Solar energy kits selling like hotcakes

MANILA, Philippines - Solar energy kits are selling like hotcakes in Metro Manila with power supply in some areas in Leyte and Eastern Samar still cut off following the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yolanda.

A five-volt solar energy kit can light up a nine-watt bulb up to 15 hours with a multifunctional USB charger.

“People are lining up to buy this device for their relatives in the Visayas,” a sales lady at CDR King Cubao branch in Quezon City told The STAR yesterday.

The usual price of solar energy source to power appliances ranges from P70,000 to P200,000 depending on the number of panels and solar batteries used.

But in Raon in downtown Manila, one can buy a complete solar energy set for only P6,000 to P10,000.

The set consists of 12-volt rechargeable batteries and converters.

Among those spotted by The STAR scouting for solar power in the area were personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Logistic Command and the Red Cross.

A sales girl in one of the stores said their sales went up after Yolanda battered Central Visayas on Nov. 8.

“Most of our buyers are from Leyte and Samar,” she said.