The domestic electricity
sector forecasts that in summer 2010 the supply of power will be insufficient
due to unfavorable weather condition. The reservoirs of hydro-power plants are
becoming short of water due to expanding droughts and therefore they cannot
operate at their full capacity all day.
So, cutting off electricity
by zone on a temporary basis to save power is unavoidable. Moreover, from March
1, 2010, the price of electricity has increased by VND948.5 (8.92 percent) per
kWh compared with the price of 2009. So each family has to pay a higher
electricity bill. For those reasons, it is an urgent need to save power.
Adjusting electricity measurement to avoid energy waste
To save electricity, Trinh
Van Duc residing in Hon Gai ward, Quang Ninh province has replaced all bulbs in
his house with energy-efficient compact lamps.
He said that the replacement
and power-saving practices have helped his family save a considerable amount of
money. For example, previously, they did not turn off the television or kept
them at the standby status when nobody watched it, wasting much electricity.
But now they have changed this habit.
All members in his family now
are aware of the need to save electricity. They have changed the way of using
electrical appliances such as washing machine, iron and electric rice cooker (now
they operate the washing machine at the right capacity, they do not use the
iron where the air conditioner is working, and they do not cook rice too early
but 30-45 minutes before eating to reduce the time required for warming up).
They turn off all electrical appliances whenever they do not use them.
Presently, at some shops
selling electrical appliances in Quang Ninh province, super-efficient
fluorescent lamps are best selling as many people choose them to replace the
incandescent bulbs in their homes. Electrically charged fans are also selling
well.
Mr. Dung, the owner of a shop
selling electrical appliances on Le Thanh Tong road, Ha Long city, said that
now there are on the market two types of compact lamps manufactured by the Dien
Quang Lamp Joint Stock Company and the Philips Electronics Vietnam Company
Limited. For families, especially low-income families, spending an additional
several ten thousand dong for electricity use each month is not a simple thing.
Therefore, most customers choose to buy compact lamps. In terms of energy
efficiency, compact lamps are 80 percent more efficient than incandescent bulbs
and 40 percent more efficient than neon lamps with the same light level.
However, to save electricity
thoroughly, it is necessary to replace all the old electrical appliances. It is
estimated that the cost of installation of ordinary electrical appliances for a
house accounts for about 20-25 percent of its construction cost. The
installation cost will increase 20-25 percent if electricity-efficient
appliances are used.
Thus it will be costly to use
energy-efficient electrical appliances and this makes consumers hesitant when
deciding to buy these kinds of products. Many people are now interested in
electric fans and water heaters using solar energy - a renewable energy
resource.
With a sum of VND5-8 million,
customers can buy a solar water heater that can be used to provide hot water
for a whole family during a time period of about 10 years.
All businesses in Quang Ninh strive to save energy
Some families are using
electrical appliances with the inverter technology. Nguyen Hong Anh, a resident
in Bach Dang ward, said that these appliances have a type of inverter circuit
that allows users to control the consumption of electricity and change the
frequency of power supply.
Therefore, the amount of
electricity consumed by the above appliances is 30-40 percent lower compared
with other types of appliances with the same capacity. However, these
appliances are 25-40 percent more expensive than appliances of the same
categories not using the inverter technology.
In fact, there’s not yet any
legal document to restrict the use of electricity at families as in production
facilities. Therefore, it is necessary to intensify propaganda to improve
people’s awareness of the need to save electricity.
Statistics show that each
year families in Quang Ninh province consume 18 million kWh of electricity and
they have to pay about VND130 billion for electricity use annually. If each
family saves 10 percent of the payment for electricity use, the total amount of
money that can be saved will be very big. Saving electricity is saving an
energy resource that is becoming scarce. Saving energy in general and saving
electricity in particular require a high consensus and self-awareness of all
people.
By
Thuy Hang