@$:@bylinerg:<*p(0,0,0,+1,0,10.152,g)>By Alex Wright@bodyindent:<*t(0,0," ")>An exciting and innovative new range of light bulbs are set to illuminate Bermuda in the near future.<*t(0,0," ")>The Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs), which are aimed at improving energy efficiency and cutting costs, will be supplied by General Electric and distributed by HWP throughout the Island.<*t(0,0," ")>They will be available in hardware, grocery and home improvements stores, as well as being installed in hotels, clubs and new builds across Bermuda.<*t(0,0," ")>Speaking exclusively to The Royal<>Gazette, Jonathan Brewin, president and CEO of HWP, said he was very excited about the new deal with General Electric and the chance to supply the Bermuda market with these products.<*t(0,0," ")>"This is an exciting new innovation for us because it is the next chapter in a long relationship that HWP<>has had with General Electric," he said.<*t(0,0," ")>"We have been their distributor for well over 50 years and I am excited to work with the lighting and electrics divisions to produce this energy saving light bulb which we we feel will benefit Bermuda.<*t(0,0," ")>"I also think that there is a big push on their side and a great awareness within the Bermuda population for the need to do things to improve our carbon footprint."<*t(0,0," ")>He said HWP are planning to stock the new products within a "matter of weeks", with installations being carried out in hotels around the Island on an ongoing basis.<*t(0,0," ")>"This was a preliminary due diligence process we have been doing over the past couple of days dealing with a number of our clients and showing them how they work and what they can do to improve their energy efficiency and reduce costs and the responses we have got so far has been encouraging," he said.<*t(0,0," ")>Alex Azcurra, a sales engineer for General Electric said one of the biggest challenges facing people today is the high cost of energy and finding a solution to deal with it.<*t(0,0," ")><*t(0,0," ")>"We have to find solutions to lower the costs by doing the simple things and that is what General Electric is doing," he said.<*t(0,0," ")>"We are going to do the most basic stuff first of all like looking at lighting, so that is why this idea is so important - we have targeted lighting to lower the costs.<*t(0,0," ")>"We are also looking at things to make the customer save money."<*t(0,0," ")>Bermuda has one of the highest energy charges in the world, with electricity costing about 30 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to 10 cents in the US, according to Mr. Azcurra. And while many customers may see buying a low cost incandescent light bulb as the cheaper option in the short term, in the long term the benefits of the new range of CFLs in terms of cost and energy efficiency are much greater, he said. <*t(0,0," ")>"In the long term, what you are really achieving, although you may be paying a little bit more, you are going to get a better quality of light and better performance throughout the years you have it," he said.<*t(0,0," ")>In fact, consumers are spending, on average 65 times more on their energy bills if they use the standard incandescent light bulb compared to the new CFLs, as well as generating additional heat of 70 degrees on top of that. This has a knock-on effect that they will use more air conditioning to cool down the heat created and thus the energy bill will be even greater than with the CFLs, said Mr. Azcurra.<*t(0,0," ")>"We estimate what the cost will be from your existing system and what it would be for a proposed system with CFLs and the difference is dramatic," he said.<*p(0,12,0,11,0,0,g)><*t(0,0," ")>"We have been able to calculate the cost of energy in these places and the projection over 10 years shows how much can be saved, and that is not taking into account energy saving on cooling systems and the labour costs of the people to change the light bulbs."<*t(0,0," ")>John Musson, consultant for contract and appliance sales at HWP, who will be involved in the installation of the CFLs, anticipates a big take up on the new product once it hits Bermuda's shores.<*t(0,0," ")>"We have already spoken to the local distributor for General Electric bulbs and there are more plans to get hold of it," he said.<*t(0,0," ")>"Once we take in these types of bulb we are bringing in initially, then we'll bring another order in."<*t(0,0," ")>According to GE, if every home globally switched from a normal incandescent bulb to a new CFL it would save the same amount of energy as the effect of removing one million cars from the world.<*t(0,0," ")>The last word went to Mr. Musson, who said he hoped Bermudians would make the change to energy efficient lighting, not only to save on costs, but to do their bit for the environment.<*t(0,0," ")>"A lot of people will go for the CFLs, not just in terms of saving a few dollars in electricity, but because they are doing something to save the planet," he said.<*t(0,0," ")>"It should be a moral as well as a financial choice - they are going green because they want to make a statement." <*t(0,0," ")> For more information about CFLs visit www.gelighting.com