Future Technology Update

Auto Eco Lamp

Posted on January 31st, 2009 by admin

“Auto-eco Light-control Twin Pa” is a real mouthful but once ordered and installed, you may never need to refer to it again. That’s because this environmentally friendly ceiling lamp automatically adjusts its brightness level to light rooms evenly, no matter what time of day or night it is, regardless of outside weather conditions.

Supposedly in Japan, people often leave lights on during the day so by using this new light, average power consumption can be reduced by up to 60 percent.

The lamp employs a luminance sensor that measures the brightness of an area directly below, much like an old-fashioned light meter used in better cameras. It then adjusts the lamp’s brightness from 10 to 100 percent to match a pre-set level. Adjustments are made in over 65 increments so any adjustments are barely noticeable.

The Auto-eco Light-control Twin Pa (memo to Panasonic: come up with a shorter name) is scheduled to be released for retail sale in Japan on March 9, 2009, and will come in 89-watt and 74-watt models priced at ¥35,000 (approx US$390) and ¥32,000 (approx US$355) respectively.

Pricey yes, but Panasonic sees a bright future for the lamp with an estimated 200,000 sales in the first year.