Case Study 1-Phillips

Through the centuries there has been a strong link between light and the development of humankind. First there was open fire, which provided prehistoric people with light, heat and security. They began cooking their food, which was easier for babies and the elderly to eat. And with extra hours of light they began to gather in the evenings, planning the next day’s hunt, telling stories and repairing tools. Then the flame was tamed. Oil lamps, candles and matches became commonplace, extending daylight for commerce, learning and social gatherings.
Next flame was put into a glass bulb, truly revolutionizing society by illuminating the night. In fact, the incandescent light bulb was made possible by the commercialization of electricity.

That’s when Anton and Gerard Philips decided to go into business to produce cost-effective, reliable light bulbs for everyone. The company was founded in 1891, when these entrepreneurial brothers opened a small factory to manufacture incandescent lamps and other electrical products. Gerard believed it was his duty to make electricity “more and more the servant of the people,” while Anton was unshakeable in his faith in the triumph of technology and human progress. The foundations for what was to become one of the world's biggest electronics companies were laid in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, in 1891. Philips began by making carbon-filament lamps and, by the turn of the century, was one of the largest producers in Europe.
As developments in new lighting technologies fueled a steady program of expansion, in 1914 it established a research laboratory to study physical and chemical phenomena and stimulate product innovation. Philips is No.1 in the global lighting market, a position supported by leadership in innovation combined with a systematic approach to seeking out new market opportunities.

Philips Lighting strives to improve people’s lives with effective and appealing lighting solutions based on a thorough understanding of people’s needs, desires and aspirations. With Philips longstanding commitment to reduce the environmental impact of our products, it enables consumers to make simple, responsible choices about the products they buy and the impact they have before, during and at the end of their life cycle.

Royal Philips Electronics has patented a unique technology which is known as EcoBoost, will leads to dramatic levels of energy saving for halogen lamps. Depending on the type of lamp in which EcoBoost is used, energy usage decreases by between 40% and 60% compared to standard halogen or incandescent lamps. The realization of the new EcoBoost technology has led to the creation of a brand-new lamp category; Compact Halogen Lamp integrated (CHL-i). It offers another energy-saving alternative (in addition to the CFL-i lamps invented 25 years ago by Philips) to inefficient incandescent bulbs. CHL-i lamps are characterized by a small, single-ended burner and incorporate all necessary electronics in their compact housing. This is one of the Philips green products which offer customers, users and society a significant environmental improvement in one or more of the Philips Green Focal Areas:

Amongst the major projects that Philips Lighting has undertaken in Malaysia include the lighting of the Ministry of Finance complex at Putrajaya, which stunningly glows at night and can be seen as far as 4km away. The unique outline of the façade is carefully illuminated to reflect and enhance the curvature of the building. The symbol of our nation’s soaring success, The Petronas Twin Towers at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre, is illuminated to stand out in a positive light reflecting the building’s striking features using around 626 foodlights. The longest river bridge in the state of Perak - the Sungai Dinding Bridge - is a good example of a city beautification project. Philips’ lightings architectural floodlights are used to illuminate 13 arches of the bridge.

The lighting of the 67 kilometre KLIA expressway which can be dimmed or made brighter based on the number of cars plying along the highway and brightness of the surrounding area at that particular time. The expressway uses an intelligent lighting system whereby the density/intensity of the lights can be controlled depending on the traffic flow, thus translating to energy saving without any compromise on quality of visibility of the roads. They are regulated via telemanagement software, which allows separate control of each individual light point.

Philips Lighting has invested a lot to not only extend the lifetime of its lamps but guarantee the reliability of the expected life times as well. Philips Lighting has developed breakthrough new technologies that have led to new lamp types with extended life times over the years, from MASTERline ES halogen lamps (5,000 hours), to the well-known energy savers with an average life time of up to 10,000 hours, to Mastercolour lamps (12,000 hours), 'TL'5 lamps (20,000 hours), QL induction lamps (60,000 hours) and LEDs with a remarkable life time of 100,000 hours. Many electronic gear inventions of Philips also have helped in increasing the lamp life.

LEDs were once only good for showing that your video recorder was on. Today they are fuelling a major revolution in the lighting industry. LEDs have gotten brighter. Their luminous efficacy which is the amount of light you get out compared to the electrical energy you put in have already surpasses that of tungsten and halogen lamps. LEDs that burn twice as brightly and can create a palette of 16 million colors. Best of all, depending on their color, they'll be up to 98% more energy efficient than the bulbs they replace. Philips also supplied the 50 giant LED snowflakes decorating the front of the flagship Saks Fifth Avenue store in New York. According to Philip, the 40,000-plus LEDs used in the display consume only as much energy as three toaster ovens. Soon it will even exceed that of fluorescent lamps. Scientists at Philips Research have been working to develop organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) as a new light source for homes, workplaces, stores, public areas, and even cars and planes.