The Energy Efficiency Directive was designed to help European countries reach 2020 carbon reduction targets. This comprises of several changes, but a big focus is greater regulation of the energy efficiency of household appliances. Having already been phased out in Europe, halogen bulbs are the latest technology to be wound down in the UK under EU energy saving initiatives.
In a bid to lower energy bills, halogen spotlights are to be phased out from now (September 2016) onwards. You’ll still find the bulbs in some shops until stock runs out, but retailers are not allowed to place new orders. Other multi-directional halogen bulbs (such as candle or traditional-shaped bulbs) won’t be phased out until 2018. Nor will bulbs with an energy efficiency rating of B or higher.
Why are halogen lightbulbs inefficient?
Halogen bulbs are notoriously unreliable and have a life expectancy of just 1-2 years, so you’ll have to keep changing them. They give off most of the energy run through them as heat, hence their inefficiency. The alternative is LED bulbs, which are easy to install, last up to 25 times longer than halogen bulbs and cost less to run as well.
Replacing just one 50Watt halogen spotlight with a 5Watt LED equivalent could save you over £15 a year, while producing the same amount of light.
Inefficient bulbs have effects outside of the home too; cutting down on energy used for lighting will cut the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. It will also put less pressure on the UK’s waning capacity for energy production.
What’s the fuss about?
The halogen bulb ban has been a controversial subject in the UK – it’s a measure not popular with the right wing media! For some it is another thing representing control from the EU, which those who voted for Brexit consider an imposition. To be honest, it’s hard to see where the animosity comes from considering the change causes minimal fuss for householders and will save them money. Of course, the very fact the LED ban comes from Brussels means it could be replaced with UK rulings when Brexit eventually comes into force.
Some have concerns about the expense of swapping bulbs throughout a house, but the hugely lower running costs basically make this a non-argument! Also, the cost of LED bulbs has already dropped by 80% since early models.
We definitely think it’s a change for the better – cheaper for bill payers and better for the planet! Head over to the Ecostore to browse their range.
Perhaps the housing for LED lights has changed, but my experience has been that LED lights don’t project a beam of light nor flood an area with light nearly as effectively as do halogen or even incandescent flood lights. I would appreciate a more in depth discussion of that characteristic of LEDs.
And what about all the headaches I get from LED flicker? I know some LED products have good enough electronics to iron out the mains frequency, but not all do, and performance ratings rarely mention it. Why isn’t something being done about this? It seems only a minority of people actually suffer, but do manufacturers just not care about those people?
Hi Silas, while the technology is improving all the time (LEDs now perform better and are cheaper than they ever have been), LED flicker does impact a few people. This issue is that millions of bulbs are produced on a monthly basis, and the LED manufacturers want to capture as much of the market as possible so they cater for the masses.