31-08-2009
The European Commission decided that traditional 100 Watt light bulbs should be withdrawn from trade since 1 September 2009. According to the assumptions of that EU initiative, by 2012 the Member States shall have entirely abandoned energy-inefficient light sources, which have already started to be replaced with alternative lighting solutions, such as ActiveJet compact fluorescent lamps and LED light sources.
Dropping traditional incandescent bulbs and introducing compact fluorescent lamps is part of the means of implementation of the EU strategy for improving energy efficiency and combating climatic change. The decision on withdrawal of tungsten bulbs from the market is part of the energy and climate change package adopted by the European Union. The package aims at a reduction of power consumption by 20 per cent by 2020, and that is not the only benefit of that most recently implemented regulation.
According to the European Commission, the use of compact fluorescent bulbs in all countries of the EU can bring annual savings of 5 to 10 billion euros and decrease carbon dioxide emissions by 15 million tons per year, which is well illustrated with the following example: replacing traditional light sources with energy-saving ones by just 100,000 people means a reduction in fuel consumption by an equivalent of approx. 500 coal wagons and approx. 53,000 tons less carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere.
Changes do not end there, however. The next step in the technological development of the lighting industry will be to broaden the use of the modern LED-based light sources.
The technological development of that kind of products has advanced so far that they can currently be used both as primary light sources as well as replace auxiliary halogen lighting. LED light sources not only consume less power, which reduces their cost of use, but also look better. They are becoming more powerful in terms of their luminance and the light distribution angle. Moreover, LED sources do not contain mercury, which is extremely harmful to the natural environment, says Rafal Ornowski, Brand Director for ActiveJet, the Company’s brand for alternative light sources. Some argue that such alternative light sources are more expensive, which is not really true. It turns out that the upfront cost of purchase is quickly returned by the savings on power consumption and the investment pays off after 6 months for LED lamps and just after 4 months in case of compact fluorescent lamps, R. Ornowski explains.
The modern lighting products are more efficient than traditional bulbs, which only emit 5 per cent of their wattage as visible light, and the rest is radiated off as unwanted heat. Another advantage of LED lights is their extremely long life, reaching up to 50,000 hours. A traditional light bulb typically fails after 1,000-2,000 hours. In addition, contrary to incandescent light, LED lamps lose their brightness slowly at the end of their useful life. They do not unexpectedly go off within a fraction of a second, as traditional bulbs do.
LED light sources also provide an alternative to the traditional halogen lamps, which are commonly used to light shop windows and all kinds of exhibitions. Their narrow stream of light can be precisely directed at the products which you want to draw attention to and their high colour rendering index (CRI) ensures that the object’s colours are reproduced naturally. In addition, light emitting diodes (LEDs) do not generate heat, which allows using them with heat-sensitive products.
According to the EU directive, the traditional light bulbs are supposed to have disappeared from the market by 2016. The decision was made by the European Commission on 8 December 2008 and was subsequently approved by all the Member States. The withdrawal process commenced on 1 September 2009 and is supposed to end on 1 September 2016. The European Union set up a special schedule of its implementation.
| Stages | Date | Lamps subject to new regulations |
|---|---|---|
| I | 1 September 2009 | •All non-transparent (frosty, iridescent, etc.) incandescent bulbs, including mushroom-shaped and decorative ones • Transparent incandescent lamps of 100 Watt and above • Transparent incandescent lamps of 75 Watt and below, energy class F and G •All non-transparent halogen lamps, including linear halogen lamps (DEQ) and G9 capped (capsule) halogen lamps |
| II | 1 September 2010 | • Transparent incandescent lamps of 75 Watt and above • Transparent halogen lamps of 60 Watts and above, energy class D or lower |
| III | 1 September 2011 | • Transparent incandescent lamps of 60 Watt and above • Transparent halogen lamps of 40 Watts and above, energy class D or lower |
| IV | 1 September 2012 | • Transparent incandescent lamps of 60 Watts and below • Transparent halogen lamps of 25 Watts and above, energy class D or lower |
| V | 1 September 2013 | • Implementation of increased standards of operation for all types of lamps (service life, etc.) |
| VI | 1 September 2016 | •All lamps of energy class C, except for linear halogen lamps (DEQ) and G9 (capsule) halogen lamps |
The following lamps are excluded from the scope of the new EU directives: