By Rhee So-eui
SEOUL (Reuters) - These days when customers walk intoelectronics stores, the first question they ask is how muchelectricity the fridge, washing machine or laptop computer theyare contemplating buying consumes.
"Energy savings were not exactly a hot topic amongcustomers last year," said Kim Dong-han at South Koreanelectronics retailer Hi-Mart. "But this year, nine out of tenpeople ask point blank whether a product will help them savemoney."
With oil at around $145 a barrel and electricity costsjumping, consumers are becoming preoccupied with keeping downtheir power bills. Electronics makers that develop energyefficient product lines and market them effectively tocustomers may get an edge in a gloomy global economy, firmssay.
"Going green is not only eco-friendly but crucial forbusiness," said Kim Jik-soo, a spokesman at LG Electronics."This goes beyond just products, extending throughout thedevelopment and manufacturing process."
From washing machines that use steam instead of hot water,to fridges that use low energy compressors, to low powercomputer screens, electronics firms are furiously developingenergy efficient products and heavily promoting lines alreadyon the market that use less electricity than competitors'brands.
"My electricity bill more than doubles in the summer as weturn on the air conditioner," said Park Yu-jin, 32, a housewifein Seoul with two kids.
"I also have to do lots of laundry for the kids. The billnow easily tops 170,000 won (82 pounds) a month."
Homemakers such as Park are increasingly buying front-loadwashing machines, which use gravity to move water instead ofagitators as in top loaders.
And now, newfangled washers from LG Electronics andWhirlpool offer an option to use steam instead of hot water,cutting water and power use by more than 70 percent comparedwith some top-load models.
"We will gradually shift to front loaders and the steamtechnology will become more mainstream," said LG spokesman Kim.
LG expects four out of ten frontload washers it sells inNorth America to use steam technology by the end of this year,compared with two out of ten currently.
Their biggest appliance plant in South Korea makes mostlyfront loaders, while recently built plants such as one inRussia have stopped manufacturing top loaders altogether.
USING LESS POWER
Among refrigerators, which consume 30 percent of overallpower in a typical home, traditional compressors are giving wayto linear compressors that use up to 40 percent less power andmake less noise.
In the computing industry, power-saving has long been a keypriority as bigger and hungrier gadgets challenge battery life.
PC makers from Apple to the Lenovo Group are replacingscreens lit by conventional cold cathode fluorescent lamps(CCFLs) with light emitting diode (LED) displays.
"LED saves up to 40 percent of the power used intraditional backlights," said Jeff Kim, an analyst at HyundaiSecurities. "Next year they will be commonly found in notebookscreens, and will be increasingly used in TV panels from 2010."
Market researcher DisplaySearch expects LED-backlitdisplays to account for 50 percent of notebook panels in 2010,up from 12 percent this year. By 2015, all laptop displays willuse LEDs, generating sales of $6 billion.
LED is also set to claim traditional incandescent lamps inbuildings and on streets. Samsung Electro-Mechanics recentlyreplaced lighting in the South Korean parliament building withnew LED products and reported LED consumed just one sixth thepower of incandescent bulbs.
HIGHER PRICE TAG
But too often, these energy-efficient products carry ahefty price premium to reflect the cost of developing newtechnologies, which in turn hampers faster adoption.
For instance, Whirlpool's washing machines with steamfeature are sold at $1,300-$1,500 (655-756 pounds), comparedwith a traditional machine priced at $700.
Still, makers argue that the lifetime savings from greenproducts could amount to the price of the appliance itself.
"You could buy another 32-inch LCD TV within 3 years withthe money saved on electricity from our 52-inch power-savingTV," said LG's Kim, referring to a new TV model with a sensorthat adjusts brightness to match surrounding light levels.
Sometimes a little incentive helps.
Japanese electronics retailer Bic Camera is running acampaign in which buyers of eco-friendly products get extracredit points that can be used for future purchases.
"That's a little nudge to help people buy products that aremore efficient, even if they are slightly more expensive," saidNaoko Ito, a Bic Camera spokeswoman. "Consumer interest ishigh."
A U.S. survey by Forrester Research last year found thatgreen consumers, who agree to pay extra for electronics thatuse less energy or come from an environmentally friendly maker,are more brand-loyal than average consumers.
"More than 25 million U.S. adults fall into this segment,enough for even the largest consumer electronics marketers totarget," Forrester analyst Christopher Mines said.
"Green-targeted PCs and other electronics will evolve aspart of the consumer electronics industry's move to go beyond'beige box' design," he said. "Apple certainly leads the wayhere."
A green-technology product that establishes new benchmarksand appeals to concerned consumers "will have an iconic marketpresence if done right," Mines adds.
(Additional reporting by Mayumi Negishi in Tokyo; Editingby Marie-France Han and Megan Goldin)
