Recent tests by the Consulting Centre for Energy-saving Lights and Electrochemical Solutions show low quality light bulbs are flooding the market.
There are many light shops along Hanoi’s streets of Phung Hung, Tran Phu and Nguyen Cong Tru and Hoa Binh Market in Ho Chi Minh City. The are two main types of lights that are sold in Vietnam. Some have their components imported, but are assembled in Vietnam. Others are imported from countries such as South Korea and China.
Philips-branded compact lights of 8W are sold for between VND28,000 (USD1.35)-32,000 (USD1.5). Totally-imported 7-9W lights are priced at VND26,000 (USD1.25)-34,000 (USD1.64). Meanwhile China’s 7-9W lights are just from VND15,000 (USD0.72) and USD17,000 (USD0.82).
Philips-branded LED lights of 22W costs up to VND1.5 million (USD72.4) compared to only VND800,000 (USD38.64)-VND850,000 for China’s same product.
An experiment conducted by the Consulting Centre for Energy-saving Lights and Electrochemical Solutions showed that, some varieties of Chinese compact display a capacity of 11W on the packaging, however, their real lightening capacity is just 3W. The capacity of the same “18W” bulbs was just 7W, while the “3W” LED lights was only 0.5W.
Many energy-efficient light bulbs claimed to be 1,700LM but in actuality were only 240-290LM. Some companies advertise the supply of filament bulbs with 16,000-hour longevity; nevertheless, their real life-span is just 1,000 hours.
Director of the centre Nguyen Van Khai said, “Many businesses and importers do not properly understand light bulbs, which leads to false advertisement. Customers, also, lack understanding, choosing based on eye-catching boxes and packaging, without knowing the real quality.”