Save on electricity this summer!

In this day and age of rice shortages, spiraling prices of oil, meat products, and other basic commodities, Filipinos need to save every peso they can to be able survive the crisis. Anyone can start at their own home, where they have total control of daily expenditures such as electricity, which consumes a significant portion of the family budget.

A company that offers valued assistance for energy saving is Innovatronix, Inc. – an electronics firm company engaged in designing and manufacturing energy saving devices. Its new line of energy-saving products, dubbed "Tronix Energy Saving Devices" now makes it easier for homeowners to save energy as well as protect their home appliances at low cost and greater applicability.

These products afford savings of the monthly electricity bill to as much as 45%. This is achieved through individual devices attached to various household appliances that all contribute for greater energy efficiency while reducing power consumption.

Among their products is the Tronix Act-20, an aircon timer with power on delay. The Tronix Act-20 is an electronic device that saves energy and at the same time protects air conditioning units. It has an intelligent program that delays the air conditioner from turning on after a power failure or brownout. This allows the compressor enough time to re-start and to stabilize its internal pressure.

With the searing temperatures outside, most families who own air-conditioning units at home are expected to extend usage of this appliance for the summer days. But with the Tronix Act-20, they can expect comfort from the heat while saving on the electricity bill.

Another device, the Tronix Power-on-Delay (POD 10), can protect home and office appliances by delaying electrical connection until the power stabilizes. The POD 10 also provides the necessary protection against brownouts of very short duration. This is indeed helpful since appliances with compressors need at least two minutes for their pressure to equalize. The POD 10 is ideal for refrigerators, freezers, television sets, audio systems, computers and fax machines.

One of the unnecessary electrical expenditures occurs at night with the ordinary refrigerator. A typical ref has a motor that turns on every 15 minutes to keep its contents cold. This cycle continues throughout the day to maintain the desired temperature level. However, at night, there is no real need of the refrigerator's full operation but the power consumption remains constant.

The Tronix RCS (Ref Clock Saver) is an electronic device that can generate low power consumption for refrigerators because it limits the on-off cycle of the refrigerator's compressor to 8 minutes on time and 52 minutes off time during power savings mode set at night. This can save up to 45% on the refrigerator's power consumption. The Tronix RCS also minimizes defrosting schedule from one to two times a month to four to six times a year. This is due to its intelligent system of preventing frost from forming rapidly than usual.

It also protects the refrigerator unit from power surges during brownouts by delaying electrical connection for five minutes before turning on the refrigerator.

This device is recommended for refrigerators and chest type freezers 24 cu. ft. and below. It is not recommended for commercial users that rely on the full power of the refrigerator/freezer in 24 hours operation (e.g., icemakers).

Lastly, the Tronix Electronic Ballast is a low-cost replacement to the ordinary lamp ballast. A radical improvement over the ordinary magnetic choke-type ballast, its features include starting mode reliability, longer life span for lamps, power savings, absence of starter, ease of installation and maintenance. With this device that offers 35-55% energy savings on the monthly electric bill – residential, commercial and industrial users get the full satisfaction and service that they deserve.

The Tronix Electronic Ballast offers a more efficient frequency of operation (>300khz) that extends a lamp's life up to three times. Flickering frequency is at 40-50 KHz, which results to brighter lamp output.

With worsening food and oil prices, a homemaker should consider practical ways of reducing energy consumption, even if it's a small and sensible effort as closing the lights when not in use or washing clothes in the machine at one time. But with tech-savvy equipment such as Tronix Energy Saving Devices, they can be rest assured of cutting down their electrical expenditures without jeopardizing the comfort of the family.

Tronix Energy Saving Devices are now available on selected hardware stores nationwide. For more information on Tronix off-the-shelf products, call 645-1592 or 645-6124; e-mail: marketing@innovatronix.com or log on to www.innovatronix.com.