03 September 2012

Traditional lightbulb ban reaches final phase
From Saturday September 1 2012, shops will no longer be allowed to order new stocks of incandescent lightbulbs of 40w or lower.

This latest stage in an EU directive to phase out inefficient lightbulbs follows earlier moves to ban higher wattage elements and has been welcomed by green campaigners.

The ban aims to purge energy inefficient products and devices and incandescent bulbs have been targeted because they waste 95% of energy used as heat.

Friends of the Earth's head of campaigns, Andrew Pendleton, said:

"Pulling the plug on these energy-guzzling lightbulbs is good news for cash-strapped consumers and the environment.

"Swapping out-dated bulbs for longer-lasting, energy efficient alternatives will lead to significant cuts in electricity bills - and because they use only a fifth of the energy, less dirty fossil fuels will be burned.

"Switching to modern low-energy lightbulbs is only the very first step to making our homes more energy efficient.

"With rocketing fuel bills the Government must take action to make it as cheap and easy as possible for us all to slash energy waste."

For the full news article and to be taken to the website, click here