Household energy saving benefits both the country and the people

Not only saving money

Consumers paid a great attention to power saving devices

According to calculation by the energy sector, each resident has to spend some VND5 million per year on energy consumption, including petrol for traveling, hot water for bathing, computers, and televisions and so on. This energy consumption goes with the emissions which exerts a serious influence on the environment. Therefore, saving power by each person, each family and each organization will make a great contribution to reducing the power consumed, the emissions and the costs for the nation and families.

At present, household power consumption accounts for about 40 percent of the total national power consumption. In households, the devices that use most energy are air conditioners and water heaters. It is estimated that the power an air conditioner uses in one hour is equivalent to the power used by 20 televisions or a water heater uses an amount of energy that can be used for 10 televisions. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to reduce the use of household appliances and use them economically and properly.

Within the past time, a large number of national energy saving programs aimed at families was implemented nationwide. In Dongnai alone, some of the programs have been carried out such as providing finance for installing biogas cellars and buying solar-powered water heater, reducing the price of compact fluorescent light bulbs and gas saving ovens and so on, said Dao Quang Giam, Director of Centre for Application of Scientific and Technological Advances under Department of Science and Technology.

High efficiency

In order to reduce power use in rush hour, develop the research in solar power application, enhance domestic technology and contribute to environment protection, the MIT in collaboration with EVN and HCMC Energy Saving Centre has recently carried out the program to support the production and use of solar-powered water heaters for all kinds of people across the country. Accordingly, from August 1, 2008, consumers will be financed VND1 million when buying a heater of this kind. It is expected that 30,000 sets of solar-powered water heaters by 17 makers will be sold with this financed price in two years.

With the strong points such as electricity fee saving, safe for users, and CO2 emissions reduction, solar-powered water heaters are chosen by an increasing number of families, companies, hotels and so on

Presently, most of the water heaters are imported by a whole set or by spare parts which then be assembled in Vietnam. With a wide range of price, consumers can buy them with the price ranged between VND5 million and VND18 million depending on their needs. “Using solar-powered water heaters is highly saving-efficient and easy to be installed,” said Nguyen Duong Tuan, Director of Energy Investment and Development Limited Company (under HCMC University of Technology).

“The buying cost is much less than the annual electricity fee a family has to pay. In a large scale, if 30,000 sets of the solar-powered water heaters (capacity of 180 liters) of the program are used, they will help save around 57 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, which is equal to 5,000 tonnes of petrol and reduce some 23,500 tons of CO2 emissions to the environment,” said Huynh Kim Tuoc, Director of HCMC Energy Saving Centre.

Reported by Dongnai Newspaper, Translated by T.V