, but hopes to eventually expand the program to include a range of lighting technologies. Meanwhile, Philips North America has made strides towards offering DSM tools to utilities and consumers, along with creative financing.
As an example, the well-known Smartlight program-first developed by Taunton Municipal Light and Power for leasing CFLs for 20 cents per month-is now "packaged" by Philips as a turnkey program complete with marketing and public relations literature and made available to utilities across the US. Smartlight has achieved penetration rates of 4% to 7% of eligible households in the five cities where it has been used.
Although manufacturers' energy-saving programs are still being run by small staffs, interest in this new way of promoting efficient lighting is on the rise. Manufacturers have recognized that their market has undergone fundamental changes and that there are now new and different kinds of customers, notably their long-lost sister utilities-that represent tremendous opportunities for doing business.
Evan Mills
For further information:
Mike Colotti
Osram Sylvania
Tel: +1 508 750 2442
Fax: +1 508 750 2319
Tim Regan
GE Lighting
Tel: +1 216 266 2359
Fax: +1 216 266 3381
Wim Wilms
Philips Lighting
Tel: +31 40 755 822
Fax: +31 40 755 861