It’s light out for old bulbs!
In a bid to make Europe more energy efficient, a new ban on old incandescent light bulbs has officially came into place.
The ban is aimed at removing incandescent bulbs entirely from circulation, and is a follow up to EU regulations that are already in place that ban 60W, 75W and 100W bulbs. Under the new ruling 40W and 25W incandescent bulbs are also banned, effectively meaning that this type of bulb is no longer in circulation.
The move is being carried out to make sure that energy used by bulbs is cut significantly. Other bulb solutions such as LEDs and fluorescent light use much smaller amount of energy than incandescent light bulbs, which actually waste 95% of the energy that goes into them!
This energy is output as heat rather than light, which is why traditional light bulbs get extremely hot after they’ve been switched on.
“Edison’s light bulb, which has produced light for more than 100 years, is simply no longer state of the art when it comes to lighting,” European Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger said.
It’s believed that the ban, which has been enforced across most of the EU, will save a massive 39 trillion watt-hours of electricity by the time 2020 rolls around. Our friends across the pond in America currently have no plans to implement a similar policy, but it is being discussed.
Lighting Concerns
Although it’s easy to call this a great move that’ll save us loads of money on electricity and improve the impact on the environment, there are still a number of negatives about the phase-out of light bulbs.
One of the most important factors that’ll affect both consumers and businesses is the actual price of alternatives. A retailer said:
“I can understand wanting to limit or discourage them but banning them altogether is too much....there’s no real alternative. Energy-saving bulbs are still significantly more expensive and they just don’t have the same level of performance.”
Forty-watt incandescent bulbs were still in high demand, another retailer said. “The ban is a good thing for us because energy-saving bulbs have higher profit margins. But the equivalent of a €1 bulb will now cost a person €2.80,” he added.
It is worth noting, however, that an energy saving light bulb should end up paying for itself. Not only do they last longer than the banned bulbs, but they also use energy much more efficiently and waste a significant amount less than normal bulbs.
Other concerns about the phase-out of incandescent bulbs include the disposal of the bulbs. Many of the bulbs actually use mercury as a component and this can be dangerous, so it’s important that incandescent bulbs are disposed of properly.
What do you think on the move towards a new type of lighting? Let us know below in the comments!
Written by Barry Atkins at www.tester.co.uk
