Eco-business / Social Venture

December 10, 2011

 

Sales of Energy Saving LED Bulb Surge after Earthquake

Keywords: Eco-business / Social Venture Energy Conservation Manufacturing industry 

JFS/Sales of Energy Saving LED Bulb Surge after Earthquake
Copyright Kami Electronics


An energy saving LED bulb dubbed the "Rescue Bulb" is showing a sharp boost in sales following the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011. The bulb was developed and launched to market in June 2009 by Kami Electronics, Inc., a Japanese manufacturer of electronic circuit substrates.

The Rescue Bulb is a blackout-ready LED bulb reliable in emergency or disaster situations. It ordinarily works as a nightlight and in times of power failure it remains lit with the help of a built-in battery. With an E-26 screw base commonly used in households, there is no hassle when fitting the bulb. The bulb has a built-in brightness sensor that automatically turns the light off in brighter conditions, thus saving energy. It has a long life, about 40,000 hours, and can be used as a flashlight when detached from the socket.

The company has also been selling the product via Rakuten, a major Japanese online retailer, since January 2010. Online-shopping sales had been small, at about 10 to 20 units a month, before the earthquake; however, sales skyrocketed to more than 1,000 units a month after the disaster, exhausting stocks of the bulb in July 2011.

The company remodeled and relaunched the product on the Rakuten online market on October 3, 2011. It reduced the Rescue Bulb's price to 5,250 yen from 6,000 yen per unit, but improved certain functions such as brightness.

Japan Adapts (and Remembers) Amid Power Shortages after 2011 Great Earthquake, Nuclear Accidents
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/031173.html
About 90% of Respondents Willing to Accept Slightly Inconvenient Lifestyle, Survey Shows (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/031187.html

Posted: 2011/12/10 06:00:15 AM

Japanese  

Reference

Kami Electronics, Inc. official website
http://www.kamidenki.jp/index_e.html


 

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