Philips makes Eiffel Tower more energy efficient

9 June 2004

AMSTERDAM — Dutch electronics company Philips has made the Eiffel Tower in Paris more environmentally friendly by replacing its lights with new ones that use less energy.

Philips has replaced the 352 lamps that show off the girders of the 324m structure with lights that use 38 percent less electricity, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported on Wednesday.

The old lights had been installed 19 years ago and the contractor for that job had also been Philips. The Dutch company is the world’s largest lighting manufacturer.

Philips refused to reveal the cost of the Paris contract, but a spokesman said “it is a particularly fun assignment”.

The lights that were replaced are a permanent feature of the tower and are separate from the 20,000 sparkling bulbs added in 2000 and replaced last year.

The sparkling bulbs twinkle for 10 minutes every hour after sunset until 1am, French news agency AFP reported.

Subject: Dutch news