DOLE switches to energy-efficient lighting

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has made the switch to energy-efficient lighting for its facilities, starting with its main office in Manila's Intramuros district.

 

DOLE Administrative Service Director Lily Pearl Guerrero said 64 percent of older lighting equipment have been replaced with energy-efficient ones.

 

"It is estimated that through the use of new lighting, the DOLE can save up to half of its lighting electricity expenses," the DOLE said in a news release.

 

Guerrero said that of 1,997 40-, 36-, 20-, and 18-watt fluorescent tubes, magnetic ballasts and luminaires, 1,286 or 64 percent had been replaced with 28- and 14-watt fluorescent tubes, electronic ballast, and efficient luminaires.

 

"These were installed in the most frequently used areas of the building that require frequent illumination," DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said.

 

Baldoz said this was done with the help of the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficient Lighting under the Philippine Energy Efficiency Project (PEEP).

 

The DOE's PEEP seeks to provide direct economic benefits to the country by reducing energy peak demand and the needed imported oil for power generation.

 

It has seven components:

 

The first component involves retrofitting government buildings with energy-efficient lighting/lighting systems (EELs) in government facilities.

 

Other eco-friendly measures

 

Meanwhile, the DOLE has issued guidelines and procedures with regards to waste segregation and management for all officials and employees of DOLE offices, services, bureaus, regional offices, and attached agencies, including service agency providers and tenant/occupants of DOLE/AAs/ROs buildings and premises, to follow.

 

Also, the DOLE has enjoined them to practice eco-initiatives, such as the maintenance of cleanliness and orderliness in workplaces and implementation of energy conservation.

 

Other greening activities, such as discouraging the use of plastic in packing food, de-clogging of downspouts, eaves, and canals to prevent flooding, conduct of pest control using ecologically sound methods, proper use of comfort rooms, and urban gardening, have also been suggested.

 

“We at the Administrative Service hope that everyone in the DOLE cooperates and do their part in conserving electrical energy," added Guerrero. — TJD, GMA News