options of save cost on the lighting

after few weeks of checking around, few options we can consider of how to save some electricity on the lighting side.

at the moment we spend abt RM2000 monthly current consumption of those common area light, as we have abt 400 set of 4ft 36w fluorescent tube (mainly at the corridor area ...) which on abt 12 hour a day & 30 days a month:-

400set x 30days x 12hours x 36w x 0.43rate / 1000 = RM2229

we were told that LED will save definitely more than 50%, some cases can even reach 70%, which is abt RM1100 to RM1500, wow! sound wonderful! imagine if really can save RM1500 per month or RM18000 per year, see how much can we do with the money?

but wait...., the cost for investment will be big question to ponder, at the moment the good & reliable LED light is abt RM100, so for 400set is abt RM40000, this will take abt 2 year plus to see the return of investment, unless vendor willing to drag the credit term for that long, or else will be too much risk to face.

another problem may be headache for the LED is the theft, as at the moment we still troubled by some tangan-gatai matters by few residents, this make us hesitant to consider much on the LED light, coz at the end we may have to use the money saved from the electricity to replace those stolen LED.

well, we were also told in some apartment energy-saving bulbs have been used to replace the fluorescent tube, it managed to save up to abt 50% too, the plus point for the energy-saving is it's not as costly as LED, but the set back is, it can be easily stolen, & didn't produce as much brightness as fluorescent tube does, but we still keep this option in mind, coz of the 50% saving....

one more option, which looks more practical for vista condo, it's electronic ballast (where the existing fluorescent tube no need to be changed), the ballast itself cost abt RM10 per set, if go by quantity will get lower than that. if switch to electronic ballast then some minor modification is needed at the casing side, say RM5 per set, but if we change to the whole new casing w ballast will be abt RM30, together with the new fluorescent light.

according to the data we have gathered after consulted some electricians & engineers, the saving is in between 30% to 50%, or in our case, RM660 to RM1100. Even though not as much as LED or energy-saving bulbs can do, the advantage is the risk of been stolen will be much lower, also the cost of investment is only RM6000 (go by RM15 per set), shall see the return of investment in abt 9 month's time.

we still studying on the matter of lighting electricity saving, welcome residents' feedback, especially if u have experience on using those lights mentioned above, thanks.