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Power Tariff Sparks Demand for Sensor Lamps

SHARJAH — Many buildings in Sharjah, including schools, have started installing sensor lamps to save power consumption and cut back on electricity bills.

The moves comes after the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) hiked the power tariff by 50 per cent from October 1, subsequent to an acute power crisis that blacked out many parts of the emirate for almost a month.

Residents and building owners 
have been hit hard by the power tariff hike. Many were shocked to receive huge bills for October, although the month was not in the peak of summer when the bills usually shoot up because of overuse of air-conditioners and 
coolers.

While residents are making conscious efforts to reduce use of lights and 
aplliances to beat the bills, many building managements are now opting for lamps with sensors that work with an infrared technique for motion 
detection.

In simpler terms, like a sensor water tap that pumps water only when it “senses” the presence of a hand, a sensor lamp automatically switches on only when a person comes under its field of view. The moment the person leaves the field, the lamp goes off, reducing power consumption.

Unlike the high-rise buildings and big projects that used to prefer them earlier, sensor lamps have now become a favourite choice of many buildings in Sharjah, especially for their use in corridors and other areas of common use, companies selling sensors and sensor lamps told Khaleej Times.

While many buildings are buying sensors to attach to the already existing lamps, they said some are even purchasing lamps that come with sensors to replace their old tubes.

Faizal Kassim of Senslights in Hamariya Free Zone said his company’s business has gone up by 10 to 15 per cent in the past one-and-a-half months.

“The business was actually down 
due to recession-related issues. It is picking up now, mainly after the power cuts and electricity tariff hike in Sharjah,” said Kassim, country manager for the marketing division of the Korean company.

“The latest big project that we are working on is for the Australian International School on Maliha Road. They decided to fix sensors as their bill came to more than Dh100,000.”

Husain Asif, sales distributor of 
sensor lamps, said more people want to use sensors these days as they want to reduce their electricity bills. “Earlier, we had to struggle to convince them of the benefits of using sensors. Now, people are more interested because they know they can save money,” 
said Asif.

Kassim said it takes about Dh6,000 to install sensors in a 10-storey building. “But they can save that amount in two or three months. Sensors are ideal for places with less movement of people. There is no point in using them where people are present all the time. People can use them at car porch and toilets also.”

Roy George, manager of Arabian Gulf Trading Company that owns several buildings in Sharjah, said his company has started fixing CFL tubes with sensors in most of their buildings.

“CFL itself helps in reducing consumption. Now, with the sensors, we hope to save more than 50 per cent of power used in corridors. That way, we hope we can go back to the earlier rates of electricity bills,” said George.

sajila@khaleejtimes.ae