Though living in a traditional western China cave dwelling in Ansai, an under-developed county of Shaanxi province, Kang Haifa's household is using the world's most advanced energy-saving lamps.

Philips Lighting China donated the lighting fixtures to Kang and thousands of other families in Ansai, allowing them to illuminate their cave dwellings with high-efficiency, low-electricity lamps.

"The lamp is much brighter than the standard incandescent lamps we have been using, and they (Philips staff) told us it will save money. That's great," Kang said.

Kang said he had never thought about buying energy-saving lights, saying the price is usually six to seven times that of traditional lamps.

Philips Lighting China has donated 100,000 energy-saving lamps in Ansai after donating another 100,000 such products in Tibet autonomous region.

"We want more people to experience the benefits of new, green technologies and inspire them to use energy-saving products," said Ye Ming, external affairs director of Philips Lighting China.

Ye said the life of an energy-saving lamp is much longer than a traditional one, and its lighting efficiency is much higher.

The electricity that is saved can help reduce daily living costs, he said.

"When people realize the savings from the new products, they will have incentives to buy such products," Ye said.

The Philips Lighting China program is in line with China's policy to popularize energy-saving products nationwide.

The country plans to provide more than 100 million energy-saving lamps to the public this year through subsidies.

In Tibet, the government's quota is 600,000, while the quota for Shaanxi province is 4 million.

In Tibet, 600,000 energy-saving lamps used for 3.5 hours a day will translate into saving 100,000 kWh annually.

In Shaanxi, the 4 million government-provided lamps and 100,000 lighting fixtures donated by Philips Lighting China are expected to result in a daily savings of 700,000 kWh.

"It (lamp donation) will not only benefit the local people but also society," Ye said.

"At the same time, we are carrying out community awareness programs to educate the public about saving energy," he said.

(China Daily 08/24/2009 page10)