Date:23/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/23/stories/2008122359330300.htm

Cost-effectiveness yet to be established

This is in response to the article on ‘Energy conservation: still a long way to go’, which appeared under ‘Spotlight’ on December 9. I feel that CFLs are not the ones to replace conventional lamps everywhere. Government offices cannot afford to use CFLs in place of conventional lamps as the illumination provided by the former is not sufficient to carry out work in an office.

The cost-effectiveness of solar water heating systems is yet to be established.

Government bodies in the country need to experiment and realise the benefits of non-conventional energy before propagating it for use by the citizens.

The energy systems shall also have to be made at affordable cost to the public at large.

S. Padmanabhan

Machilipatnam

What about employees?

The article talked about replacing conventional lamps that consume high amount of power with CFLs, but what about those in various government offices, who leave seats without switching off lamps and fans?

Some employees also don’t bother to shut down their computer systems or printers before going home.

This doesn’t usually happen in private sector.

This type of culture should be followed by the employees of public sector too, otherwise there will be no use observing energy week.

B. Prasada Rao

Brindavan Colony, Labbipet